Georgia Medicine, Fall 2009

Georgia MEDICAL COLLEGE OF

EDICINE M SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Strategic Moves ‘Good’ to ‘great’ is the name of the game for the School of Medicine

VO L . 2 N O. 2

FALL 2009

Georgia MEDICAL COLLEGE OF

FALL 2009

VOL. 2

NO. 2

m c g. e d u / s o m / g e o rg i a m e d i c i n e Medical College of Georgia Medicine is produced bi-annually by the MCG Division of Strategic Support with financial support by the School of Medicine.

Interim MCG President James N. Thompson, M.D. School of Medicine Dean D. Douglas Miller, M.D., C.M. Vice President for Strategic Support Deb Barshafsky

MEDICINE

A Publication of the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine

on the COVER

Strategic Moves Take a closer look at the path the School of Medicine is following to excellence

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Director of University Communications Jack Evans Editor Damon Cline Art Direction/Layout P.J. Hayes Design Photographer Phil Jones

DEPARTMENTS

Writers Toni Baker Damon Cline Christine Deriso Jennifer Hilliard

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Š2009 The Medical College of Georgia is the heath sciences university for the University System of Georgia.

Medical College of Georgia Medicine welcomes submissions to the Viewpoints column.

Typed essays (approximately 750 words) on health care issues should be submitted to: Damon Cline, Editor Medical College of Georgia, FI-1044 Augusta, GA 30912 dcline@mcg.edu 706-721-4706 phone 800-328-6057 fax

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Dr. Bernard Maria

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News at a Glance Looking Back Student Spotlight Faculty Focus

Viewpoints Drs. Linda Boyd, Ruth-Marie Fincher, Lee Merchen, Ana Murphy and Jennifer Pollock

From the Dean

D. Douglas Miller, M.D., C.M.

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The Ultimate Teacher Body donors make the ultimate gift to medicine

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Last Respects Students remember and honor donors before cremation

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Eminently Qualified Learn more about the School’s GRA Eminent Scholars

The Medicos A brief history of the little-known MCG football team

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The Ellisons

Pillars

Dr. Wiley S. Black

Generations of Giving Class Notes

The Next Level

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uring a recent MCG Presidential Search Committee forum, a faculty member challenged committee members to find a person who can take MCG to the “next level” of accomplishment and national reputation.

This goal—taking MCG from “good to great”—has been an ongoing pursuit in the School of Medicine, one you will read about extensively in this edition of Georgia Medicine. The articles reflect our school’s challenges and how we are responding to them. Most of nation’s other 130 public and private medical schools face similar challenges, though two-thirds have a larger faculty and 85 percent teach fewer medical students. The “great” solutions we are crafting are uniquely ours, because of two important factors.

Our first competitive advantage is that our faculty and students embody our organizational advancement. It is their curiosity that leads us to innovate. It is their collective clinical acumen that, when harnessed, cares for our patients. It is their diversity that connects us to thousands of life experiences that enrich our daily professional interactions across the state and around the world. Our people, not our management, reflects our “greatness.”

Our second competitive edge cuts both ways. As the state’s only public health sciences university, we must live up to the maxim, “For of those to whom much is given, much is required.” The welcome state funding we receive requires that we first and foremost serve the needs of the state—we are public servants. We welcome this role while acknowledging that the energy and attention it requires can subtly divert MCG from extramural pursuits that power even “greater” medical schools.

So, “good to great” is largely a semantic transition. Our next institutional leaders may aspire to influence complex societal issues such as health care reform, the national biomedical research agenda or the trajectory of the health professions workforce. That’s fine! But they should be reminded that it is our people—those who provide care at the bedside, perform ethical research in the laboratory and transfer knowledge in the classroom—who convert much of what we are given into much of what is required. They deliver daily! This is a measure of “greatness” we can all be proud of. n

News at a Glance

COURTESY JAMES N. THOMPSON

Dr. Thompson named interim MCG president

Athens staff moves into interim facility The MCG School of Medicine’s Athens staff has moved into the Medical College of Georgia/University of Georgia Medical Partnership’s interim building, a recently renovated 37,000-square-foot structure originally built in 1857 as the Athens Cotton and Wool Factory.

Dr. James N. Thompson, Dean Emeritus of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and former chief Dr. James N. Thompson executive officer of the Federation of State Medical Boards, was appointed interim president of the Medical College of Georgia in September. He joined the MCG staff on Oct. 5.

The building, one block from the main UGA campus at 279 Williams St., will house the MCG/UGA staff until a permanent medical partnership campus is established at the 58-acre Navy Supply Corps School site in 2012.

The four-story brick building been renovated to include small-group classrooms, lecture halls, a medical library, student lounge, gross anatomy lab and faculty office space. Extensive landscaping has created a terraced green space with shade trees at the entrance and a deck at the rear of the building that overlooks the North Oconee River.

Campus Dean Barbara Schuster and her staff moved into their new offices in August, and the first students are expected to enroll in August 2010.

University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. said Dr. Thompson will serve until a permanent president is found to succeed Dr. Daniel W. Rahn, who has accepted the position of chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

“This building will provide an exceptional learning environment for our students,” Dr. Schuster said. “The small-group classrooms in particular will facilitate interaction between students and faculty.”

The UGA Real Estate Foundation purchased the building in 2008. It previously housed a mill, a nightclub, a fitness center and, most recently, a call center.

“The building affords a uniquely high-tech yet intimate setting for medical education complete with historical roots and an eco-friendly future,” said MCG School of Medicine Dean Doug Miller. “It’s a great first home for the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership students.”

A search committee has been formed and a national search consultant has been hired to assist in the process.

Dr. Thompson led the FSMB, which represents state medical licensing and regulatory boards, from 2002-08. Prior to that, he was on the faculty of Wake Forest University, serving as both vice president and School of Medicine dean.

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COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA / ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

“Dr. Thompson’s career encompasses both work at a medical school and on a national level overseeing medical licensing and regulatory boards,” Chancellor Davis said. “He has an excellent understanding of and extensive experience with the rigors and skills of leading a medical research university.” l

By 2014, the School of Medicine hopes to have 900 students in Augusta, 240 in Athens and 30 each at its clinical campuses in Albany and Savannah. l

Dr. Steyer named clinical sciences chair for MCG/UGA campus Dr. Terrence E. Steyer, associate professor of family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina and a national leader in medical education, has been named founding chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership in Athens.

“I look forward to working with the medical community, both in northeast Georgia and Augusta, and to developing collaborative relationships that will allow us to educate the next generation of physicians for the state,” he said.

Dr. Terrence E. Steyer

Dr. Steyer is president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and chair of the society’s Leadership Development Special Workgroup. He served on the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care and Dentistry and the Advisory Committee to the Promoting, Reinforcing and Improving Medical Education Project.

At MUSC, he was founding director of the transitional-year residency, a joint program with Charleston’s Trident Medical Center, and director of continuing medical education for the Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Steyer, a 1994 graduate of Case Western University School of Medicine, completed advanced training at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the University of Michigan School of Medicine. l

Dr. Richardson named associate Athens dean Dr. Scott Richardson, an internist and nationally recognized expert in evidence-based medicine, has been named campus associate dean for curriculum for the MCG/ UGA Medical Partnership in Athens.

He was previously at Wright State University in Dayton Ohio, where he was a professor of medicine and director of the medical school’s internal medicine clerkship and Principles of Evidence Based Clinical Decision Making course. His research focuses on integrating research evidence to improve clinical practice, identifying clinicians’ medical knowledge needs, medical education and continuing professional development.

Dr. Scott Richardson

“Dr. Richardson’s working knowledge of evidence-based practice and medical school curriculum will be invaluable as we work through this important time of transition,” said Dr. Barbara Schuster, campus dean.

Dr. Richardson co-authored Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM, a book widely used by academic physicians nationwide. He is a member of the EvidenceBased Medicine Working Group and the Society of General Internal Medicine. He is associate editor of the American College of Physicians Journal Club and has served as deputy editor of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

“I see the Athens and Augusta campuses as two seeds from the same tree – they share the same heritage even if they grow differently,” Dr. Richardson said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of figuring out how to take Augusta’s successes in medical education and adapt them for Athens.”

For example, he said, smaller class sizes could lead to more small-group learning and fewer traditional lectures. l

MCG/UGA Medical Partnership campus interim building

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Clinical campuses continue to grow The MCG School of Medicine’s clinical campuses in Savannah and Albany continue to grow, filling key Dr. William A. Guest administrative positions and progressing toward their 10-year goal of providing clinical rotations for 60 students. The campuses not only

expand clinical training opportunities for third- and fourth-year students, but address workforce shortages by increasing the likelihood that graduates will practice in the areas after their training.

At the Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus, headquartered at Albany’s Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Dr. William A. Guest has been named assistant dean of curriculum. Dr. Guest, a pulmonologist and internist, will

continue his role as chief medical officer of the intensive care unit at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Ga..

Dr. Guest will work with Dr. Iqbal Khan, assistant dean and campus director, to secure accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to transform the campus into a residential clinical campus, enabling its students to complete all third-year and most fourthyear clinical training onsite.

He also will work to expand the number of students who rotate at the campus and the number of preceptors who train students.

“Right now, 26 percent of Georgians live in a rural area, but only 11 percent of the doctors are there. That’s a huge problem,” Dr. Guest said. “It’s important that students want to rotate at the Southwest campus, and I’m hopeful once they experience the great learning opportunities here, they’ll want to return to practice.”

PHIL JONES

St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System–Savannah

The school’s Southeast Georgia Clinical Campus, based at St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah, is recruiting an assistant dean of curriculum to oversee its rapidly expanding rotations, said Dr. Kathryn Martin, assistant dean and campus director.

Support of the local medical community, represented by many MCG alumni, has enabled the campus to lock in six of its seven core third-year rotations and all three fourth-year electives.

“Things are coming along swimmingly,” Dr. Martin said. “We’ve had a number of our MCG alums step up and become champions for us.” l

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital–Albany

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Dr. Young elected to AAMC regional group Dr. Geoffrey H. Young, associate dean for admissions for the MCG School of Medicine, has been elected an at-large Dr. Geoffrey H. Young member of the Southern Group on Student Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The Southern Group is one of four regional groups in the country that facilitate communication between the AAMC and medical school faculty who work in student affairs. Dr. Young will serve a two-year term as an officer of the Southern Group and a member of its Steering Committee.

