School of Medicine Dean Pamela B. Davis named Amy R. Sheon executive director of the Urban Health Initiative. Sheon, who is currently senior policy analyst at Altarum Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich., will join Case Western Reserve University on June 1.

In her new position, Sheon will provide the strategic leadership for a comprehensive Urban Health Initiative—a long-term commitment from the university to enhance the health of, and access to quality care for, members of the Northeast Ohio community. The initiative will include health education, population-based health services and community-based research.

As executive director, she will be responsible for bringing the current urban health programs and the School of Medicine’s forthcoming urban health pipeline program under a single institutional home. She will help ensure a smooth transition for the academic and research programs involved and will encourage synergy among them. Her background and experience exhibit exceptional acumen in this type of public health administration.

Sheon has more than 25 years of deep and varied experience working in public health issues such as family planning, HIV research, ethical issues in genetics and childhood obesity. She has accrued this experience in many sectors: not-for-profit, academic, private and government.  

At Altarum Institute, Sheon was co-project director for the Childhood Obesity Prevention Mission Project where she worked with Healthy Kids, Healthy Michigan to develop a statewide system of body mass index surveillance. She also participated in Health Care Lorain County, a project to improve the system of care for uninsured residents. Prior to joining Altarum Institute in 2006, Sheon was instrumental in creating three collaborative programs at the University of Michigan: a social science think tank working on early childhood education, a program on the ethical implications of life sciences, and a clinical research center. She also has worked at Westat, a consulting firm in Rockville, Md., and spent eight years at the NIH studying the social and ethical aspects of HIV prevention and cancer genetics research.

“I am eager to work with Amy to shape the Urban Health Initiative in the coming years,” Davis said.

Sheon earned her BA in sociology from Cornell University, her MPH from the University of Michigan, and her PhD in public health policy from The Johns Hopkins University.  

“Having been born at the Cleveland Clinic and grown up in Toledo, I am especially pleased to have an opportunity to improve the health of people living in Northeast Ohio and to work with the fabulous faculty at Case Western Reserve University,” Sheon said. 

She lives in Oberlin with her husband, Marvin Krislov, and children Zachary, Jesse and Eve.

Carol Moss

Carol L. Moss has been appointed vice president for medical development and vice dean for external affairs at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Moss, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations at the University of California, San Francisco, will join Case Western Reserve School of Medicine on June 1.

In her new position, Moss will provide the strategic leadership for, and development of, a comprehensive and global development program with the goal of increasing philanthropy and alumni engagement with the School of Medicine. This role oversees principal and major gifts, annual giving, foundation relations, corporate relations, alumni relations, special events and external affairs. 

“Carol is the ideal person for this job,” said Dean Pamela B. Davis. “She has an outstanding philanthropic track record and she has the expertise to drive our fundraising efforts to success. I’m looking forward to having Carol as a part of our team and aid in our mission to improve human health through research and education.”

As vice president/vice dean, Moss will be part of the University Relations and Development senior leadership team. She will be responsible for the development and execution of a national strategy for external relations for the School of Medicine in alignment with the overarching strategies of the university’s Division of University Relations and Development.

“I look forward to returning to the place I consider home, Cleveland, and being part of a nationally ranked school and university with outstanding leadership, research, and commitment to the community. This is a great opportunity to again work with colleagues who share a common passion for Case Western Reserve and are committed to working as a team to advance our mission,” Moss said.

As vice chancellor for development and alumni relations at the University of California, San Francisco, Moss was responsible for the institution’s alumni relations and philanthropic support including the UCSF Medical Center and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. In this role she was also the vice president of the UCSF Foundation. Under Carol’s leadership, UCSF is positioned to achieve a record-setting year in philanthropy.

Prior to this position, Moss was chairman and vice chairman of the division of institutional relations and development at Cleveland Clinic. In this position, she directed fundraising programs to support capital campaign projects, medical education, patient care and research activities for the main campus, regional operations and national and international outreach programs. During Moss’s tenure with Cleveland Clinic, its private support nearly doubled to $183 million in 2008.

