Another academic year is starting. Friday, the class of 2011 participated in the annual white coat ceremony following a week of orientation. We welcome them enthusiastically and know they will make us proud with their studiousness and successes.

Chancellor Steve Ballard has informed us of his decision to maintain a Division of Health Sciences with its own vice chancellor as the organizational model going forward. In addition, he has authorized the start of a national search for a new dean for the Brody School of Medicine who will report directly to the vice chancellor for health sciences. The dean will also be the senior associate vice chancellor for medical affairs. Very soon, the national search for a permanent dean of the School of Medicine will begin with the help of a search firm and with the anticipation of finding a strong leader for our school. Meanwhile, considerable work is continuing to define and refine the infrastructure necessary for this organizational model to be effective.

In addition to the new class of students and the dean search, other changes here at Brody include Dr. Virginia Hardy being named senior associate dean for academic affairs on a permanent basis. She had served on an interim basis and also served as associate dean for counseling and diversity and as director of the academic support and enrichment center. Dr. Hardy also has been named to the Group on Student Affairs-Minority Affairs Section Coordinating Committee of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Congratulations and good luck to Dr. Hardy on these appointments.

Also, Dr. Nicholas Benson has been named acting medical director of ECU Physicians, and Martha Dartt has taken the role of interim director of nursing practice for ECU Physicians.

(back to top)

Seventy-three medical students make up the class of 2011. As usual, all are North Carolina residents, representing 24 counties from across the state. Thirty-seven are women, 36 are men. They range in age from 20 to 42. Thirteen percent are under-represented minorities. They have undergraduate degrees from 24 different schools, led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (19), ECU (14) and N.C. State University (10). Sixteen of the students have graduate degrees. Their average undergraduate GPA is 3.5, and the average graduate GPA is 3.7. Their average MCAT score is nine.

Congratulations and welcome to these new medical students. We’re glad you’re here and look forward to getting to know you.

(back to top)

Faculty members met Aug. 7 and elected the following people to serve on the committee to find a new dean for the Brody School of Medicine: Dr. Lorrie Basnight, pediatrics; Dr. Robert Carroll, physiology; Dr. Donald Fletcher, anatomy and cell biology; Dr. Suzanne Kraemer, internal medicine; Dr. Robert Lust, physiology; Dr. Kaye McGinty, psychiatric medicine; Dr. Kathleen Previll, pediatrics; Dr. David Taylor, pharmacology and toxicology; Dr. Kenneth DeVille, medical humanities; and Dr. David Musick, physical medicine and rehabilitation. Drs. DeVille and Musick tied, and Chancellor Steve Ballard and I, in my role as interim vice chancellor for health sciences, will resolve the tie and select the remaining members of the 15-person committee soon. The university will also retain a search firm to assist in this national search for a new dean of medicine.

(back to top)

As most of you know, our medical faculty practice plan ended the fiscal year with $800,000 in excess revenue. That’s a huge turnaround from the $18 million deficit that was projected. Thanks to all faculty, staff and administrators here and across the university who helped make this positive result possible. We still have a long journey ahead of us to get the practice plan on consistently solid financial ground, but we’re making progress. Thanks again.

(back to top)

The Brody School of Medicine is opening its doors to the public for six evenings this fall as it hosts the latest rendition of its mini-med school.

Part of the university’s centennial celebration, mini-med school gives the public an opportunity to learn about health issues affecting eastern North Carolina, state-of-the-art tools and techniques to save lives and improve health status, and the science behind medicine. The sessions, scheduled for each Monday from Sept. 10 to Oct. 15, are led by ECU faculty members. Participation is free.

Among the goals are for participants to learn a skill at each session and become “ambassadors” for health care and the medical school. Evenings begin with light refreshments at 6 p.m. followed by educational sessions from 6:30-9 p.m.

Mini-med school is for adults 18 years or older who have a desire to learn more about medicine and the body. Class size is limited to 90 participants. Registration is available online at www.ecu.edu/minimedschool or by calling 744-3078.

Thanks to Drs. Kathryn Kolasa and Virginia Hardy, leading organizers of mini-med school, and to all faculty and staff who are helping present it.

(back to top)

After careful review, we’ve decided to move ahead with increasing the class size at the Brody School of Medicine. Following extensive discussions and data review, the task force that studied the issue suggests we increase the class size by no more than eight students unless or until we obtain more funds and resources.

Task force members say the school can accommodate this increase with some additional resources. However, the consensus of task force members is that we need to protect the ambience of the school and make sure we maintain the student-teacher relationship.

This fall, we added one student, for a total of 73. Next fall, we will increase our class to 76. Staggering the increase prevents a site review by the LCME. We’ll assess the effects of this initial class size increase to determine the time of the next increase.

With a class expansion, we must maintain a quality applicant pool. Another concern involves the time required to mentor students in academic difficulty, since this task can be substantial and would likely increase in proportion to the number of new learners admitted to the program. Also, more time for education and remediation means less time for other activities, including research and small-group learning sessions.

As we add students, we will continue to seek those who are likely to fulfill the Brody mission to provide more physicians to the state.

(back to top)

For many years, all institutions in the University of North Carolina system have asked applicants to disclose any history of criminal activity. After careful review and discussion, the Brody School of Medicine has begun obtaining criminal background checks on matriculating students. This move is in keeping with state and national practices as well as recommendations by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The objectives of performing background checks include better patient health and safety, improved student access to clinical facilities that require such safeguards, increased public trust in the medical profession and assured eligibility for licensure.