The group’s areas of focus include admissions, financial aid, minority affairs and student records. Dr. Young has served on the AAMC’s Medical Student Performance Evaluation Advisory Committee and Careers in Medicine Advisory Committee and was the Northeast representative to its Committee on Student Affairs while on the faculty of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

MCG to run clinical services at state hospital MCG has taken charge of clinical services at East Central Georgia Regional Hospital under a new agreement with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

The partnership brings to the hospital additional staff and the benefit of academiccaliber forensic and mental health services. East Central, one of seven state facilities that serve persons with developmental disabilities, had been considered a candidate for closure or privatization. With the new partnership in place, the hospital will instead be a centerpiece of the state’s efforts to improve the quality of care in its facilities statewide.

“Our partnership with MCG will provide stability to our clinical workforce and a new level of accountability, quality and consistency,” said Dr. Frank Shelp, the department’s commissioner.

Nan Lewis has been named the new hospital administrator. She brings experience as a CEO of psychiatric hospitals and has a reputation for turning around struggling institutions. Dr. Don Manning, MCG director of public psychiatry, will oversee treatment at East Central as medical director.

Additional academic psychiatrists, forensic psychiatrists and psychologists will be brought to the hospital by MCG. The agreement will also allow psychiatric residents, nurses and students to practice and learn at East Central.

“We are delighted that Dr. Shelp, who has prior experience with successful stateuniversity collaborations, has asked us to assist,” said Dr. Peter Buckley, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior and associate dean for leadership development in the MCG School of Medicine. “With his support, we will leverage the resources of MCG toward ‘turning around’ East Central Georgia Regional Hospital.”

The initial agreement between MCG and DBHDD is expected to last three to five years, with monthly progress reports and annual reviews to determine whether it will continue. Ninety-percent of the agreement’s first year cost of approximately $2 million will be covered by redirecting existing hospital resources. l

Dr. Young, a clinical psychologist, came to MCG in 2007 from Virginia Commonwealth University where he was associate dean for student affairs of the Medical College of Virginia campus. Other previous appointments include assistant dean for student affairs and assistant dean for multicultural and student affairs at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. l

Dr. Peter Buckley (from left) and state Representative Quincy Murphy look on as Dr. Frank Shelp makes the announcement at a local news conference.

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Dr. Ellison receives USG alumni award

Scientist ranks MCG among ‘best places’ to work

Dr. Lois Ellison, a clinician, researcher, educator and administrator who has a 65plus-year affiliation with the Medical College of Georgia, has been recognized as an outstanding alumna of the University System Dr. Lois Ellison of Georgia. The award was presented at this year’s Board of Regents’ Awards for Excellence in Education Celebration in Atlanta.

The Medical College of Georgia has been ranked in the top 15 of The Scientist’s 2009 Best Places to Work in Academia survey, which appears in the magazine’s November issue.

During her career at MCG, Dr. Ellison directed the cardiopulmonary laboratory, served as associate dean for curriculum in the School of Medicine and served as provost, second in line to then-President William Moretz and the highest-ranking female in U.S. medical schools.

Her honors include an MCG School of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award, an MCG School of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award and the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation Stewardship.

She and her late husband, Dr. Robert G. Ellison, were awarded the Vessel of Life Award, MCG’s highest honor, in 2005. Dr. Ellison was included in the 2003 National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine exhibition, “Changing the Face of Medicine – Celebrating America’s Women Physicians.”

She enrolled in the MCG School of Medicine in 1943, one of four women in a class of 78. After completing a cardiopulmonary physiology fellowship, she joined the MCG faculty in 1951. She published 73 journal articles and made numerous presentations on preoperative and postoperative studies, open-heart surgery, alveolar surfactant and cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology.

Dr. Ellison retired as Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus in 2000, but remains MCG’s medical historian in residence. l

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The seventh annual survey was based on responses from tenured and tenure-track scientists working in U.S. research universities.

Respondents were asked to assess their working environment according to 41 criteria in eight categories, such as peer support, infrastructure, pay and mentoring opportunities.

MCG generated a record $83.7 million in total research awards during fiscal year 2009, a 14 percent increase from 2008.

The bulk of those awards, $76.2 million, went to School of Medicine-affiliated researchers.

Medical education building under way An architectural firm has been selected to design the 187,000square-foot building that will house MCG School of Medicine classrooms and administration.

Atlanta-based HOK Group Inc. earlier this year was awarded the contract to design the $105 million Commons building, a three- to four-story facility to be constructed next to the 220,000-square-foot School of Dentistry building at the former Gilbert Manor property.

A walkway will connect the two buildings, which have been authorized by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.

The commons building will feature high-tech classrooms, group study rooms, a food court and academic support space to be shared with the School of Dentistry.

HOK has built similar buildings nationwide, most recently at Florida State University College of Medicine. “They bring a wealth of knowledge to this process,” said Michael A. Herbert, School of Medicine executive associate dean for administration.

The project cost includes a 21,000-square-foot renovation of the Sanders Research and Education Building’s anatomy labs, enabling the school to accommodate the anticipated class size of 240 students in Augusta by 2020.

The building will also offer continuing medical education and feature distance-learning technology to link it with MCG’s satellite campuses. “This will be a lifelong learning resource for the entire state,” Mr. Herbert said. l

Strategic Moves

School of Medicine advances mission through partnerships, integration

BY DAMON CLINE

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Its students exceed the national average for pass rates on medical license exams. Its scientists rank second among peer institutions in per-capita research funding. Physicians in its faculty medical practice (Georgia’s second largest) routinely make the nation’s “top doctors” lists.

By these measures and most others, the Medical College of Georgia’s School of Medicine is a very good medical school.

The transformation to a great medical school has been the mission of Dr. D. Douglas Miller since he took over as school dean in July 2006. continued

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his “good-to-great” mission is not only a nod to the best-selling book by author and researcher Jim Collins, it is also rooted in one of the author’s key tenets: Greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.

To that end, Dr. Miller and several key administrators have spent most of the past two years implementing changes to strengthen the school’s alignment with state partners and national policy-making organizations, including the University System of Georgia and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

That functional integration is the foundation of the School of Medicine’s multi-year strategic plan to enhance organizational capability across all school missions—education, research and clinical care. It is also a departure from how MCG and some other academic health centers have historically operated; as clusters of loosely coupled, semi-autonomous units.

Dr. Miller says medical schools must become more integrated with the other elements of an academic health center to successfully carry out their complex missions amid escalating financial pressures.

“We can’t do business as usual anymore,” he said. “Improving organizational capacity through effective partnering and functional integration is paramount to success—or greatness.”

HUM A N C APITAL “In my experience, even the perception that colleagues are leaving is unsettling to faculty. If viewed as indicating an underlying instability, it also may harm morale and eventually damage an institution’s cultural fabric.”

–DR. DARRELL G. KIRCH President and CEO, Association of American Medical Colleges; Former Dean, MCG School of Medicine

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eople, not policy, facilities or funding, are the heart of the school’s ambitious initiatives, and for good reason.

Medical school faculty are increasingly pressured to balance their clinical and academic roles, and some are deciding to drop out of teaching. An analysis of 15 years of data by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed that while only 8 percent of faculty switch institutions in any given year, 40 percent quit full-time academic medicine entirely.

Such faculty turnover carries not only a high price tag – in excess of $3 million a year at an individual medical school by some studies—but can damage an institution’s culture. Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, president and CEO of the AAMC and former MCG School of Medicine dean, spotlighted the topic in a recent “The State of the Faculty” address.

“In my experience, even the perception that colleagues are leaving is unsettling to faculty,” he wrote. “If viewed as indicating an underlying instability, it also may harm morale and eventually damage an institution’s cultural fabric.”

MCG’s School of Medicine is among 23 of 130 U.S. medical schools participating in the AAMC’s faculty job satisfaction initiative, Faculty Forward: Alliance for Advancing the Academic Medicine Workplace. The peer-reviewed survey instrument and diagnostic benchmarking tool was given to faculty in early 2009. The results will provide an action plan to

improve the work life of faculty. Dr. Michael Madaio, chair of the Department of Medicine, and Dr. Ana Murphy, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, are leading this initiative, which is expected to help the medical school attract and retain top faculty.

Dr. Peter Buckley, associate dean for leadership development and chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Health Behavior, oversees faculty retention and development in the School of Medicine. He has been charged with creating and implementing best practices to attract and keep national-caliber faculty.

“What makes a great institution are great people,” Dr. Buckley said. “Excellent recruitment and retention enables the school to carry out the tenets outlined in its strategic plan.”

He and other top school administrators have modeled their program on the Mayo Clinic’s renowned leadership program to identify faculty worthy of development, investment and future responsibilities.

Dr. Buckley, as a member of the AAMC Leadership Search and Selection National Advisory Committee, has brought national attention to the school’s Core Operations Administrative Team for Searches, a search and selection committee known as COATS. He presented the initiative to more than 100 medical school deans at the AAMC Council of Deans national meeting in April 2009.

“Our school is building a national reputation as a great place to be,” Dr. Buckley said.

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As an example, he cited the major search for the school’s newly created position of associate dean of diversity affairs, led by Associate Dean for Admission Geoffrey Young. So far, “there has been fantastic response,” Dr. Buckley said, adding that more than 75 candidates nationwide have applied for the post, which will lead the school’s comprehensive outreach program to students under-represented in medicine.

Those who have risen to departmental leadership positions within the school during the past three years advance the school’s vision under the guidance of The Dean’s Chair Charter compact, a formal accountability agreement establishing performance targets ranging from clinical productivity and patient satisfaction to classroom evaluations and sponsored research funding.

Dr. Miller is also cultivating leadership through strategic retreats. He has brought in several national thought-leaders to broaden faculty perspectives on numerous topics. A lecture series on leadership in the works for 2010 will feature guest speakers from across the state and nation.

“Supporting our faculty and their career development is key to the continued success of the School of Medicine,” Dr. Miller said.

Additionally, all school departments and programs now undergo a five-year peer review by outside scientists and physicians.

“We can’t gauge our success without measuring our results,” Dr. Miller said.

DING EDUC ATION

xpanding medical education has been a School of Medicine priority since a 2005 national Council on Graduate Medical Education study predicted a shortage of 125,000 physicians by 2020. While medical schools nationwide do their part to address the looming shortage, the challenge is particularly daunting in Georgia, a fast-growing state whose physician-per-capita rate is in the lowest quintile.