“I have been fortunate to work with Carol over many years. This is not only a homecoming for us, it is an opportunity for her to be part of a senior leadership team at a nationally ranked institution,” said Bruce Loessin, senior vice president for university relations and development. “We are really pleased to have the opportunity to have Carol direct our medical development enterprise under the outstanding leadership of Dean Pamela Davis.”

Moss earned her bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University and her master’s degree from Ohio University.

A three-year, $3 million gift from the Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation will fund research by a pair of Cleveland physicians into HIV and the body’s response in autoimmune diseases.

Michael Lederman

The award will support the joint efforts of immunologists Michael Lederman of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Leonard Calabrese of Cleveland Clinic, two nationally recognized investigators of HIV/AIDS who were among the first researchers to study the virus. The researchers will continue their nearly 30-year collaboration to investigate potential relationships between autoimmune, inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and HIV/AIDS.

The grant will support the physicians’ Cleveland HIV Immunity Project (CHIP) around three specific goals:

• Extend the scope and reach of the Cleveland Immune Failure (CLIF) clinical study launched in 2009, which looks at why many well-treated HIV patients fail to achieve a restored immune system despite effective therapy for the disease.
• Study those individuals who are at high risk but have not contracted the HIV infection, including the establishment of a cohort of HIV negative individuals who engage in high-risk behaviors to explore what factors protect them from infection.
• Examine the immune system response to drugs that reduce symptoms, but do not cure inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease and additionally explore the similarities among autoimmune diseases not previously thought to be related, such as HIV, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

The grant-funded project will build upon Northeast Ohio’s significant contributions to AIDS and immunology research. In 1983—two years after AIDS was first found in the U.S.—Case Western Reserve researchers published findings that AIDS is transmitted in blood products.

In 1994, the university established the first and only National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) in the Midwest, which was renewed in 2010 for $9 million. This center today manages an annual NIH research budget exceeding $20 million. Case Western Reserve University also continues a collaboration with Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, started in 1997, which was the first U.S.-funded AIDS research laboratory in Africa.

Drawing on these nearly three decades of success, Calabrese and Lederman will combine expertise to explore disease pathways that previously were not thought to be related.

“In addition to helping us better understand why some people exposed to HIV do not get infected, this grant ultimately will help amplify current research to apply what we’ve learned about HIV immunology to better understand a host of other diseases—from rheumatology and endocrinology to cardiology and infectious diseases, among many others,” Lederman said.

Dr. Lederman is a faculty member and researcher at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a clinical immunologist specializing in infectious disease at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. He holds the Scott R. Inkley Chair in Medicine and is co-director of the CFAR. He serves as principal investigator of the Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Case Medical Center AIDS Clinical Trials Unit.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to continue collaboration that is furthering our understanding of the immune system as it relates to HIV. We now have the tools to investigate HIV and to explore the mechanisms underlying immune-based therapies, which has importance to our knowledge of how to fine-tune HIV treatment as we continue to see longer life expectancy in patients,” Calabrese said.

Dr. Calabrese heads Cleveland Clinic's Section of Clinical Immunology and manages its Clinical Immunology Clinic. He holds the R.J. Fasenmyer Chair in Clinical Immunology, established in 1999 with a $1.5 million gift from the foundation. He specializes in diseases of the immune system, including HIV and hepatitis C, and he is the only rheumatologist invited to sit on an NIH steering committee designed to investigate the risks posed by the biologics class of drugs. Dr. Calabrese also holds the ­Theodore F. Classen, DO, Chair in Osteopathic Research and Education.

 “This grant recognizes 28 years of dedication and collaborative research of Drs. Calabrese and Lederman and between Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University—the visionary institutions that support their work. Our investment affirms not only the concern for others that our founder, Richard Fasenmyer, showed during his lifetime, but also that the interplay of research and clinical care are critical to creating a future without HIV/AIDS,” said John Baechle, board president, Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation.

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine received a $7.8 million renewal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for the long-term study of manic symptoms in children.

