Ground was broken for UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School's new 13,000-square-foot regional biocontainment laboratory (RBL) in September, and the official ceremony marking this milestone was held on December 13. Congressman Donald Payne and Dr. Michael G. Kurilla, representing the National Institutes of Health, joined UMDNJ Interim President Bruce C. Vladeck and other senior University officials for the event. The RBL is an addition to the International Center for Public Health facility and will be operational by June 2008.

The construction of the new laboratory in Newark will create one of the largest focal points of containment space for pathogen-based research in the country. Infectious diseases researchers at New Jersey Medical School are key players in the Northeast BioDefense Center, a consortium of research and public health organizations. The consortium’s mission is to provide the region and nation with practical solutions to the public health threats emanating from both bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases.

(Photo: Congressman Donald Payne (right) joins NJMS Interim Dean Robert Johnson and Research Vice-chair Nancy Connell at official ground-breaking.)

UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School has received a $15,000 grant from the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust to equip one operatory room in its Special Care Treatment Center, the private foundation managed by CVS Corporation. The grant was received as part of a program in which CVS/pharmacy has awarded more than $5 million in 22 states to non-profit organizations that are involved in children's health and education issues, with a particular focus on initiatives to improve the lives of children with disabilities.

The Center is the leading provider of high-quality comprehensive dental care for the special needs population in New Jersey, serving patients of all ages with chronic, severe developmental, psychiatric and physical disabilities. Of the more than 5,300 patients registered at the Center, approximately half are diagnosed with mental retardation and 50 percent have one or more significant medical diagnoses apart from mental retardation.

Massage therapy is a safe and effective way to reduce pain and improve function in adults with osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Yale Prevention Research Center report in the first clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of this treatment.

The 16-week study was conducted to identify the potential benefits of Swedish massage on osteoarthritis patients with pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion in the knee. Outcomes of the study are published in the December 11 edition of Archives of Internal Medicine. Dr. Adam Perlman, executive director of the Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and professor at UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions, led the study at the University.