Two years ago the University System of Georgia called on MCG, as the state’s health sciences university, to assume the leadership role of expanding medical education in Georgia.

Shortly afterward, the AAMC selected the MCG School of Medicine and eight others from a pool of 126 U.S. medical schools to participate in its Fifth Millennium Conference on the Clinical Education of Medical Students at Harvard University.

A national health care consultancy recommended last year to the state Board of Regents that MCG expand medical

education and research in Augusta, continue developing regional campuses in Albany and Savannah, and partner with the University of Georgia to develop a four-year campus in Athens. The result of the latter initiative is the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership, the nation’s single-largest largest medical school expansion project.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for the country’s medical schools, has determined that the Athens campus is on track to enroll its first 40 students in August 2010, boosting overall School of Medicine enrollment to 230.

MCG/UGA Campus Dean Barbara Schuster said administrators, faculty and administrative staff from both universities have devoted “countless hours” to develop the educational and administrative infrastructure in preparation for students on the Athens campus.

“Working collaboratively in a short time frame, the achievements of the partnership are reflected in the continued

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enthusiasm of newly recruited staff and a beautifully renovated, technologically state-of-the-art building,” Dr. Schuster said, referring to the partnership’s interim facility, a historic 37,000-square-foot historic structure on the banks of the North Oconee River.

The four-story brick building has been renovated to include small-group classrooms, lecture halls, a medical library, student lounge, gross anatomy lab and faculty office space. The Athens operations are scheduled for relocation in 2012 to the soon-to-be-decommissioned U.S. Naval Supply School, a 58-acre site north of the UGA campus.

Meanwhile, MCG’s Southwest region clinical campus, headquartered at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, and its Southeast clinical campus based at St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah continue to grow while providing much-needed services to the state’s rural areas.

The Southwest clinical campus expects to host its first residential students in July 2010. Students assigned to the Southwest campus will live in Albany and do most of their third- and fourth-year rotations at that campus.

“It is really important that students have an opportunity to work in places that are traditionally underserved by doctors,” said Dr. Linda Boyd, the School of Medicine associate dean for regional medical campus coordination. “It gives them a chance to see high-quality medical care delivered in rural areas, receive one-on-one teaching from experienced physicians, and get to know the community of practice that you cannot experience in an academic health center.”

Work is under way at the Augusta campus to develop much-needed facilities to accommodate the School of Medicine’s plan to increase enrollment 60 percent by 2020. The expansion plan’s centerpiece is the Commons—a 186,000-square-foot educational facility that represents the single-largest capital initiative in school history. Design work on

Medical students William Thomas and Jessica Millsap at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital on MCG’s Southwest regional campus in Albany.

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the $105 million project has already begun with a generous contribution of land by the city of Augusta and planning funds by the state of Georgia.

“The expansion of our home campus will ensure that we continue to be the medical education institution of choice for Georgia’s best and brightest students,” Dr. Miller said.

“It is really important that students have an opportunity to work in places that are traditionally underserved by doctors. It gives them a chance to see high-quality medical care delivered in rural areas, receive one-on-one teaching from experienced physicians, and get to know the community of practice that you cannot experience in an academic health center.”

–DR. LINDA BOYD Associate Dean, Regional Medical Campus Coordination MCG School of Medicine

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NING RESEARCH

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lags behind the school’s nation-leading basic science faculty.

The Discovery Institutes were seeded in fiscal year 2008 with $5.9 million in strategic funding from the University System of Georgia. While it is still too early to gauge the institutes’ ultimate success, the increased interdisciplinary collaborations contributed to the School of Medicine’s striking 29 percent increase in research funding in 2009 over the previous fiscal year.

Dr. Ann Bonham, chief scientific officer for the AAMC, said the strategic eye the school is casting on its research operations shows great initiative. Such focus will become increasingly vital to continued funding growth in the coming years as competition for sponsored research increases.

“You have to focus on what you do best and stick with that,” she said during the school’s annual research retreat in August, adding that institutions may have to consider eliminating weak programs, a process she called “strategic abandonment.”

“That is the hardest thing to do, but the time is right,” she said. continued

hen the School of Medicine turned a strategic eye to its research enterprise two years ago, the Discovery Institutes emerged as a multidisciplinary, collaborative concept tasked to speed the translation of laboratory discoveries into patient care applications.

The Discovery Institutes—Brain & Behavior, Cardiovascular, Diabetes & Obesity, Immunotherapy and Vision—are organized around MCG’s existing scientific and clinical strengths (and diseases that are prevalent in Georgia) and operate under a team-oriented research model favored by the National Institute of Health’s Roadmap for Medical Research plan.

A sixth institute, the Educational Discovery Institute, focuses on developing best practices for medical education. The MCG Cancer Center, organized under the NIH’s National Cancer Institutes model, acts as a de-facto Cancer Discovery Institute. An additional Discovery Institute focused on child health (see Dr. Bernard Maria feature, Page 32) has been proposed this year.

The common thread behind each institute is a bridge between the bench and bedside; each is co-directed by a basic scientist and a physician. Each institute is designed to work across all center, institute and departmental boundaries to eliminate the “silo” effect that has historically characterized academic science.

Aside from developing practical applications for research discoveries, the purposeful Ph.D-M.D. pairings aim to boost sponsored research among the school’s clinical faculty, which

“You have to focus on what you do best and stick with that.”

–DR. ANN BONHAM Chief Scientific Officer, Association of American Medical Colleges

School of Medicine Sponsored Research Funding All Funding Agencies in Millions of Dollars (FY01-09) $80M

SOURCE: MCG DIVISION OF SPONSORED PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

$70M $60M $50M $40M $30M $20M FY01

FY02

FY03

FY04

FY05

FY06

FY07

FY08

FY09

$33.30M $40.91M $50.64M $58.47M $59.40M $62.34M $63.41M $65.64M $76.25M

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CLINIC AL EXCELLENCE

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ntegrating the school’s clinical operations as an academic health center, the third leg of the university’s tripartite mission, is crucial to long-term efficiency and success.

Historically, the School of Medicine’s faculty practice plan, Physicians Practice Group, has been a “cooperative organization” of MCG, with limited structural integration and no direct oversight by the School of Medicine dean. This type of loose affiliation, which the national journal Academic Medicine cited as one of the less-integrated academic health center models, is used by only about 25 percent of U.S. medical schools that have a faculty practice plan.

To better emulate the best practices of peers, Dr. Miller and PPG trustees began a process to reorganize practice governance following the resignation of PPG’s CEO, Dr. Curt Steinhart, who accepted a position as chief medical officer at Oklahoma University Medical Center in Oklahoma City in March.

The new plan, approved in May by MCG administration, PPG membership and the School of Medicine Faculty Senate, aligned the practice with the school’s missions and changed the bylaws to have the medical school dean chair the PPG Board of Trustees. The realignment complements Dr. Miller’s role as senior vice president for health affairs, a title he was given during a prior MCG restructuring.

Better integration of the school’s faculty physicians with the MCG Health, Inc.-operated hospitals and clinics could lower health care costs and improve patient outcomes and other patient care efficiencies. This would enable the clinical operations to remain competitive while maintaining MCG’s academic medical center mission focus.

Dr. Michael M.E. Johns, chancellor and executive vice president for health affairs emeritus for Emory University, helped oversee his institution’s journey from loose to tight integration. He was invited to speak at the MCG School of Medicine’s clinical retreat in September, where he commented that the nation’s most successful academic health centers are those whose tripartite missions are equally valued and jointly managed.

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“The top 25 academic health centers are more integrated than the next 75,” he said. “An academic health center that doesn’t embrace that it has co-equal (academic and clinical) missions is going to have a problem. It’s like having a company with two CEOs, and I don’t know of any successful companies with two CEOs.” His comments at the retreat were echoed by another guest speaker, Lilly Marks, senior associate dean for administration and finance at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, another school that follows the highly integrated model.

“At an academic health center, nobody is going to be successful if everyone isn’t successful,” she said. “Unless you reach parity, you are going to go around in circles.”

“The top 25 academic health centers are more integrated than the next 75. An academic health center that doesn’t embrace that it has co-equal missions is going to have a problem. It’s like having a company with two CEOs, and I don’t know of any successful companies with two CEOs.” –DR. MICHAEL M.E. JOHNS Chancellor and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Emeritus, Emory University

Academic Health Centers Teaching Hospital

Integration Models

Medical School

Practice Plan

MOST INTEGRATED Total Coordination

Examples: n Emory (university owned) n Mayo Clinic (hospital owned)

FUTURE MOVES

Some Coordination

n Medical College of Georgia n University of Chicago

n University of Virginia n University of Washington

No Coordination

OVERLAP OF GOALS/VISION

n Massachusetts General / Harvard n Case Western

n Northwestern University Memorial Hospital n University of Arizona

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he School of Medicine’s focus on leadership development, expansion, research and organizational integration has put it squarely on the path to greatness. That road, however, is long and much work remains to be done.

For example, building the medical education facility to accommodate expanded class sizes will require a massive statewide fundraising campaign, and rigorous planning will be needed to increase the state’s graduate medical education opportunities.

“We have evolved over the past three years in response to numerous opportunities and challenges, and the evolution will continue as we expand to our footprint throughout the state to address its critical physician shortage,” Dr. Miller said.

Even with these challenges and others, the school will continue using a disciplined approach to create a future that looks more “great” than “good.”

When will the School of Medicine achieve greatness?

There is no timeline and, even if there was, Dr. Miller would be hesitant to declare victory because doing so would be an anathema to greatness. He said Mr. Collins, the best-selling author, puts it best: “No matter how much you have achieved, you will always be merely good relative to what you can become.

Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point. The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have already begun.” n

LEAST INTEGRATED GEORGIA Medicine

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The

Ultimate Students Jedidiah Lifsey (from left), Joe Livingston, Austin Lewis and Krista Lim-Hing work over a cadaver on the first day of anatomy lab.

Teacher

A

Donor bodies teach future doctors their first real lessons

BY JENNIFER HILLIARD

A doctor.

A homemaker.

A merchant marine.

At first glance, they seem to have nothing in common. All these people chose different professions – different life paths. But it is their final profession that binds them. As body donors to the Medical College of Georgia, they have all become teachers.

Kristen Chicola and Michael Carter perform a dissection.

And each fall, they join the hundreds that have come before them in becoming the first patients of 190 future physicians at MCG’s gross anatomy dissection lab.