The grant from the NIMH, one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), funds the continuation of a study launched five years ago in which 707 children between the ages of six and 12 were screened and evaluated for elevated symptoms of mania (ESM), a common indicator of bipolar disease and other childhood psychiatric disorders.

By studying the course of a child’s ESM over time, which can include periods of rapid mood swings and intense irritability, researchers hope to learn more about what factors make children with ESM more likely to develop a bipolar spectrum disorder.

Robert Findling

“We want to develop the means by which to more accurately diagnose bipolar disease in children,” said Robert L. Findling, the Rocco L Motto, M.D., Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the School of Medicine and director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. He is the study’s coordinating principal investigator.

From the point of enrollment, children participating in the study’s initial phase have been evaluated every six months for their psychiatric diagnoses, symptoms, use of mental health services and medication, and psychosocial function. The NIMH renewal grant allows researchers to continue these six-month evaluations among participants, who will now be between eight and 17 years of age. This will enable the collection of data during a period when study participants are at greater risk of developing a bipolar spectrum disorder, Findling said.

Researchers will also incorporate both neurocognitive testing (evaluations that assess how well a person processes new data, as well as their ability to process information and pay attention) and neuroimaging. The aim is to identify possible biomarkers that signal or reflect underlying biological mechanisms that predispose individuals to bipolar disease, a type of mood disorder that affects an estimated 5.7 million Americans who often report symptoms that can be traced back to their childhood.

“We’re particularly excited about adding neuroimaging to this next phase of the study to examine brain functioning in these children,” Findling said. “This research component is very innovative and will lay the groundwork for future studies between the child and adolescent psychiatry and radiology departments through collaborations involving neuroimaging in children.” Neuroimaging involves the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a type of brain scan that maps brains activity. In this area, Dr. Findling is collaborating with neuroradiologist Jeffrey Sunshine, associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Radiology at the School of Medicine and UH Case Medical Center.

The continued research will further document the trajectories of children with ESM and related psychiatric disorders to better determine the most appropriate points for intervention. Study goals include assessing the nature of manic symptoms over time in relation to changes in mood. Researchers hope to enhance their understanding of the predictive value of manic symptoms, alone and in combination with other symptoms, developing evidence-based criteria for diagnosing the spectrum of bipolar disorders in children; and identifying risk factors associated with poor functional outcomes among youth with manic symptoms.

The investigators will examine the relationships between mood episodes and clinical outcomes over time. They will also evaluate neurocognitive performance, together with functional abnormalities, to better understand how these relate to ESM and the development of bipolar disorder in childhood through early adulthood. 

In addition to the School of Medicine and UH Case Medical Center, children enrolled in the study have been recruited from three other collaborating sites: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, The Ohio State University Medical Center, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Eric Brandt

What really are the nutrition facts on those chips you’re eating? That’s what Eric Brandt, student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, set out to uncover with his research on trans fat. Aware that there often are hidden trans fats in foods, Brandt wanted to discover exactly why that is. Now, his findings, published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, are getting national media attention from outlets like CBS News and MSNBC and could lead to new labeling regulations from the Food and Drug Administration.

Brandt, who hails from Sterling Heights, Mich., and is on track to graduate from the School of Medicine in 2013, found that current FDA regulations allow foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat to be listed as 0 grams trans fat (the FDA policy requires items with less than 5 grams trans fat to be listed in 0.5-gram increments, and food producers can round down to the lower increment). So when individuals eat three servings of foods with “0 grams trans fat,” they really could be ingesting nearly 1.5 grams of trans fat unknowingly, exceeding the recommended daily intake of 1.11 grams. Eating trans fat can lead to coronary heart disease, heart attacks, sudden cardiac death, diabetes, high cholesterol and other serious health issues, Brandt said.

So what happens next? The Daily spoke with Brandt to find out.

Q: When did you start doing research on trans fat, and why?
A: The idea came when I was in undergrad at University of Michigan – Dearborn, and when I got to Case [Western Reserve] I decided to pursue it. I started doing the research in December 2009 and found a mentor, Dr. Scott Frank, [director of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine Master of Public Health Program,] who helped me with some aspects of the publication process.

