AHC News Releases

Below are recent news releases from the Academic Health Center. Contact the Media Team
 

Center for Bioethics to Offer Master's Programs
(Jan. 6, 2009) — The University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics has created a new interdisciplinary master’s degree program and is now accepting applications for its first class, enrolling fall 2009. 

University of Minnesota Schools of Nursing and Public Health Awarded $300,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to Study Link Between Nursing and Patient Care
(Jan. 5, 2009 ) — With the support of a $300,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, School Public Health, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at Minneapolis and Palo Alto, Calif., are teaming up to study better ways to care for heart failure patients.

Retired U of M Medical School Professor & Founder of Prostate Cancer Grading System Dies
(Dec. 31, 2008) – Donald F. Gleason, M.D., Ph.D., died of heart failure Sunday, Dec. 28 in Edina, Minn. He was88. Gleason, who retired from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1986, was a central figure in developing the widely used system for rating prostate cancer tumors, known as the Gleason grading system. 

U of M Academic Health Center Receives $3.4 Million Grant Renewal for Minnesota Area Health Education Center
(December 17, 2008) - The University of Minnesota Academic Health Center was awarded nearly $3.4 million in federal funding to expand the Minnesota Area Health Education Center (MN AHEC) from four to six regions to better address primary care workforce shortages.

U of M Cancer Researchers Discover Link Between Infant Leukemia and Form of Brain Cancer
(Dec. 15, 2008) – Researchers at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota have discovered that a gene involved in the often fatal infant leukemia is also associated with an aggressive form of brain cancer, called glioblastoma. This discovery provides evidence that cancers may be interlinked.

Former Medical School Dean N.L. "Neal" Gault Dies
(Dec. 12, 2008) – N. L. (Neal) Gault Jr., M.D., beloved former dean and alumnus of the Medical School, died yesterday of pancreatic cancer at his St. Paul home. He was 88.

National Academies Report Calls for Reforms in Health Care Services for Adolescents
(Dec. 11, 2008) –– University of Minnesota School of Nursing faculty participated in an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report released this week, calling for reform in delivery of health services to adolescents and expansion of training for health providers who work with adolescents. 

U of M's Masonic Cancer Center Scientist Receives $2.6 Million Grant for Prostate Cancer Research
(Dec. 9, 2008) – James McCarthy, Ph.D., a scientist and professor with the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, has been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

U of M Cancer Researchers Find Older Patients Fare as Well as Younger Patients After Bone Marrow Transplantation
(Dec. 8, 2008) – Age alone should not determine whether a patient receives a blood and marrow stem cell transplantation for treatment of acute leukemia and diseases that can lead to the blood cancer, according to a large-scale study from the University of Minnesota’s Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center.

U of M's Cancer Researcher Investigates Mysterious Tumor Disorder in Children
(Dec. 4, 2008) -- David Largaespada, Ph.D., scientist and professor with the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, has been awarded a nearly $800,000 grant as part of a collaboration with researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, to study NF1 syndrome, a genetic disorder that, among other problems, causes benign tumors to grow in the nerves.

U of M Researchers Lead Collaboration to Combat Type 2 Diabetes with Gastric Bypass Surgery
(Dec. 2, 2008) – Researchers at the University of Minnesota have teamed up with researchers at Columbia University and National Taiwan University for a clinical trial examining the effectiveness of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RNY) as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

U of M Professor and Associate Dean Named Interim Executive Director of the Public Health Accreditation Board
(Nov. 25, 2008) — William J. Riley, Ph.D., University of Minnesota School of Public Health professor and associate dean, has been named interim executive director of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).

U of M Research Finds Stressful Life Events May Lead to Disordered-Eating Behaviors in Teens
(Nov. 24, 2008) – Young adults and older adolescents facing stressful life events are far more likely to engage in disordered-eating behaviors, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

U of M Researchers Report U.S. Electrical Supply is Highly Vulnerable in Next Pandemic
(Nov. 20, 2008) — Reliable mining and delivery of coal, which generates nearly half the nation’s electricity, must be safeguarded to keep water and sewerage systems running, lights on, and vaccine and critical drugs available during an inevitable pandemic, according to a new University of Minnesota report.

U of M Pulmonary Physician Awarded Clinical Care Excellence Award
(Nov. 14, 2008) — University of Minnesota Medical School Associate Professor Jordan Dunitz, M.D., was awarded the 2008 Medical Staff Recognition Award for Excellence in Clinical Care.

Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership Names Leslie L. Studenski Study Coordinator
(November 13, 2008) – Leslie L. Studenski has joined the Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership as study coordinator, a position that will coordinate the hiring and oversight of staff on Minnesota’s Iron Range to assist with the state-funded research project being led by the University of Minnesota.

Four U of M School of Nursing Faculty Inducted as Fellows into the American Academy of Nursing
(Nov. 13, 2008) - Four University of Minnesota School of Nursing faculty members, Melissa Avery, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.M., F.A.C.N.M., Margaret Moss, Ph.D., J.D., R.N., Carol O’Boyle, Ph.D., R.N. and Cheryl Robertson, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N. were formally inducted as fellows into the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) on November 8.

Dual Treatment for Stroke Leads to Improved Recovery Rates, Reduced Mortality
(Nov. 12, 2008) – It appears that stroke patients who receive both intravenous thrombolysis – a minimally invasive treatment that dissolves abnormal blood clots – and endovascular interventions – such as drugs and implanting medical devices – are much more likely to recover and have lower chances of dying, according to new research by the Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Minnesota Partnership Recruits Two Top Researchers
(Nov. 11, 2008) — Two more nationally regarded researchers have been recruited to support critical biomedical research in Minnesota, thanks to the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics. The two faculty investigators have assumed their new positions at Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota.

U of M Professor Appointed to World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Pandemics
(Nov. 11, 2008) – Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, has been appointed to the Pandemics Global Agenda Council, an initiative of the World Economic Forum.

University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality & Healing Hosts the 2008 Positive Aging Conference on November 12th
With the goal of advancing a national conversation around positive aging, this day-long conference will share important tools and resources to explore purpose, meaning, and vitality in the second half of life. Broadcast World-renowned experts and best-selling authors will address the importance of purpose and meaning in later life as well as lessons for health and longevity learned from regions around the world.

U of M Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Blood and Marrow Transplant
University of Minnesota Blood and Marrow Transplant Program 40th Anniversary Celebration and Reunion: Honoring Our Patients and Our Journey