“These are your visiting professors for this semester,” David Adams, director of MCG’s Anatomical Donation Program tells freshman medical students on their first day. “What they will teach you is better than any textbook, any lecture, any video you can watch. This is your first patient. Take care of them.”

There’s a noticeable buzz in the lab on the first day. These are students who, until now, have learned about human anatomy only from their classrooms. Their faces are filled with excited curiosity as they get their first look at the room where they’ll spend the good majority of their waking hours during the first semester of medical school. continued

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Facts about the Anatomical Donation Program: n 112 bodies were donated during 2008. n To operate at the optimal level, the donor program would require 175 cadavers each year. n The 190 students in the current first-year medical class are using 27 cadavers. The lab is also used by students in all five schools, as well as residents, faculty and continuing education. n When the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership in Athens opens in fall 2010, an additional six cadavers per year will be needed for medical education. n Educators are the top-represented profession of donors. n Bodies are accepted from Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. n There are currently 10,000 people on the donor registry. An average of 50 new donors register each month, however, most of those people are young. n Bodies are used for one semester, then cremated individually and returned to the donor’s family or buried in the campus cinerarium per the donor’s wishes. l

As they gather in groups of three and four around each body, there’s a noticeable apprehension. The first cut, what starts as a deep dissection of the tissues and muscles of the back, is tentative.

“I was nervous about using the scalpel for the first time,” says Evan Garner, a freshman from Dublin, Ga. “This experience makes everything seem more practical. It is the first time I’ve been able to see the medicine behind the lectures—to see how this is going to affect my career. I want to go into surgery, so this has practical implications for me.”

This rite of passage, the first time most medical students touch scalpel to skin, is an invaluable part of their medical education, says Dr. Carol Nichols, associate professor of anatomy and cellular biology.

“For many of them, this is an opportunity to actually see the disease process,” she says. “There are around 25 cadavers for every class. That’s 25 variations—25 vastly different anatomies.

What is shown in textbooks is usually a snapshot of the dissection of the perfect sample, the Brad Pitt of cadavers. In this course, students can see the ways diseases affect the body.”

An enlarged heart, for example, could point to cardiovascular disease or a heart attack. Spotted lungs could mean cancer—or something entirely different. The donors, while dead, tell the students stories of how they lived through their anatomy.

“It is one thing to see the muscles, nerves, tissue and bones on slides during lectures and in textbooks,” Dr. Nichols says.

“It’s another thing entirely to touch them.”

While the process can seem clinical at times, it is far from it, Mr. Adams says. Although donors remain anonymous— identified to students only by age, profession and cause of death —a bond is still formed.

“You will always remember this person,” he tells each group.

“I remember my first dissection.

She was a little old lady with the whitest hair I’d ever seen. She had red fingernail polish on.”

Such reverence is echoed by the students.

“This is a person. You don’t forget that,” says Alicia Roberts, a freshman from Fayetteville, Ga. “Lecture is lecture. Our professors do a great job of making

David Adams, director of the Anatomical Donation program, addresses Sepedeh Nabavi during the students’ first day in the lab.

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it interesting, but this is an interactive process and selfdirected and much more hands-on.”

It is, however, a process that wasn’t always legal.

During the 1800s, Georgia law prohibited the dissection of human bodies. Because MCG was founded in 1828, enabling students the opportunity to learn from “real” human anatomy presented a problem. To provide students with a top-notch education, the school resorted to hiring a “resurrection man.”

Resurrection men were tasked with digging up graves by moonlight and bringing the bodies to the school for dissection. Illegality aside, the process was common throughout the country and was quietly tolerated most of the time. There are, however, some stories of cemeteries employing techniques such as “torpedo coffins”—coffins rigged with explosives—to keep would-be grave robbers away.

That isn’t necessary today.

“We get somewhere between 115 to 150 bodies each year,” Mr. Adams says. “But to operate at the optimal level, I’d need 175.”

Mr. Adams says he has about 10,000 people on the donor registry right now and an average of 50 people register to donate each month, but that number isn’t enough. And with class size increasing in Augusta and

the Medical College of Georgia-University of Georgia Medical Partnership campus, which will accept its first 40 students in fall 2010, the need for body donations will grow too.

Cadavers are also needed for classes in MCG’s four other schools—Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Studies and Nursing—and for residency training and continuing education.

Mr. Adams says the body donation process, which can be largely be arranged online, is simple. The problem is that a large number of donors are young and their bodies won’t be in the lab for quite some time.

Surprisingly, he says, professionals who have benefited the most from the body donor program—physicians, nurses, dentists and other health care professionals—are the most underrepresented when it comes to being donors themselves.

That could change with future generations of physicians, he hopes.

“The fact that a person donated their body, so that I could learn, so that I could become a doctor, is an amazing gift,” says freshman Angela Haskins of Cairo, Ga. “I plan to donate my body.” n Ashley Dickinson (from left), Ashley Dodd, Itoro Edet and Emily DeGolian assist each other in dissecting a cadaver’s back.

Making an

Anatomical Gift Costs:

The Medical College of Georgia does not pay for anatomical donations; this policy is standard throughout the United States. In most cases, transportation, embalming and cremation are provided by the university.

Memorial Services:

Because the donor’s body must be delivered to the university as soon as possible after death, traditional services are not possible. Many donors and donors’ families prefer to have a memorial service without the body, eulogizing the donor’s spirit. This kind of service can be arranged by the donor or donor’s family with clergy or a funeral director.

Burial:

Ashes are disposed of according to the wishes of the donor. Some choose to have the ashes placed at the campus cinerarium, during a non-denominational interment service held each spring to honor the donors and express appreciation for their contribution. The service is organized by students and conducted by the schools’ chaplains and faculty and may be attended by the donor’s family and friends.

Donors or donor families who want other arrangements must incur the expense. A letter accompanying the donation form is required.

Cremation:

The Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy requires the donor’s body be cremated when it is no longer useful for study, which is approximately a year. Cremation is permitted in Christian and Reform Jewish faiths.

Donations Not Accepted:

How to Donate:

MCG recommends that you discuss your wishes to donate with your next of kin or individual who will be legally responsible for your body at the time of death. It is important that they understand and will abide by your wishes. Donation by Last Will and Testament is not recommended as burial often precedes its reading.

Individuals must be pre-registered with the Anatomical Donation Program. Download the information booklet at www.mcg.edu/som/cba/BodyDonation/index.htm or contact David Adams, director or the Anatomical Donation Program at 706-721-4772. l

MCG cannot accept an autopsied body or one unsuitable for education and research. Also, body donations cannot be accepted if MCG cannot meet the donor requests for special conditions.

Donor bodies must be 18 or older.

Drs. Sally Atherton and Doug Miller unveil a portrait of Grandison Harris Sr. during a tribute to body donors last spring. Mr. Harris worked as a “resurrection man” for MCG in the 1880s.

Last Respects

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Students organize pre-cremation service for donor bodies

Thinking back on his first experience in the MCG Gross Anatomy Lab, one word comes to mind for second-year medical student Michael Vaughan.

“Before then, I had never been in a lab setting before, so that first day was sort of…surreal,” he says.

He and his classmates tried to prepare themselves, but still didn’t know exactly what to expect. The environment alone can be overwhelming and somewhat sterile, with bodies lying in bags on cold, steel tables. But the feeling of apprehension—of actually dissecting a human body—is one that quickly fades out of necessity.

“It’s funny how quickly you get used to being in the lab,” Michael says. “You become desensitized because you have to. It’s impossible to learn anatomy without cadavers.

In lecture, everything is two-dimensional. Until you can physically move those structures in different directions, touch them, feel them, you can’t really learn. At the same time, you also can’t forget that, at one time, these were living, breathing people.”

Something as simple as a marking on an arm can serve as a quick reminder.

“I remember seeing a navy tattoo on one man’s arm,” he says. “It’s easy at that point, even though we’re all so caught up in our education, to sit and wonder what someone’s life was like – to be re-sensitized.”

That feeling is what led Michael and some of his classmates to initiate a pre-cremation service last year. The volunteer effort, which restores the bodies to their predissection state as much as possible, began as a way to restore dignity to the body donors, he says.

So on a Friday morning last fall, after their final exam, nearly half of the students and several faculty members returned to the anatomy lab to pay their final respects.

Each body was wrapped in a cloth shroud after cremation

preparation. Some students wrote personal notes to show their gratitude. Others gathered to pray over the bodies before they were sent for cremation.

“We always expect and demand respect from our students when it comes to dealing with cadavers,” says David Adams, director of MCG’s Anatomical Donation Program. “And we never have a problem getting that. But this was an extraordinary example of the admiration and appreciation our students have for people who donate their bodies.”

The effort was so successful and inspiring to department faculty that there are plans to repeat it this year and for years to come.

“I think of this is a way to remember that that’s not just a body on the table,” Michael says. “That was somebody. That person had a life.” n

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Eminently Qualified Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars help MCG attract world-renowned scientists

S

BY DAMON CLINE

Some of the Medical College of Georgia’s most cutting-edge research is made possible by the support of the Georgia Research Alliance. The Atlanta-based nonprofit entity has been helping MCG and other state research institutions attract scores of world-renowned scientists since its formation in 1990.

The GRA, which is governed by leaders from industry and academia, strategically invests state funds into Georgia’s research universities to create centers of excellence and bolster the state’s science- and technology-based economy.

Its flagship initiative, the GRA Eminent Scholars program, helps support the work of some of the state’s top scientists.

“GRA Eminent Scholars are the core of our strategy for growing a technology-driven economy for the state.

They bring both scientific vision and entrepreneurial energy to our universities, leading to research breakthroughs and creating world-class centers of excellence. MCG has been very successful in recruiting enormously talented scholars and supporting their creativity and their ability to develop innovative approaches to improving human health.”

–C. MICHAEL CASSIDY President and CEO, Georgia Research Alliance

NOTE: GRA matches MCG endowed chairs for eminent scholars (see Page 43).