Q: Why do you think the FDA labels trans fat like this?
A: I think there are many reasons. First, labeling trans fat is a relatively new thing and it has only been [in existence] since 2006, so it was a big deal to get it labeled at all. [Additionally,] there has not yet been a strong push for more accurate labeling of trans fat, food companies would prefer their products to look healthier than they are and … a revision to the law has yet to be suggested.

Q: What should the FDA do to fix this?
A: I think the best way would be to revise the labeling of trans fat on food labels, as I suggested in my article. This would be by reporting trans fat content in 0.1-gram increments, rounding up when the hundredth digit is 0.05 and down if 0.04.

Q: What is your next step in getting the FDA to change their policy? Is it possible?
A: I hope I will be able to work with the FDA to find a solution to the problem by revising the law. I think this is completely within reach because the FDA strives to get accurate information about food contents to the public to help improve health and prevent disease. Also, it helps that the topic has grabbed the attention of the media and that people don’t like being misled.

A contact at the FDA has requested the article, so they have already shown some interest. I hope they will contact me, but if not I hope to make contact with them. I am not sure how long the process will take, but I plan to work on it for the next couple of years if need be.

Q: Is there really any way of staying away from trans fats in products?
A: The best way to protect yourself against misidentified labeling would be to avoid foods where trans fat content is suspected—foods that have partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils listed in the ingredient list, especially. There is no way of knowing exactly how much trans fat is in a food, but you can be confident there is trans fat in a food if it has hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oil.

Q: Why did you choose Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine?

A: I chose to attend CWRU because of the small group style of learning. I have found that working closely with my classmates on difficult material benefits my learning much more than if I was attending a school with a lecture-based curriculum. Also, Case offers great clinical opportunities during the first two years before going to the clinical years and the opportunity for me to manage my time as I see fit by large amounts of self-directed learning time.

Jonathan H. Lass

The Departments of Pharmacology and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have been awarded a $10.1 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to research and develop new treatments for diseases of the retina, a leading cause of blindness.

“The grant strongly positions the School of Medicine and collaborating organizations to play a significant role in advancing the treatment of retinal diseases in order to restore quality of life to countless patients,” said Jonathan H. Lass, professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and director of the University Hospitals Eye Institute. “It is the largest grant of its kind ever awarded to the university by the National Eye Institute, a tremendous achievement.” 

The NEI, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will award the grant over five years, funding the work of researchers in the pharmacology, ophthalmology and biomedical engineering departments at the School of Medicine, who are working in collaboration with the Retinal Therapeutics Study Group. This interdisciplinary consortium of investigators is screening FDA-approved drugs for their potential application to the treatment of eye diseases affecting the retina.

The combined group, which also includes researchers from the Cincinnati Drug Discovery Center, the University of Pennsylvania and Washington University, aims to accelerate the rate at which basic science discoveries are used to develop new therapies for complex retinal disorders and diseases.

Conditions affecting the retina, the tissue in back of the eye responsible for vision, are a primary cause of blindness in adults in the United States. Such diseases include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the main cause of blindness in adults over the age of 55. More than 1.3 million people in the U.S. are legally blind and 8 to 10 million aging individuals show signs of developing AMD, an incurable eye disease characterized by damage to the retina and the loss of central daylight vision.

Krzysztof Palczewski

 “The research being funded by the NIH is critical to availing patients of new, more effective treatments, particularly for diseases like AMD, for which there is currently no cure,” said Krzysztof Palczewski, John H. Hord Professor, chair of the Department of Pharmacology and principal investigator and director of the research funded by the new NEI grant. “Our goal is to develop new drugs based on the screening of FDA-approved drugs to evaluate their effectiveness in treating retinal diseases.”

In addition to their work on the NISS, CWRU medical students
tutor John Hay students at their school throughout the year.

