We Are UMDNJ

David Foran, PhD, has been named chief informatics officer and executive director of biomedical informatics and computational imaging for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.  A major concentration for his laboratory has been the development of a family of high-throughput, imaging, data-mining and computational tools for classifying malignancies and stratifying biomarker expression signatures from disease onset throughout progression. Learn more.

Events This Week

Newark Campus

Monday, June 17: NJMS Pharmacology & Physiology Graduate Student Seminar — “The Role of sGC in cGMP-independent Cardioprotection" by Can Huang (mentor: Dr. Annie Beuve). Location: MSB, H-609B, noon to 1 p.m. For info: (973) 972-8895 or huangc8@umdnj.edu.

Tuesday, June 18: University Hospital Auxiliary’s Farmers’ Market on the Newark Campus. Each Tuesday through October 29, shoppers will be offered a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruit, cheeses and baked goods. Location: NJDS and NJMS plaza, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday, June 18: NJDS Faculty Development Lecture — “Immediate Placement & Temporization of Implants,” NJDS, B-721, 1 to 2 p.m. Presenter: Michele Dimaira, DMD, MS, PA, assistant clinical professor of periodontics, post-graduate periodontal program.

Tuesday, June 18: SN-Center for Lifelong Learning — “Prescribed Control Substances,” a one-day (six contact hours) course for advanced practice nurses who have prescriptive privileges. Location: SSB, 3rd floor auditorium, 2 to 8 p.m. Advance registration and payment required. Instructors: Maryann Magloire-Wilson, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, BSN programs; Barbara Lane Giacomelli, PharmD, MDA, CCP, FASHP, adjunct assistant professor; and Bruce Ruck, PharmD, director of drug information & professional education, NJ Poison Center. For info: Betty Terry at (973) 972-6655 or SNlifelearn@umdnj.edu.

New Brunswick Campus

Wednesday, June 19: CINJ Distinguished Lecture — Speaker: Joshua Rabinowitz, PhD, Professor of Chemistry & Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University. Location: CINJ auditorium, 4 to 5 p.m. For info: (732) 235-6785 or mastrona@umdnj.edu.

Piscataway Campus

Tuesday, June 18: SEBS Core Facility at the School of Environmental & Biological Sciences Lecture — “Real Time qRT-PCR Fundamentals.” Location: Foran Hall, Rm. 138A, Cook Campus, 9:30 a.m. For more info or to register: Karen Yudin at yudin@aesop.rutgers.edu prior to June 17. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, June 18: RWJMS Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology Seminar — “What Your Brain Uses to Think: the Biology of Synapses and Their Control,” Research Tower, V-10, noon. Speaker: Timothy Ryan, PhD, professor of biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College. For info: Huaye Zhang, PhD, at (732) 235-3433 or zhang29@umdnj.edu.

Wednesday, June 19: EOHSI Seminar –“Chemical Composition and Health Effects of Fine Particulate Matter,” EOHSI Conference Room C, 4 p.m. Speaker: Morton Lippmann, PhD, research professor, NYU Langone Medical Center. For info: (848) 445-4159 or crecenzio@eohsi.rutgers.edu

Off Campus

Friday, June 14: UMDNJ Toastmasters 10th Anniversary Celebration Annual Roast & Toast. Guest speaker is Diane Parker, finalist of the 2012 World Championship of Public Speaking.
Time and location: 6 to 9 p.m., Bella Italia Ristorante, 353 Central Ave., Orange. Cost is $40; dinner included, cash bar. Employees, students and friends are invited to learn about UMDNJ Toastmasters. $40 per person, please RSVP by June 10 to Yassah Amara at amarayp@umdnj.edu

Thursday, June 20: New Jersey’s Fourth Annual Behavioral Health Care Quality Improvement Fair, Imperia Banquet and Conference Center, 1714 Easton Ave., Somerset, 2 to 5 p.m. Free attendance. For info: (732) 235-5900.

Announcements

Important Announcement From HR Benefits

On June 28, 2011, the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits enacted legislation which mandated increases to the cost of health insurance benefits and employee pension contributions for state employees, which included employees of UMDNJ. The increases are outlined below:

Non-Union and Union-Represented Employees Who Commenced Year 1 Phase-In in October 2011: Effective July 1, 2013, employees covered under the SHBP will contribute the greater of 1.5% of salary or a percentage of the premium associated with their healthcare coverage based on the Year 3 Premium Share Phase-In Schedule. This will take effect in the July 19, 2013 paycheck for all non-union employees and union-represented employees who were under the Year 2 Phase-In as of July 1, 2012.

The premium associated with an employee’s health care coverage is determined by the employee’s plan selection (PPO, HMO or High Deductible Plan) and level of coverage (Single, Husband/Wife, Family, etc.) and the employee’s salary level.