Background checks are conducted by a vendor chosen by the UNC system, but they likely will be incorporated into the American Medical College Application Service within the next few years. The students entering Brody this fall were the first to undergo background checks. The AAMC, which administers AMCAS, will begin providing student background checks entering in the fall 2008 at 10 selected medical schools. According to the AAMC, approximately 25 percent of medical schools conduct some form of criminal background check.

(back to top)

Nearly a year has passed since the medical school issued a strategic plan to carry it through 2010. We’re making progress on some of the items the plan urged action on. For example, we’ve greatly improved the financial standing of the practice plan, we’re beginning to increase our class size and external research funding is at a record level. ECU Physicians also has a new Web site and is getting more attention from the university marketing office. In addition, Dr. George Kasperek is leading our efforts to establish a master’s program in biomedical science. Priorities this fall will be reviewing and updating the strategies and tactics for education, research and clinical areas.

(back to top)

Research into the causes and potential cures for diabetes received a boost in the form of a $1 million grant to the Metabolic Institute at East Carolina University. The grant was among several the Golden LEAF Foundation announced in June. Established in 2004, the Metabolic Institute includes physicians and scientists who are pioneers in gastric-bypass surgery to reduce obesity. The group was the first to report that exclusion of part of the intestine produces full remission of type 2 diabetes.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has awarded Dr. Mark Mannie, a professor of microbiology and immunology, a three-year, $414,548 grant for research related to multiple sclerosis.

Also, the Division of Research and Graduate Studies announced the following grant recipients at the end of June: Drs. Dawd Siraj, Darla Liles and Mariavittoria Pitzalis of the Department of Internal Medicine; Dr. Howard Homesley of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Drs. Charlie Sang, Elaine Cabinum-Foeller, Suzanne Lazorick, Charles Daeschner and James Cummings of the Department of Pediatrics; Dr. Joseph Chalovich of the Department of Biochemistry; Dr. Brian McMillen of the Department of Pharmacology; and Dr. Lynis Dohm of the Department of Physiology.

Researchers weren’t the only ones receiving grants recently. Brody, along with Pitt County Memorial Hospital, received $3 million from The Duke Endowment to implement the new HealthSpan electronic medical record system.

(back to top)

By more than a two-to-one margin, faculty members voted this summer to create a new Department of Cardiovascular Sciences. The next step in the process is for the Faculty Senate to vote on the measure. That group’s next meeting is Sept. 11, but we’re not sure if the new department will be on the agenda.

(back to top)

Several new construction and renovation projects are occurring on or near the health sciences campus. Here are updates on some of them:

Brody Medical Sciences Building: Projects to renovate the auditorium and the former Laupus Library space are at various stages. Renovations to the 2-West dining rooms and the 2E-100 lecture hall are awaiting funds.

Family Medicine Center: This new facility, including a new geriatric center, is to be built near the corner of Heart and Arlington boulevards. The FMC will consist of exam modules, offices, patient service areas and support space. The project should be bid out for construction next May. Construction is estimated to begin next July and be completed by September 2009.

Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center: Advertisements for a designer for renovations on the first and second floors of the cancer center will go out soon.

Moye Medical Center: General internal medicine is scheduled to occupy the second floor of this leased building Oct. 1. An endoscopy center planned for the third floor, a joint project with PCMH, is awaiting certificate of need approval from the state.

(back to top)

The medical school’s fundraising arm has a new name to better reflect its broad mission: the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation.

One of the foundation’s leading initiatives is the Brody Scholarship Award. The newest Brody Scholars are Brandi Gilchrist, Jennifer King, Brandon Yarns and Ying Zhang, all first-year medical students. Congratulations to these students.

(back to top)

As you know, our organizational culture assessment team recently released its report based on interviews with 25 focus groups comprising 175 medical school faculty and staff members, administrators, fellows and students. Among the areas group members cited as needing improvement was communication. I hope these issues of “Today at BSOM” are helping people feel more informed about what’s going on at our medical school. Feel free to mention to me, Dr. Nicholas Benson or Dr. Virginia Hardy items you think should be included in this publication.

Along the same lines, focus group participants expressed concern about our news not reaching the broader university, local and regional community. Our link to those audiences, through articles in Pieces of Eight, news releases and other methods, is the health sciences branch of the ECU News Bureau. News releases, contact information and more details about the health sciences news operation are online at http://www.ecu.edu/dhs/news.

Thanks go out to Drs. Chuck Willson and Harry Adams for their enthusiastic leadership of the assessment team as well as to the group members themselves. In future issues of “Today at BSOM,” I’ll be looking at other areas of concern focus groups raised, so stay tuned.

(back to top)

Two student achievements are worth noting: Mandrill Taylor has completed the Universal Health Care Scholars Program of the American Medical Student Association, and an essay by Kyle Geissler netted her the Tomorrow’s Leader Award to attend the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students Aug. 1-4 in Kansas City, Mo. Congratulations to these students on their accomplishments.

Dr. Edward Newton, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been recognized by the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology as one of its top 100 reviewers for the past academic year. The journal has nearly 2,000 reviewers. Congratulations to Dr. Newton on this honor.

Dr. Joseph Zanga, Jefferson-Pilot Distinguished Professor in Primary Care and assistant dean for generalist programs, received “The Spirit of the Corps Ambassador Award” at the recent meeting of the National Health Service Corps. He was one of four award recipients from among hundreds of NHSC ambassadors. He also was a speaker at the meeting. Congratulations to Dr. Zanga.

(back to top)