Fifteen students from the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine (CSSM) at John Hay Campus are on campus this week to participate in the weeklong immersion program that’s part of the Neuroscience Inquiry Seminar Series (NISS), developed by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

While here, the John Hay students sat in on medical school seminars, listened to special small-group faculty lectures, participated in the medical school case-based curriculum and had lunches with students and faculty, explained Joshua Bear, a fourth-year medical student who spearheaded the NISS under the guidance of Robert Haynie, associate dean for student affairs and associate clinical professor of medicine. The NISS itself has multiple parts: “Following schoolwide activities, approximately 30 students continued to come to optional afterschool events, and we ultimately selected 15 students to participate in the immersion week at the medical school,” Bear explained. The schoolwide activities included eye- and brain-dissection labs, case discussions facilitated by medical students, preparatory lectures by med students, faculty lectures and physical exam skills.  

The NISS is part of a larger umbrella program, The Robbins Bridge Program, which, with the financial assistance of the Joan C. Edwards Charitable Foundation, provides John Hay students with two Inquiry Seminar Series per year, afterschool ACT/SAT prep lectures, a writing workshop and a specialized research training program, Bear said. Additionally, the Joan C. Edwards Charitable Foundation will provide a scholarship to one student per year to earn bachelor and medical degrees at Case Western Reserve beginning in 2011.

The Inquiry Seminar Series launched last spring with the Cardiovascular Inquiry Seminar Series (CISS). “At the end of the program, we asked the high school students what other areas of science and medicine they would be interesting in studying, and the students overwhelmingly identified neurology and neurosurgery,” Bear said. “Thus, while the initial program was envisioned by my predecessor, Jason Balkman, and the Joan C. Edwards Charitable Foundation, the fall series comes directly from the students.” Additionally, students gave their feedback on likes and dislikes in order to make improvements. The most visible change to the second program, Bear said, is the addition of medical student-led preparatory lectures.

“The medical students have been central to the entire process,” Bear said, “contributing by writing the clinical cases, giving introductory lectures in neuroscience, facilitating the case discussions, assisting with the immersion, and even writing the assessment tools we use at the end.”

But medical students aren’t the only ones involved. As planning begins for the CISS 2011, Bear is looking for pre-med undergraduates, medical students and medical-related faculty, staff and alumni. Additionally, students in other disciplines could assist with other programs under Robbins Bridge, particularly helping with essay writing and ACT/SAT preparation. Volunteering for the program not only looks great on a résumé but also is personally rewarding, Bear said.

“The energy and excitement of the students at the CSSM is the highlight of everything under the Bridge Program and the reason why we are there,” he said.

For more information, contact Bear or Brian McDonald, executive director of the Joan C. Edwards Charitable Foundation.

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/11/15/cwru_receives_125_million_grant_to_fight_obesity_in_clevelandas_urban_youth2010-11-15T14:51:38Z2010-11-15T20:06:15Z

Cleveland students participate in We Run This City youth marathon.

Cleveland’s childhood overweight and obesity rate is about 40 percent and shows no sign of leveling off. A team of local researchers has set out to tackle the problem using a comprehensive and pioneering approach, which includes child and family behavioral interventions and partnerships with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and the YMCA of Greater Cleveland.

The $12.5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded program will be led by Case Western Reserve University with clinical expertise provided by University Hospitals (UH) Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. It is one of four programs selected across the country to participate in the NIH’s national Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research (COPTR) initiative. As multiple factors contribute to childhood obesity, the Case Western Reserve program will assess the effectiveness of a multi-factorial approach using three behavioral interventions within children’s family, school and community environments to treat obesity and reduce rates of elevated blood pressure.

“Obesity is often associated with high blood pressure. Both obesity and high blood pressure can lead to complications, and may even cause premature death. Cleveland’s youth have substantial needs as they battle against obesity. This program uses a unique approach to provide children and families the tools they need to promote healthy choices and reduce obesity – all involving their homes, schools, and communities,” said Leona Cuttler, MD, William T. Dahms Professor of Pediatrics and professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine; chief of pediatric endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism, and director of the Center for Child Health and Policy at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Cuttler is one of three principal investigators for the study. “This project incorporates several innovations and can establish a replicable system of aligned programs that have major impact on pediatric obesity. The program has the potential to alter both policy and practice.”