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Take a closer look at MCG’s GRA Eminent Scholars: Dr. Lin Mei Dr. Andrew L. Mellor Dr. Max E. Stachura Dr. Kapil N. Bhalla Dr. William S. Dynan Dr. Jin-Xiong She Dr. Joseph Z. Tsien Dr. Robert K. Yu

Dr. Lin Mei

Eminent Scholar Chair in Neuroscience Title: Director of MCG’s Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics Education: l Postdoctoral, Johns Hopkins University

l Ph.D., University of Arizona

l M.S., Institute of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Beijing

l M.D., Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang At a Glance: Dr. Mei’s research interests include the underlying molecular mechanisms of nerve cell communication. His goal is to understand the underlying mechanism of synapse formation and plasticity and how the processes are changed in patients with schizophrenia, epilepsy, autism, muscular dystrophy and ALS. Dr. Mei’s team has identified new targets for therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for some of these disorders.

Recent developments: Dr. Mei, who was recently named director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, was part of a team that identified the protein erbin as being critical to insulating the “wiring” in the peripheral nervous system. The discovery could lead to treatment targets for a variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases that involve disruptions in the nervous system, including schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy, a genetic, progressive disease that weakens muscles. There may also be applications for targeted cancer therapy because erbin regulates a receptor that helps cancer cells grow and spread.

Chair history: The chair was made possible with funding from the George C. Weiss Research Account, the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Research Alliance.

In his words: “GRA’s support enables me to acquire state-of-art techniques that are absolutely needed for our research. It also gives us an opportunity to explore uncharted areas that are usually deemed of high risk and not fundable.” n

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Eminent Scholar Chair in Telemedicine Title: Director of MCG’s Center for Telehealth Education: l M.D.; Harvard Medical School

l B.A.; Hamilton College

Dr. Andrew L. Mellor

Eminent Scholar Chair in Molecular Immunogenetics Title: Professor in MCG’s Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics Education: l Postdoctoral, National Institute for Medical Research, London; Biogen Research Corp., Boston

l Ph.D., Kings College, University of London

l M.A., Churchill College, University of Cambridge At a Glance: Dr. Mellor directs the MCG Immunotherapy Center and researches the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase enzyme, known as IDO, which has immunosuppressive properties that may help clinicians reduce miscarriage, improve organ transplants, develop new cancer therapies and control infectious and autoimmune diseases. An Iowa-based company, NewLink Genetics, is licensing Dr. Mellor’s IDO research to develop an IDO inhibitor with anti-tumor effects. His long-term goal is to develop new methods to treat cancer, infectious and autoimmune diseases, and to prevent transplant rejection by manipulating IDO activity Recent developments: The IDO inhibitor is being tested as a cancer vaccine adjuvant in cancer patients in Phase 1 experimental clinical trials supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute. Dr. Mellor expects Phase 2 oncology trials will begin in 2010, contingent on the success of Phase I trials. His laboratory research continues investigating the role of IDO in regulating host responses to infections, as recent reports suggest IDO inhibits responses to vaccines.

At a Glance: Dr. Stachura focuses on developing statewide, regional, national and international telemedicine initiatives that overcome distance and geography to bring health care to distant and underserved areas. He has lectured internationally on telemedicine and collaborated on a white paper regarding the role of telemedicine in U.S. health care reform. His research interests include developing and evaluating practical telecommunication and information technologies to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of existing health care services, education and research, as well as novel health care approaches through use of this technology, frequently in collaboration with other GRA scholars.

Recent developments: He has developed a technology for delivering diagnostic-quality video in low bandwidth to rural areas through collaboration with Nikil S. Jayant, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and GRA scholar. With support from the Verizon Foundation, he has also validated the ability of rural cardiologists to read and diagnose 12-lead electrocardiograms using wireless smart phones. Dr. Stachura is conducting studies to facilitate the deployment of insulin pumps to rural areas through support by the InHealth Foundation for Health Technology Research.

Chair history: The Georgia Research Alliance in 1983 appropriated state funds to establish the chair with matching contributions from institutional support funds. Dr. Stachura, appointed in 1997, is the second scholar to hold the chair.

In his words: “As a GRA scholar, I work for the state of Georgia and its citizens.

The GRA has created a diverse academy of scholars with a tremendous breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise. Working in areas of access to health care services, remote monitoring of chronic medical conditions, and reducing health care costs requires that I have access to and collaborate with many disciplines statewide. GRA supports, facilitates and encourages that collaboration.” n

Chair history: The Georgia Research Alliance in 1996 appropriated state funds to establish the chair with matching funds from the Bradley-Turner Foundation.

In his words: “GRA support has been a key factor allowing Georgia universities to attract top scientists from around the world, and this focused recruitment process has resulted in the creation of large, highly productive centers of research excellence across the state of Georgia. In my case, consistent GRA support has enabled us to build new immunotherapy research programs that are poised to lead the way to innovative medical treatments.” n

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Dr. Max E. Stachura

Dr. Kapil N. Bhalla

Cecil F. Whitaker Jr., M.D., Eminent Scholar Chair in Cancer Title: Director of the MCG Cancer Center Education: M.D., Maulana Azad Medical College, University of Delhi At a Glance: Dr. Bhalla was named director of the MCG Cancer Center in 2006. The oncologist oversees the development and support of MCG’s research, educational and clinical cancer initiatives. His research interests include epigenetic mechanisms that cause cancer and the dependence of aberrant cancer cell signaling on molecular chaperones that are critical for cancer transformation and survival. The goal is to develop novel cancer-targeted treatments for pre-clinical testing and subsequent implementation at the Cancer Center.

Chair History: The chair is named for Cecil F. Whitaker Jr., M.D (’63), who retired after 35 years of practicing obstetrics/gynecology. Funding originated from a judgment in a class-action law suit involving auto insurance companies in Columbus, Ga. The Georgia Research Alliance provided matching funds.

In his words: “GRA adds value to every level of my research, starting from the bench to the clinical and finally to the community. It also adds greatest value in creating support for me to scientifically interact with other Eminent Scholars and cross-fertilize my research. Finally, GRA is the guiding partner for me in providing help to showcase my team’s research accomplishments to attract revenue streams of support from corporate and other private and public enterprise.” n

Recent developments: The two newest discoveries at his laboratory involve novel strategies to target cancer cells. The first relates to simultaneously targeting two de-regulated epigenetic mechanisms involving histone methyltransferase, EZH2 and histone deacetylases to treat acute leukemia. The second involves a treatment targeting the dependency of cancer cells on heat shock response to inhibit the cancer cells’ growth and survival.

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Bradley-Turner Eminent Scholar Chair in Genomic Medicine Title: Director of the MCG Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine Education: l Postdoctoral, University of Florida

l Ph.D., University of Montpellier, France

l M.S., National School of Agriculture, France

l B.S., HuaZhong University of Agriculture, China

Dr. William S. Dynan

Eminent Scholar Chair in Molecular Biology Title: Chief of the MCG Nanomedicine and Gene Regulation Program Education: l Postdoctoral, University of California, Berkeley

l Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

l B.S.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology At a Glance: Dr. Dynan studies DNA repair and radiobiology. His laboratory studies how human cells respond to high-energy radiation such as X-rays and gamma rays, with a focus on how cells repair radiation-induced damage to their genetic material. His work has applications to cancer radiation therapy. The work has also led to a multi-institutional Nanomedicine Development Center, which aims to redirect the cell’s DNA repair systems to provide genetic cures for common diseases. His Department of Energy and NASA-sponsored work with medaka fish has created in vivo models for testing his hypotheses on DNA damage and aging, while his clinical proteomics program hopes to identify molecular markers enabling early detection of cervical and other cancers.

At a Glance: Dr. She was recruited to MCG to help build a strong translational research program in genomic medicine. His research focuses on the genetic and immunological mechanisms of human diseases, particularly type 1 diabetes and cancer. The experimental approaches include genetic mapping and cloning of disease genes, functional genomics and proteomics, the creation of animal models for human diseases, pharmacogenetics and drug discovery. His goal is to understand the pathogenesis of diseases and develop better prediction, prevention and intervention strategies.

Recent developments: Dr. She’s group has recently discovered a number of genes implicated in type 1 diabetes and cancer. Novel diagnostic tests and therapies are being developed based on these findings.

Chair history: Dr. She’s chair was established in 2000 by contributions from the Columbus, Ga.-based Bradley-Turner Foundation—supported by the Bradley, Turner and Corn families to fund educational, cultural, health and social service organizations—the Georgia Research Alliance and institutional support funds.

In his words: “GRA’s support enables me to gain access to the stateof-the-art technologies required for high throughput studies in genomic medicine and drug discovery. The GRA also provides an excellent forum for scientific discussion and collaboration among scientists from all Georgia Research Universities.” n

Recent developments: Dr. Dynan traveled to Los Alamos, N.M., to collaborate with NASA scientists on the effects of high-energy neutrons on the brain. Highaltitude air and space travelers are exposed to this type of radiation as the result of encounters with cosmic rays. The work will appear in the summer edition of the journal Radiation Research.

Chair history: The Georgia Research Alliance in 1996 appropriated state funds to establish the chair with matching contributions from institutional support funds.

In his words: “GRA’s support enables me to continually innovate. My laboratory can perform high-risk, cutting-edge research that would be difficult to support via more conventionally minded agencies.” n

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Dr. Jin-Xiong She

Eminent Scholar Chair in Cognitive and Systems Neurobiology Title: Co-Director of the MCG Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute Education: l Ph.D., 1990, University of Minnesota

l B.S., 1984, East China Normal University, Shanghai

Dr. Joseph Z. Tsien

At a Glance: The world-renowned neuroscientist in memory and behaviors garnered international attention more than a decade ago with his genetically engineered “smart mouse” Doogie while on faculty at Princeton. Dr. Tsien works to understand how memories are formed and stored, and what defects are created in memory signaling in the early phases of Alzheimer’s disease. His research at the BBDI aims at the understanding of memory code.

Recent developments: Building on his previous research on smart mice, Dr. Tsien has identified a new molecular pathway that can be manipulated to rapidly and selectively erase a traumatic memory in the mouse without damaging its brain. Though the

process is many years from being tested in humans, researchers say the discovery raises the possibility of novel treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions.

Chair history: The Georgia Research Alliance in 1993 appropriated state funds to establish the Eminent Scholar Chair in Molecular Medicine and Genetics with help from matching contributions from institutional support funds. The name was changed in 2007 to reflect the research interests of the current recipient.