Union-Represented Employees with Active Contracts that expired in 2012: OPIEU Local 153 (security officers and dispatchers) will pay the costs associated with Year 2 Phase-In in July 2013. CIR (interns and residents) and IAEP Local 200 (EMS supervisors) will pay the costs associated with Year 2 Premium Share Phase-In in November 2013. HPAE Local 5135 – (UCHC Medical Services Division registered nurses) will begin their Year 3 Premium Share Phase-In in October 2013.

View details of the State’s Percentage of Premium Share Chart here.

University Issued Long Distance Calling Cards

AT&T Long Distance Calling Cards issued by IS&T will no longer be supported and accounts will be closed at the end of this month. Please contact IS&T billing at (732) 743-2550 or istbilling@umdnj.edu if you have questions.

Signage Changing

At our schools and units on all campuses, you will notice workers removing UMDNJ signage as physical preparations intensify for the implementation of the New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act.

The task of removing thousands of UMDNJ signs and replacing them with new ones from Rutgers University, Rowan University or University Hospital will likely take a portion of the summer to complete. It is anticipated that a significant number of new signs will be in place by Day 1 (July 1).

Integration teams are also in the final stages of preparations to position the appropriate branding on many highly visible items, including clinical attire, websites, identification cards, business cards and stationery, and vehicles as of July 1 or as close to that date as possible.

Community Events

Friday, June 14: Maternity Fashion Show — “Pregnant Pause,” Robert Treat Hotel, 50 Park Place, Newark, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sponsors: Healthy Families/TANF Initiative for Parents of Essex, a program of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey; The Arc of NJ, Coalition for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities; The Governor’s Council on the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities; Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey; Essex Pregnancy & Parenting Connection; and United Healthcare. For more info: Kadonah Coburn at (973) 268-2280, ext. 145 or KCoburn@partnershipmch.org.

Special Smiles at Special Olympics

More than 100 students, faculty, alumni and staff of New Jersey Dental School and Bergen County College volunteered at the 2013 summer games of the New Jersey Special Olympics held June 8 and 9 at The College of New Jersey. Participants provided dental screenings and oral hygiene instructions and fabricated dental mouthguards for the more than 650 athletes who visited Special Smiles^®.

“Special Olympics Special Smiles^®” is part of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes initiative, created to focus attention on these athletes’ overall health issues. “The mission of Special Smiles is to increase access to dental care for Special Olympics athletes, as well as all people with intellectual disabilities,” explains James Delahanty, DMD, clinical associate professor at NJDS and clinical director of the NJ Special Smiles program. Learn more here.

CINJ Researcher Receives Prestigious Kimmel Award

Darren Carpizo, MD, PhD, a surgical oncologist in the Liver Cancer and Bile Duct Cancer Care Program at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research to further explore the effects of a compound identified in his laboratory found to restore tumor suppressor function of a mutated gene in cancer cells. Carpizo, an assistant professor of surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is one of 15 investigators selected to receive the Kimmel Scholar Award out of more than 160 applicants. Learn more.

UCHC Sites Gain NHSC Approval for Loan Repayment Program

On June 4, Arthur Brewer, MD, statewide medical director for University Correctional Health Care (UCHC), Marci MacKenzie, PhD, clinician administrator, and Kelly Dittmore, MSW intern, obtained approval for 12 state prisons as Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) sites in primary care, dental, and mental health categories on June 4. As a result, UCHC may participate in the NHSC Loan Repayment Program, which is open to licensed primary care, medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health providers who are employed or seeking employment at approved sites. Full-time clinicians working at high-need sites (HPSA score of 14 and above) can receive up to $60,000 for their initial 2-year commitment and may be eligible to apply for additional years of support to repay their student loans. Part-time opportunities are also available. Learn more here or here.

The National Health Service Corp. (NHSC), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, brings health care to those who need it most by connecting providers in the medical, dental and behavioral health professions to areas with limited access to care. The NHSC plays an important role in helping to address the country’s primary care shortage.

Suzanne Atkin, MD, FACEP, FACP

As University Hospital prepares to become an independent hospital, employees share their thoughts on the past and future throughout the month of June.

Suzanne Atkin, MD, FACEP, FACP, can distinctly remember when College Hospital (now University Hospital) opened its new and current hospital structure in 1979. She received her medical degree from New Jersey Medical School the same year.

Chief medical officer at University Hospital and associate dean for clinical affairs at New Jersey Medical School since 2005, Dr. Atkin has worn several hats at the hospital and medical school over the years. This includes becoming associate director of the hospital’s Emergency Department in 1992 and being elected the first female president of the University Hospital Medical staff in 1999.

“I have so many fond memories of the hospital,” says the New Jersey native who completed an internal medicine internship and residency at University Hospital. “The patients, the staff, the residents, the students—they have been such an integral part of my life for more than 30 years. I am very proud to have spent my career here, and can’t imagine being anywhere else then or now. ”

Enthusiastically Promoting Employment in New Brunswick

Rutgers students who work as interpreters in the New Brunswick Community Interpreter Project at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School earned first place in a poster session that kicked off National Student Employment Week. The students won for “most creative poster and showing the most enthusiasm for the important work they do.”