The goals of the seven-year project are to reduce obesity and high blood pressure by increasing physical activity, along with healthy eating, sleep, and stress management. Four hundred and fifty overweight and obese students from 50 Cleveland schools will participate in the study. The students will be recruited through a screening program established through an existing partnership between Cleveland schools and Case Western Reserve Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Each student will be randomized into one of three groups that offer different behavioral interventions focusing on the child and his/her family: 1.) HealthyCHANGE–a behavioral approach focusing on building skills and increasing intrinsic motivation; 2.) SystemCHANGE–a behavioral approach focusing on redesign of the family environment and daily routines; 3.) Customary Care–a traditional approach, focused primarily on providing educational materials, using those methods currently practiced in intervention programs.

Half of the participating Cleveland schools participate in the YMCA’s successful We Run This City Youth Marathon program. They will receive nutrition education, a fresh produce “Try It” program, and additional programmatic support for the We Run this City program. 

Cleveland’s COPTR initiative builds on existing successful programs and partnerships to facilitate the research:

• UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital has championed the fight against pediatric obesity for many years. For example, one of the program’s three behavioral interventions, HealthyCHANGE, was developed and initially tested at the hospital. In addition, it developed and implemented the successful Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight program for overweight children and youth. The Center for Child Health and Policy, directed by Cuttler, is at the forefront of many initiatives and policy analyses that address childhood obesity in Cleveland, the state, and country. In addition, the policy center received an award from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a center of excellence in childhood obesity and diabetes – the Center for Childhood Diabetes, Activity, and Nutrition. Directed by Cuttler, it partners with several community groups to address obesity and diabetes. 
• For the past eight years, Frances Payne Bolton nursing students have been conducting district-wide blood pressure screenings on CMSD students under the direction of Marilyn Lotas, PhD, RN, associate dean in the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. The COPTR Cleveland program will apply a new approach to promote healthy living designed by researchers at the School of Nursing in which families engage in redesign of their daily routines. 
• The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN), based at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, addresses chronic health issues in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Greater Cleveland. Under the direction of Elaine Borawski, PhD, principal investigator and co-director of the center, the community core of the study will coordinate efforts with the community and school stakeholders and provide evidence-based programming support to the WRTC program.

“The COPTR program in Cleveland is a multi-level approach to a multi-level problem. It was the strength of our institutions’ existing relationships which set our community apart from others. Given the magnitude of our obesity problem, we are bringing together top experts to devise a sustainable solution for our children,” said Shirley M. Moore, RN, PhD, Edward J. and Louise Mellen Professor of Nursing, associate dean for research, and director of the Center of Excellence in Self-Management Research at Case Western Reserve Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Moore is a principal investigator of the study.

A major factor in this study is the central role played by Cleveland’s young people and their families. They will participate in focus groups to co-design the study, tailoring it to the lifestyle and needs of Cleveland’s overweight/obese students. The students’ families will be involved at every level too, including invitations to regular meetings, the opportunity to provide feedback on the study’s structure and participating in the interventions. This input will ensure the program is designed to be age and ethnicity appropriate, accommodating all levels of ability. Finally, a community advisory board will be created to counsel the study’s leaders.

“We expect the findings of our program and those of the other COPTR studies to contribute to the national discussion on childhood obesity in urban youth. Cleveland’s program provides a unique opportunity where research can inform policy,” concludes Borawski one of the study’s principal investigators and associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

David Wilsondavid.wilson2@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/11/10/hypertexting_and_hypernetworking_pose_new_health_risks_for_teens2010-11-10T14:28:34Z2010-11-12T16:06:36Z

Frequent texting among teenagers has been linked to high-risk
behavior, a new Case Western Reserve study finds.

Texting while driving can be a deadly combination for anyone. Yet new data released this week reveal that the dangers of excessive texting among teens may not be limited to the road. Hyper-texting and hyper-networking may be giving rise to a new health risk category for this age group.