In his words: “To me, GRA is a superb example of ‘imagination and creativity at work’ in the state of Georgia. Many other states have been copying this model; it says very much about GRA’s success and economic value. With the creation of the new Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute at MCG and the strong support from GRA, we are expanding our cutting-edge technology platforms that will move us to the next level in decoding the brain.” n

Eminent Scholar in Molecular Cellular Neurobiology Title: Professor in MCG’s Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics Education: l MedScD, University of Tokyo

l Ph.D., University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana

l B.S. Tunghai University, Taiwan At a Glance: Dr. Yu studies the role of complex compounds called glycoconjugates, particularly glycosphingolipids, which are involved in cell-cell interactions, cell signaling and other processes in the nervous system. He also researches the underlying mechanisms of a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, including autoimmune demyelinating neuropathies, multiple sclerosis, mucopolysaccharidoses and sensorineural hearing loss, with a goal of developing novel strategies in disease diagnosis and therapy.

Recent developments: Dr. Yu, who has developed the first statewide Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank for research and clinical use, recently defined the molecular markers of neural stem cell surface, particularly glycolipids, and elucidated their functional roles and signaling pathways in cellular proliferation, differentiation and fate determination.

He has also initiated a cell-based transplantation strategy for neurological disorders, in particular, Huntington’s disease and mucopolysaccharidoses, elucidated the pathogenic mechanisms of peripheral neuropathies and developed novel and effective therapeutic strategies for disease treatment.

Chair history: The chair was made possible with contributions from institutional support funds, the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Research Alliance.

In his words: “GRA has provided strong financial support as well as an environment that is most conducive for basic and clinical research. This opportunity is not found elsewhere.” n

Dr. Robert K. Yu

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the

Looking Back

Playing COURTESY OF HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS & ARCHIVES, ROBERT B. GREENBLATT, M.D. LIBRARY

MCG football team had brief, colorful history

BY DAMON CLINE

Above photo from the 1922 student yearbook, The Pandora, shows third-year medical students and Medicos team members John H. Sherman (standing second from left) and Irvine Phinizy (standing second from right).

Both men went on to become prominent Augusta-area physicians.

The earliest photo of MCG’s football team, the Medicos, is found in the 1912 student yearbook, The Pandora.

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Medicos

the field

M

edical College of Georgia alum Dr. Harry C. Sherman (’58) says his late father, Dr. John H. Sherman rarely spoke about playing for MCG’s football team, the Medicos. Perhaps the elder Sherman (’23) never considered his days as team quarterback a noteworthy achievement.

“There were only 12 people in my father’s class, so maybe they all played football,” Dr. Sherman said.

Compared to other aspects of MCG’s history, relatively little is known about the athletic program that operated sporadically from 1907 to 1923. Aside from a handful of newspaper clippings, yearbook photos and sections of S. Joseph Lewis’ unpublished history of MCG, most of the Medicos gridiron stories were known only to the men donning the leather helmets.

Archives indicate faculty and Augusta-area businesses underwrote the team’s expenses, including train rides to away games. But compared to modern collegiate athletic programs, the Medicos would be considered a rag-tag outfit.

“There was some support and organization to it, but I think it was just sandlot football,” said Dr. Sherman, who shared a practice in Augusta with his father, who served as chair of the MCG Department of Surgery, until his death in 1969. continued

The Medicos’ first game, against the University of South Carolina in Columbia on Nov. 21, 1907, ended prematurely when the MCG team walked off the field after disagreeing with a referee’s call, which the referee later reversed. The team lost its second game to the semi-pro Savannah Athletic Association 15-0 but won its third match with the Medical College of South Carolina 23-0.

The Augusta Chronicle reported on Dec. 3, 1909 that the Medicos “would compare favorably with (the University of ) Georgia, Clemson and (Georgia) Tech,” but pointed out team members were “disgusted” with having to “take money from their pockets to meet the expenses.” The team eventually disbanded in 1912 as the game was evolving from English-style rugby to the sport we now know today.

In 1920, MCG students reorganized the Medicos with a less formal practice and game schedule. That year the team beat Clemson 6-0 in an exhibition match at the Edgefield County Fair. The story was relayed to Dr. Sherman in the

1960s by one of his patients, a prominent Edgefield County judge who witnessed the game.

“He said the Clemson people in town were so enraged by this that they started chasing the medical students to the train,” he said. “They had to beat a hasty retreat and got out of town just before the mob showed up.”

In addition to Dr. Sherman’s father, whose portrait hangs in the Rare Books Room at the Greenblatt Library, other prominent Augusta physicians, such as Dr. Irvine Phinizy (’23), played for the team. In an interesting twist, the Medicos’ Oct. 9, 1920 match with the Academy of Richmond County—in which the Medicos lost 20-0 —pitted them against two players who would become MCG grads and accomplished physicians in their own right: Dr. Hervey M. Cleckley and Dr. William K. Philpot.

Dr. Cleckley (’29), who played for UGA’s varsity football team as an undergrad, went on to chair the MCG Department of Psychiatry and Neurology and gained fame

The Medicos practice in this photo from the 1912 student yearbook, The Pandora.

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as co-author of The Three Faces of Eve. Dr. Philpot (’29) became a prominent Augusta physician.

Several other medical colleges, including Rush Medical College in Chicago and the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha, had football teams but most disbanded around the same time as MCG’s.

Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer, a professor at Washington University Medical School of Medicine in St. Louis and author of Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical Education, is an expert in medical education history. He attributes the demise of medical school athletics to the increasing complexity of academic curriculum—which left students less time for outside pursuits—and the rise of heavily financed, ultra-competitive collegiate football programs.

“Competitive athletic programs were for colleges and slightly younger individuals, not for medical schools, law schools, business schools and graduate programs,” Dr. Ludmerer says.

Indeed, today’s medical students and faculty probably have trouble comprehending an era when aspiring doctors not only suited up after class to practice football, but actually squared off against major state university teams. But those were different times, says Dr. Sherman, noting that the Medicos predated MCG’s Honor Court, the self-governing student organization for ethical behavior.

“It’s strange,” he said. “They had a football team before they had an honor system.” n

The Augusta Chronicle reported on Dec. 3, 1909 that the Medicos “would compare favorably with (the University of ) Georgia, Clemson and (Georgia) Tech,” but pointed out team members were “disgusted” with having to “take money from their pockets to meet the expenses.”

Hervey M. Cleckley played against the Medicos while he was a student at the Academy of Richmond County. He would later go on to play for the University of Georgia football team, graduate from MCG, chair its Department of Psychiatry and Neurology and gain fame as the co-author of The Three Faces of Eve.

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Student Spotlight

New Blood Meets Old Guard

Students to participate in statewide alumni visits

E

BY DAMON CLINE

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Year: Second Hometown: Columbus, Ga. Undergraduate: University of Georgia; biology major

Every year, the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine Alumni Association hosts several alumni receptions throughout the state to apprise former students of campus news and address any questions or concerns they may have about their alma mater.

In addition to alumni of all ages, attendees include school administrators, faculty, staff and other stakeholders except one: students.

But that will soon change.

School of Medicine Dean D. Douglas Miller recently created a student position to represent the school at Alumni Association events as part of an ongoing initiative to include students in strategic planning and advisory decisions.

“In our travels to visit alumni across Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, I am always impressed at the high level of interest in student life at MCG School of Medicine,” Dr. Miller said. “There is no better way to respond to that alumni interest than by having students relate their personal stories of campus life. They provide a genuine, direct connection for alumni to fond memories of days past.”

The first student to hold the seat, Hugh Cheek of Columbus, Ga., said he looks forward to meeting School of Medicine alumni throughout Georgia.

“Giving people information from a student perspective is good, because people always want to know what’s going on,” the second-year student said.

“Students feel a sense of loyalty to MCG just like the alumni do, and this is one way for me to show my loyalty.”

HUGH CHEEK – AT A GLANCE

In a way, the second-year student is already well-prepared for his “alumni affairs” role—both his parents are School of Medicine alums: father Ben and mother Kathryn (both class of ’82).

Additionally, his father is this year’s Alumni Association president.

Scott Henson, director of alumni affairs, said for the first time invitations will be sent to students completing clinical rotations at hospitals and clinics near scheduled alumni events. Also, certificates of appreciation will be issued to the student’s clinical faculty and preceptors, most of whom are MCG alumni.

“This is our way of acknowledging them and thanking them for agreeing to take in our students,” Mr. Henson said.

Hugh, a Georgia native, said one of his goals as student representative is to encourage his fellow classmates to remain in the Peach State as a way to reverse the statewide physician shortage.

“I think getting students involved at a statewide level will help them get a sense of pride in Georgia and show them that

Family: Parents Ben and Kathryn; twin sister Holly, younger brother A.J. Extracurricular: Last year Hugh served as a class of 2012 representative to the MCG Student Government Association; participates in Medical Campus Outreach, a student-led interdenominational Christian ministry affiliated with First Presbyterian Church of Augusta; volunteers as assistant coach of Westminster Schools of Augusta’s junior varsity football team.

this is a good place to be when they go into practice,” he said.

Dr. Geoffrey H. Young, associate dean for admissions, said the school has always sought student input—students occupy three seats on the Admissions Committee, for example—but he added that student involvement in alumni affairs events raises the bar to a new level.

“Having students who are committed to the institution and value their education can help spread the good word,” Dr. Young said.

“I’m a firm believer that students can be your best advocates.” n

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ALUMNI EVENTS OCT. 29 Regional Reception Coosa Country Club Rome, Ga., 6 p.m.

FEB. 25 Planning Committee Meeting Idle Hour Golf & Country Club Macon, Ga., 2 p.m.

MARCH 25 Regional Alumni Reception Home of Dr. and Mrs. Mark Ellison Athens, Ga., 6 p.m.

ABOUT the ASSOCIATION The School of Medicine Alumni Association was formed nearly four decades ago and was incorporated as a non-profit entity in 1980 to optimize the relationship between alumni and the School of Medicine. The association also promotes excellence in learning by providing scholarship grants to deserving students. For more information on association membership and benefits, call 800-869-1113 or 706-721-3430 or visit www.mcg.edu/ua/alumni/join_som.html.

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Faculty Focus

Small Patients

Big Plans

BY TONI BAKER

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S

She was an 8-year-old with a brain tumor. He was a pediatric neurology resident at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Dr. Maria, you just told me and my mom that I am probably going to die yet I have to go to six different clinics to see six different doctors that are going to ask me the same questions and give me and my mom different answers. Why can’t y’all get your act together?’”

New pediatrics chair to build on legacy of children’s research, education and treatment

Dr. Bernard Maria

It was an insightful question that Dr. Bernard Maria couldn’t answer, but he went to his attending physician with a solution.