The poster session showcased and introduced other students to employment opportunities available in and around New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Community Interpreter Project works in collaboration with Rutgers to provide bilingual students with an opportunity to serve as medical interpreters at various patient treatment centers throughout New Brunswick, thereby improving access for underserved patients.

Fun in the Sun at Summer Beach Bash

More than 60 pediatric patients of the Chandler Health Center, along with their families, attended a “Summer Beach Bash” event on June 1. It included carnival games, prizes, teddy bear checkups and refreshments. Children received health and safety information. The event was organized by the Community Service Committee of the RWJMS (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School)/Rutgers University/Princeton University MD/PhD Program and RWJMS’s H.I.P.H.O.P. (Homeless and Indigent Population Health Outreach Project), a student-directed community service and learning program providing preventive education and clinical services to underserved populations in New Brunswick and Middlesex County.

Art’s Impact on Health Care

“The Visual Arts and the Poetry of the Human Experience” workshop was held at the Newark Museum on June 5. The guided tour and visual thinking workshop, facilitated by Linda Gates Nettleton, the museum’s senior manager of adult learning and public programs, was part of “Simply Being Human Expressive Arts Workshops for Health Care Students and Providers,” a program administered by Diane Kaufman, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at New Jersey Medical School. A grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to University Hospital’s Creative Arts Healthcare funded the program.

COPSA Videos Help Caregivers of People with Dementia

People with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have a profound need for harmony and often exhibit behavioral issues when they experience internal chaos. To assist caregivers with creating an atmosphere of harmony, the staff at University Behavioral HealthCare’s Comprehensive Services on Aging (COPSA) Institute produced a series of free educational videos, available on the COPSAEducation YouTube channel. “Circle Of Harmony: Managing Behavioral Disturbances in Adult Day Dementia Programs” assists Adult Day Program professionals in preventing behavior problems and maximizing the function of people with dementia. An accompanying workbook is colorful, easy to follow and full of helpful information. It can be downloaded as a PDF from the description box of the “Circle of Harmony” video on the COPSA Education YouTube channel. “Bridges: A Toolkit for Day Program Professionals and Family Caregivers” is a two-part video geared toward educating Day Program professionals and family members on effectively communicating with each other to provide the best care possible for those with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

CINJ One of 50 Sites in U.S. to Offer COMET-2 Clinical Trial

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is one of 50 sites across the nation to offer the COMET-2 clinical trial, examining whether the drug cabozantinib is effective in reducing bone pain in patients with prostate cancer that is no longer responsive to hormone therapy and has spread metastasized to other parts of the body. Researchers will compare results in patients receiving cabozantinib to those in patients who are receiving a standard treatment of mitoxantrone and prednisone for pain. Mark Stein, MD, medical oncologist at CINJ and assistant professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is the lead CINJ researcher on the new study. Learn more.

Protection Against Bloodborne Pathogens for Newark and Scotch Plains Employees

Newark and Scotch Plains campus faculty, staff, housestaff and post-doctoral appointees who have potential exposure to patients and/or blood and body fluids, including human tissues and cell lines, should protect themselves from possible infection.

• If you may be exposed to patients, blood or body fluids or human tissues or cells in clinical settings or in the laboratory, make certain that you are immune to hepatitis B. You can be tested at the Occupational Medicine Service at no cost. If you are susceptible, you should receive hepatitis B vaccination.
• Employees must report to their supervisors all percutaneous and permucosal exposures to blood or body fluids, including needlestick injuries, scalpel and sharp exposures and splashes.
• If you have an incident resulting in a potential exposure to blood or body fluids, an incident report must be filed and you should report immediately for clinical evaluation, counseling and possible medical treatment to the NJMS Occupational Medicine Service (OMS) or the Emergency Department (if the OMS is closed). If possible, the source should be tested for HIV.
• Care for injured workers is a top priority and treatment should be started promptly. Antiretroviral therapy may prevent HIV transmission, immunizations for hepatitis B and tetanus may be indicated and follow-up evaluation for hepatitis C exposure may be needed, all without cost to the employee.

The OMS is located in the Stanley S. Bergen Building, Suite GA-167, and is open weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (TB skin testing is not provided on Thursdays.) Questions? Contact Lawrence Budnick, MD, at 2-2900.

Stratford Research Day Sets Records for Posters, Attendance

Stratford Research Day, held May 2, attracted more than 200 attendees and featured 90+ poster presentations, demonstrating the strong commitment to discovery and innovation on this campus. Awards were presented for best research project poster presentations from both the Summer Medical Research Fellowship Program and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The following students received awards:

SOM Summer Medical Research Fellowship Program
First Place: Eric Goldwaser, 2nd year medical student
Second Place: Adil Manzoor, 2nd year medical student
Third Place: Eric P. Nagele, 2nd year medical student

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS)
First Place: Harini Krishnan, 4th year PhD student
Second Place: Qing Wei, 5th year PhD student
Third Place: Karen Agaronyan, 2nd year PhD student