Scott Frank, MD, MS, lead researcher on the study and director of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine Master of Public Health program, presented the findings Tuesday at the American Public Health Association’s 138th annual Meeting & Exposition in Denver. Researchers surveyed a cross section of high school students from an urban Midwestern County and assessed whether use of communication technology could be associated with unhealthy behaviors, including smoking, drinking and sexual activity.

According to the research, hyper-texting, defined as texting more than 120 messages per school day, was reported by 19.8 percent of teens surveyed. Teens who are hyper-texters are 40 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, two times more likely to have tried alcohol, 43 percent more likely to be binge drinkers, 41 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 55 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex and 90 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners.

“The startling results of this study suggest that when left unchecked texting and other widely popular methods of staying connected are associated with unhealthy behaviors among teenagers,†said Frank. “This may be a wake-up call for parents to open dialogue with their kids about the extent of texting and social networking they are involved with and about what is happening in the rest of their lives.â€

Additionally, hyper-networking, defined as spending more than three hours per school day on social networking websites, was reported by 11.5 percent of students and associated with higher levels of stress, depression, suicide, substance use, fighting, poor sleep, poor academics, television watching and parental permissiveness. Teens who are hyper-networkers are 62 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, 79 percent more likely to have tried alcohol, 69 percent more likely to be binge drinkers, 84 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 94 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, 69 percent more likely to have had sex and 60 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners.

Frank emphasizes that this study does not conclude that these unhealthy behaviors are caused by hyper-texting and hyper-networking, only that the behaviors are associated. Further research is indicated to discern the exact nature of this relationship, he says.

David Wilsondavid.wilson2@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/06/23/kadanuumuu2010-06-23T14:12:11Z2010-06-23T14:44:30Z

The famous hominid fossil Lucy has family. An announcement Monday in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) says the relative -- although 400,000 years older -- was, like Lucy, an advanced upright walker. Three Case Western Reserve University researchers: Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Bruce Latimer and Beverly Saylor, were among an international team of scientists who reported the most complete skeleton so far of a 3.6 million-year-old Lucy species, Australopithecus afarensis.

Kadanuumuu. Photo:
Yohannes Haile-Selassie,
Liz Russell, Cleve. Museum
of Natural History. Used with
permission from Proceedings
of the Natl. Academy of Sciences.

The famous hominid fossil Lucy has family. An announcement Monday in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) says the relative — although 400,000 years older — was, like Lucy, an advanced upright walker.

Three Case Western Reserve University researchers: Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Bruce Latimer and Beverly Saylor, were among an international team of scientists who reported the most complete skeleton so far of a 3.6 million-year-old Lucy species, Australopithecus afarensis.

Other researchers were from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Kent State University, Addis Ababa University and Berkeley Geochronology Center, and researchers from Sweden and France.

Latimer, interim director of the CWRU Center for Human Origins — a component center of the Institute for the Science of Origins — and an adjunct professor of anatomy at the School of Medicine, co-directed the Woranso-Mille Paleontological Project with Haile-Selassie, the lead investigator of the study reported in PNAS.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/06/04/imaginginnovationcenter2010-06-04T14:41:32Z2010-06-04T15:56:14Z

A $33.5 million commitment by Philips Healthcare and a $5 million Third Frontier grant from the state of Ohio will provide researchers at Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and Philips an opportunity to create medical imaging systems that will detect disease far earlier and be safer for patients than current methods.

Cleveland Foundation President Ronn Richard (left)
shakes hands with BioEnterprise President Baiju Shah
at the press conference

A $33.5 million commitment by Philips Healthcare and a $5 million Third Frontier grant from the state of Ohio will provide researchers at Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and Philips an opportunity to create medical imaging systems that will detect disease far earlier and be safer for patients than current methods.

The company and state announced the creation of the Global Advanced Imaging Innovation Center, to be housed at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center campus, at the same press conference where Gov. Ted Strickland designated Cleveland’s Health-Tech Corridor a state Hub of Innovation and Opportunity yesterday.