“It occurred to me we were doing everything sequentially,” said Dr. Maria, who earlier this year was named chair of the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics. “The patients would see a neurosurgeon, a radiation oncologist, then an oncologist and so on.”

Alena became the first case for the newly organized multispecialty sit-down. Her outlook was grim because her surgery and radiation therapy were not working.

But when Dr. Maria’s colleague, a pediatric oncologist, noticed that images of the child’s brain tumor more closely resembled kidney cancer, the young resident had a simple question: “Well, what do you do for kidney cancer?”

Using chemotherapy that had never been used on this type of brain cancer cured Alena after two treatments. The therapy quickly became the treatment for children with her specific brain tumor type.

Alena lived 25 more years, even starting her own business, before she died of brain atrophy, probably resulting from the radiation and/or chemotherapy

that cured her. For Dr. Maria, it was another poignant example of why doctors must work together to find better cancer treatments.

Today, such professional huddling is common practice for all types of patients.

Dr. Maria, who also serves as medical director of the MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center, says he realized he had a passion for helping sort out medical complexities for patients and their families, and holding other caregivers in the team accountable.

“I liked being in a position to quarterback discussions that lead to special things. I was hooked,” he says.

Dr. Maria’s focus on cancer, the leading cause of childhood death after accidents, began with a pediatric neuro-oncology fellowship at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

A series of successively higher academic appointments followed, including serving as founding director of the Medical University of South Carolina’s Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Institute, before he was tapped by MCG. He says MCG’s pediatrics department and its Children’s Medical Center, innovators of a child- and family-centered focus, seemed like a good fit. continued

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“It’s a strong department with collegial people and a beautiful home,” says Dr. Maria, who takes the reins of a clinical operation that was recently ranked No. 1 in pediatric quality and safety by the University HealthSystem Consortium, an alliance of 103 academic medical centers and 219 affiliated hospitals. His predecessor, Dr. William P. Kanto Jr., who held both positions since 1994, has been named senior associate dean for clinical affairs in the School of Medicine.

At the Helm Dr. Maria, though just a few months into his tenure, is already decentralizing the department’s operations to optimize each division. A believer in participatory management, he wants collaborative discussions about the department and hospital, similar to the team approach taken with Alena years ago.

“This is the department’s opportunity to figure out itself and where it wants to go,” he says. “We are going to spend time doing that, reflecting on what we want to accomplish.”

That means building on solid strengths in pediatric education, clinical care and research programs such as the Georgia Prevention Institute, which examines genetic and lifestyle factors in child obesity, and the Stroke Prevention Trial in Sickle Cell Anemia (STOP) studies to reduce the stroke risk of children with sickle cell disease.

Dr. Maria wants more teamwork between pediatric specialists and basic scientists to better identify and treat children’s health problems.

“There are scientists who have not found people like me who want to do this,” Dr. Maria says. “We live in two very separate worlds with a huge divide, and crossing that divide is essential in terms of new therapy.”

The focus on translational research will include a two-bed clinical trials unit and a liaison (or “concierge” as Dr. Maria calls it) between clinicians in the hospital and basic scientists in the laboratory.

“This will be a novel way to ensure that research more directly meets the needs of

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A

“A child and a family want you to leave no stone unturned.

That means you are not just providing the best care available now, you are looking ahead for new ways to do things.”

the families we serve,” he said. “A child and a family want you to leave no stone unturned. That means you are not just providing the best care available now, you are looking ahead for new ways to do things.”

These pursuits and others may coalesce into the Child Health Discovery Institute, Dr. Maria’s proposed translational science initiative based on the discovery institutes concept initiated in 2008 by School of Medicine Dean D. Douglas Miller.

“It will be like a big tent for children’s research,” Dr. Maria says.

His proposed institute also aims to cultivate future pediatric physicianscientists. Dr. Maria says he plans to recruit several senior and junior physicianscientists during the next five years.

Also included is a “compounds for kids” initiative to spur development of childspecific drugs.

“A lot of times, kids are trickledown recipients of adult products,” Dr. Maria says, echoing a sentiment heard at children’s hospitals around the world: children are not small adults.

“They are physiologically very different, their diseases are different, their complications are different,” he says.

In the Laboratory Dr. Maria’s own pediatric cancer research will definitely be a part of the equation. He’s settling into laboratories in the MCG Cancer Research Center where he’ll continue, along with MUSC research partner Dr. Bryan Toole, to develop a novel treatment involving hyaluronan, a gooey, extra-cellular material that lubricates the joints and skin and can be used as a protective blanket by cancer cells.

“In cancer hyaluronan increases the nasties, increasing signaling, invasiveness, and drug and radiation resistance,” Dr. Maria says.

–DR. BERNARD MARIA

Tumors produce hyaluronan in prolific amounts, and the researchers have found hyaluronan at work in every cancer they have studied. Dr. Toole has a patent on an oligomer that snatches off the blanket, stopping the division, the invasiveness, even the little pumps that force out chemotherapy drugs.

“It’s a beautiful mechanism for reversing drug resistance,” says Dr. Maria who believes the oligomer will one day be an adjunct therapy for a wide variety of cancers in children and adults. The researchers are working with Californiabased Halozyne Therapeutics Inc. to develop the therapy, which they hope will ready for human tests within 24 months.

“To be able to look a 7-year-old in the eye and know that behind the scenes you are working on something very cool that may not serve him but may serve the next one, that helps me keep it together because we still lose about half the kids,” he says.

That figure would be much more dismal if not for academic medical centers such as MCG. In 2010—the centennial year of children’s care at MCG—1 in 200 Americans will be long-term survivors of childhood cancer.

“How did that happen?” Dr. Maria muses. “It happened because 95 percent of children with cancer have been systematically treated through enrollment in clinical studies offered by national consortia.”

Meeting Future Needs Caring for children, healthy and otherwise, requires ample pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists. According to a 2005 Academy of Pediatrics workforce report, the nation has a chronic shortage of certain pediatric subspecialtists, a maldistribution of pediatricians and insufficient racial and ethnic diversity to reflect the populations they serve.

Dr. Bernard Maria Fortunately, one of the legacies of MCG’s Department of Pediatrics is that many School of Medicine students go into pediatrics —about twice the number of the average medical school.

Drs. Valera Hudson and Lisa Leggio head up a committee that will address graduate medical education opportunities in pediatrics. In July, two first-year resident slots were added to the existing 12, but that still accommodates fewer that half of the school’s own graduates in first-year slots.

Dr. Maria notes that 75 percent of medical students remain in the state where they complete their residency. His department is examining issues such as how to expand its training programs, including fellowships in subspecialty areas such as neonatology and pediatric critical care. A fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology and a second fellowship position in neonatology have already been created.

The department is developing a program with Dr. Ruth-Marie Fincher, vice dean of academic affairs for the School of Medicine, to research better ways to educate the next generation of pediatric educators.

Dr. Maria, despite his increasing administrative, clinical and research duties, remains as committed to pediatric medical education as he was three decades after his own learning experience with Alena.

“What I tell students is that taking care of kids teaches you more about yourself than anything else,” Dr. Maria says.

“That’s a great privilege.” n

at a Glance

Citizenship: Native Canadian and naturalized U.S. citizen.

Family: Wife Barbara, son Alex, 15 Scientific leadership roles: l Director, annual National Institutes of Health Neurobiology of Disease in Children conferences since 2001 l Chair, NIH-sponsored international scientific symposiums on: –Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, 2003 –Rett Syndrome, 2004 –Tourette Syndrome, 2005 –Spinal Muscular Atrophy, 2006 –CNS Tumors, 2007 Editorial work: l Senior associate editor for child neurology for Medlink Neurology l Editorial board member for the Journal of Child Neurology and Pediatric Neurology l Co-editor of the Menkes Textbook of Child Neurology l Sole editor of Current Management in Child Neurology Education: l Medical degree from the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada l Pediatric training at The Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University l Pediatric neurology training, including a year as chief resident, at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore l Neuro-oncology fellowship at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston l Master’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida Administrative appointments: l Chairman, Department of Child Health, Pediatrician-in-Chief of Children's Hospital and chief, Division of Child Development and Neurology, Department of Child Health University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, USA, 2001-03 l Founding executive director of the Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Institute and

associate director of the Neuroscience Institute, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C. 2003-09 l Chair, Department of Pediatrics and medical director, MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga., 2009-

Caroline Hsu (left), Dr. Bernard Maria and Robert Adams

Viewpoints

Gender Diversity in Medicine Drs. Linda Boyd, Ruth-Marie Fincher, Lee Merchen, Ana Murphy and Jennifer Pollock

Dr. Linda Boyd, professor of family medicine and associate dean for regional campus coordination, is a graduate of Drexel University’s Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program.

While women are entering science and health professions in record numbers, the percentage achieving positions of leadership lags far behind their male counterparts. For example, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported in 2008 that of all faculty positions, only 4 percent of women were full professors compared to 20 percent for men.

Diversity, including gender diversity, has come to be recognized as an essential component in developing and maintaining strong, creative and competitive organizations. Georgia Medicine Editor Damon Cline recently sat down with Drs. Linda Boyd, Ruth-Marie Fincher, Lee Merchen, Ana Murphy and Jennifer Pollock to discuss women’s leadership issues at MCG. GM: What’s the current level of women’s programs

at MCG?

Dr. Lee Merchen, assistant professor of medicine, is the General Internal Medicine section chief and the university’s women liaison officer to the AAMC.

Dr. Ana Murphy, professor and chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is a graduate of the ELAM program and Emory University’s Woodruff Leadership Academy.

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Dr. Ruth-Marie Fincher, professor of medicine and vice dean for academic affairs, is a national leader in medical education and is an at-large member of the Executive Board of the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Dr. Jennifer Pollock, biochemist and professor in MCG’s Vascular Biology Center, has served on several national committees for the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health.

Fincher: Three years ago, (Dr.) Teresa Coleman, (associate professor) and (Dr.) Amanda May, (assistant professor) developed the Women in Medicine group with the encouragement of (Dr.) Laura Mulloy, (chief of nephrology and then-interim chair of the Department of Medicine). The group was formed to provide a forum for informal mentoring, networking and an opportunity to meet colleagues and establish collaborative relationships. The success of the group is illustrated by its 167 participants, quarterly meetings and featured topics, which are selected based on member needs and individual testimonials. The group has great potential for spawning mentoring relationships across generations and disciplines because the participants range from first-year residents to our senior faculty representing many departments.