The corridor, created by the non-profit BioEnterprise and the economic-development corporation MidTown Cleveland, runs from downtown to University Circle. It includes Case Western Reserve, University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC), the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland State University, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center along with 75 biomedical companies, 45 technology companies and seven business incubators.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/05/19/couriclabtour2010-05-19T14:20:21Z2010-05-20T16:30:47Z

Katie Couric visited Sanford “Sandy” Markowitz, MD, PhD, professor and researcher of cancer and genetics, and his research team in his lab Saturday before Commencement to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day research necessary for advancements in colon cancer.

Katie Couric visits Sanford “Sandy†Markowitz, MD, PhD, and his research team

Katie Couric visited Sanford “Sandy†Markowitz, MD, PhD, the Markowitz-Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and an oncologist at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and his research team in his lab Saturday before Commencement to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day research necessary for advancements in colon cancer.

The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric anchor and managing editor received a warm welcome from the researchers, who provided Couric with hands-on training. They also informed her of the various research projects being conducted in the Markowitz lab at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Watch the video of Couric’s lab tour.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/05/11/leroyschwartz2010-05-11T15:06:25Z2010-05-12T16:36:28Z

Twenty-two years after he registered for classes at Case Western Reserve University, a biomedical engineering student will walk across the stage and receive his diploma at Commencement on Sunday, May 16 in Veale Athletic Center.

LeRoy Schwartz

Twenty-two years after he registered for classes at Case Western Reserve University, a biomedical engineering student will walk across the stage and receive his diploma at commencement on Sunday, May 16 in Veale Athletic Center.

LeRoy Schwartz, 57, pushed through bouts of cancer and treatments, changing faculty and changing technology.

“Thank God that in the last 10 years there have been great advances in treating non-Hodgkins lymphoma,†the soft-spoken Schwartz said. When he was first diagnosed, life expectancy was 11 years.

Back during his first round of chemotherapy, others asked what he cared about getting the degree.

“I said that even if I croak the day after, my tombstone will say I got a biomedical engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University.â€

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/05/11/michaelkonstan2010-05-11T14:18:07Z2010-05-11T18:39:53Z

Michael W. Konstan, MD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Pediatrics at University Hospitals Case Medical Center’s Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Michael W. Konstan

Michael W. Konstan, MD, has been appointed chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at University Hospitals Case Medical Center’s Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Konstan, a pioneer in the field of cystic fibrosis, has been a clinical and academic leader at UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for 25 years.

Dr. Konstan and his team are among the world’s most innovative researchers in pediatric pulmonology, developing new treatments and leading the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis (CF). His seminal work has led to novel therapies, early detection through newborn screening and extending significantly the lives of children with this disease.

“Mike has dedicated his professional life to improving the care of children with cystic fibrosis, and this appointment gives him the opportunity to extend his reach to all of Cleveland’s children,†said Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD, Dean of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs. “His dedication, intelligence, and compassion are legendary in the CF community, and will now be applied to the Department of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University. I look forward to his success.â€

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/05/06/fulbright32010-05-06T13:54:29Z2010-05-06T17:05:28Z

Anna Maria Mandalakas, associate professor of pediatrics, global health and diseases, and epidemiology and biostatistics, will soon embark upon an almost one-year journey to aid South African children infected with tuberculosis (TB). The School of Medicine professor has been selected to receive a 2010 U.S. Senior Fulbright Scholarship.

Anna Maria Mandalakas

Anna Maria Mandalakas, associate professor of pediatrics, global health and diseases, and epidemiology and biostatistics, will soon embark upon an almost one-year journey to aid South African children infected with tuberculosis (TB).

The School of Medicine professor has been selected to receive a 2010 U.S. Senior Fulbright Scholarship. Beginning in August, Mandalakas will spend 11 months in Tygerberg, South Africa, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University. She will study the benefits of isoniazid preventative therapy on children infected with TB.

Selected as a Senior Fulbright Scholar, Mandalakas plans to teach and conduct research. She will lead a seminar series for senior and peer faculty, as well as medical and graduate students, on designing clinical research. Her ongoing research is on the diagnostics of TB infection in children, and her Fulbright research will explore the delivery of preventive therapy by addressing knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related, as well as barriers to implementing preventative therapy.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news