In addition to seminars and mentoring on topics such as career development, time management and contract negotiations, the main benefits are the intangibles like building a sense of camaraderie.

The group is still developing, but I’m confident it will continue to thrive because of the important need it is beginning to fill and the ongoing support of its many talented members.

GM: So would you characterize MCG as behind or ahead of the curve or on par compared to our peer institutions?

Merchen: What I’m impressed with is the number of females in tremendous positions, whether they were cultivated here or not. I think that’s outstanding. I have never seen this many women with that kind of power in one institution. I wonder if MCG doesn’t have more women in leadership positions than other similar universities.

Fincher: Four of the five deans currently are women; we have two women chairs—one basic science and one clinical.

GM: What will it take to increase the involvement of women in upper-level management positions?

Merchen: I think it takes about 15 to 20 years to build that cadre of women. All these women VPs and deans will help build a critical mass.

Fincher: When there’s critical mass, there are more role models and it’s easier to attract the kind of people you would like to have at an institution. When you reach critical mass, it’s easier to build on that, whether it’s for women in leadership positions, minorities or whatever.

GM: So women leaders attract other women leaders?

Fincher: Women are now more likely to be on a search committee than they were 20 years ago. I think there is more attention on ensuring that we’re looking at a diverse, broad candidate base. You all might disagree with this, but I think, traditionally, men leaders are more likely to think of men who are coming along the pipeline as being the heir apparents to the positions they were mentored into.

Merchen: I’m struck by the data that show women are not doing as many demanding specialties. We’ve managed to bring up to 50 percent female membership in medical schools, but we’re not seeing them go on to do the longer training.

Fincher: The surgical subspecialties have been harder to break into. Again, I think it’s a critical-mass issue. If there are 200 of something in the country and four are women, are women less likely to pursue that avenue than if it were 10 percent women or 20 percent women?

Pollock: I’m chairing a national committee (the American Heart Association Bioengineering and Biotechnology Study Section) and I’m the only woman in the group, which I think is kind of appalling from a diversity standpoint. My objective is to find some more women to serve on the committee so I’m not the only one.

GM: Balancing a home life and work life is a challenge for people in all types of careers. How does that impact opportunities for women to move into leadership roles?

Boyd: Part of the problem is that women, perhaps more than men, are balancing family obligations. To take on a developmental program on the evenings or weekends can be a real struggle, especially for junior faculty whose children tend to be younger. I know that I always struggled at my former institution. I wanted to belong to a women-inmedicine group, but meetings were always held at 5 o’ clock.

So it was a choice between, ‘Do I get home to my kids, or do I try to devote myself and network with these wonderful women?’ My kids always won out.

Fincher: Although men and women say we share equally in the family responsibilities, I think that’s rarely the case. The husband and the wife might give a slightly different view of those activities.

Merchen: You’re probably not going to change the family dynamic of who’s doing most of the running of the home.

It will probably always be mommy who is doing that. You see many more female med students pursuing residencies or fellowships that don’t require so many years of training; they tend to drop out at the, three-year residency level. And that usually coincides with children, sort of the mommy trajectory. What we have to do is make sure that women have the skill sets as they are growing up.

Pollock: I had three kids in four years, so there was a time where it was really hard. My number-one objective was: How am I going to get through this and still remain a scientist? At one point I was going to quit because I just couldn’t do it. It was my husband (Dr. David Pollock, professor in the Vascular Biology Center) who said, “You’re a scientist. You’ve got to stay with it and if you drop out now, you’re not getting back to doing this kind of science.” I’ve had a lot of women continued

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trainees and I think I attract them because of my own situation. I’ve made it a priority that I’m going to keep these women in science and not let them drop out.

Boyd: Part of the challenge is to empower women starting from the time they are med students to be advocates for what they need. Something I always try to advocate for when I’m mentoring younger faculty is the need to speak up. They need to decide what it is they need for their professional life and their personal life.

GM: But doesn’t taking time off or working part time disrupt you career trajectory?

Fincher: What we need to work to change is the academic cultural environment so it’s not so hard just because you’re trying to raise a family. One concrete example we have is the tenure clock. It makes sense to me that if we’re going to have one, it should be extended during the period of time a person had children. The issue is being able to step off and step back on a tenure track. Some med schools give faculty more latitude to be less productive academically for a couple of years if there’s a legitimate reason.

Merchen: I was in training when we had our first child. Then when I finished my training, I chose a part-time position and I felt OK about it, but honestly, I was working a lot to be paid what I was getting paid. There was a lot of bleed-over. I felt people deserved to have a full-time physician taking care of them, so when I was at home I would be online checking electronic medical records and other things. The model sounded good at the outset, but it didn’t pan out for me.

It became more work than I had committed to or was being paid for.

GM: The next generation seems to be more committed to work/life balance issues, and part of that includes working fewer hours.

Murphy: I do think there is a generational movement going on. At Emory, I had four fellows, and I was in the office later than any of them. It is a different mindset, for both males and females.

Merchen: I’ve heard faculty say, “You know, this is not as much fun as it used to be. These kids are entitled.”

Pollock: We deal with that on the basic-science side too.

Boyd: I think the generational changes are going to actually help women because the men of the

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newer generations are also advocating for more balance and more time off and things that women have needed.

Pollock: Because they’re our sons, sons of the women’s liberation movement, if you will. It’s not a big deal to them that their mom worked, whereas when I was growing up, it was a big deal whose mom worked and whose mom didn’t.

GM: Do you think there are times when women faculty members, particularly those with children, get left out of the loop?

Fincher: When people think about nominating someone for a local committee or a national committee, they might fail to nominate someone because they think they are too busy, or that they need to be at home with the children. So they may not be nominated based on a desire to be respectful of their home life. I feel strongly that we should give people the opportunity independent of other commitments. It can be done in such a way that the person can gracefully say, “I can’t do that, I have other responsibilities.”

GM: What are the challenges for women in academic medical leadership positions when it comes to working with their male counterparts?

Murphy: At Emory we had an all-women section and we were called “The Hens.” However, we were much more productive, and the fact is we were able to make changes so that when you needed to do something, somebody could cover for you.

It was a very collegial environment. When we got male fellows, it didn’t hamper the environment at all.

Boyd: I started in an academic family medicine department that was extraordinarily supportive.

I had a male chair whose belief was that you had to support everybody for whatever their needs were. We were about 50-50 women and men. If anything, my male partners were more supportive than some of the women partners because a couple of the women in particular were kind of full-speed-ahead career people. I think they were a little resentful because I was working part time for a while.

Pollock: At one point in my life, I was in an industry where I was in an area of 100 scientists and I was the only woman. It was a very interesting situation. I went through some really, really tough…I don’t want to say persecution, but it was blatant sexism. That was one of the reasons I actually moved to academics.

Drs. Ruth-Marie Fincher (from left), Lee Merchen, Linda Boyd, Jennifer Pollock and Ana Murphy spent more than an hour recently discussing women’s leadership topics in academic medicine for Georgia Medicine.

GM: Have you ever found yourself needing to put up a façade in the workplace because of your gender?

Pollock: With some men, if you appear vulnerable, all of a sudden you’re not the material they thought you were. So you put up this wall and then you try to appear not vulnerable or you try not to have this persona or become more male-like in a way.

Murphy: I think you can be assertive in ways that are more feminine, if you want to call it that. But that kind of thing exists and that means we have to put up a different façade.

Pollock: I certainly find myself in situations where I’m being aggressive, but I don’t think I’m being any more aggressive than any men in the same situation as I’m in with as many people in their labs as I have and as many projects as I have. I’m doing the same things everyone else is doing, but people will say, “Oh, don’t go to Jennifer with that, she’ll bite your head off.” I don’t know if that type of thing will ever go away for women.

GM: What’s the best career advice you ever received and what advice would you give to women you mentor?

Fincher: I think it’s really important to identify a career trajectory about which you feel passionate.

Then talk with people who have had a career pathway similar to what you think you would like to have and then ask them about their story: How did you get there? What did you do?

Editor’s Note: Dr. Teresa Coleman was invited to the forum but was unable to attend due to prior commitments. Her efforts have since led to her appointment as the school’s Women Liaison Officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Group on Women in Medicine and Science committee.

GM: What about your mentors?

Fincher: I didn’t have any mentors early on. There were people I admired, but I was pretty mid-career before I was taken under the wing by one of my bosses. One reason I try very hard to develop a relationship with at least some of our more junior women faculty is because I felt a void when I was coming along.

Merchen: It’s interesting to hear you say that you didn’t have a mentor early on, because you’ve been a tremendous mentor to me. It’s meant a world of difference for me and it’s made me want to reach out to my residents, especially the women, maybe a little more.

Murphy: I was the third woman in the Johns Hopkins program and it was exceedingly difficult to navigate those areas. John Rock, who is now the chancellor at FIU (Florida International University), was that person who gave me a hand and said, “Let’s talk, you and I.” He is still one of my mentors. We have a relationship that has endured.

Boyd: I can’t think of specific advice, but I had a couple of very good mentors early in my career who told me to do this training, do this course and meet these people. It was mentorship, but more than anything, I think it was creating a belief in myself that I could do this.

Murphy: It’s empowering when someone takes an interest in you.

Pollock: A lot of time when it empowers you is when it’s not your direct boss because you always consider that to be “their job.” So if I take an interest in somebody who is not my direct trainee, that empowers them so much more. n

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PILLARS

BY DAMON CLINE

Dr. Wiley Black

Close to Home

Wiley Black remains rooted in North Georgia

W

COURTESY OF THE GAINESVILLE TIMES

Dr. Wiley Black talks with patient Laura Gonzalez at the Good News Clinic in Gainesville, Ga. Dr. Black volunteers monthly at the clinic, which is the largest free clinic in the state.

Dr. Wiley S. Black Age: 71 MCG Class: 1962 Home: Gainesville, Ga. Family: Wife, Judy; daughters Michelle and Deanna Specialty: Vascular surgery Practice: Northeast Georgia Surgical Associates (retired)

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iley Black jokingly says his decision to become a doctor was made while tending crops and raising livestock on his family farm in rural Cleveland, Ga.

“When I was a boy, people would come by where we lived and they’d ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up,” Dr. Black said. “I would say, ‘I don’t know, but it’s not going to be this.’ ” Today, the retired vascular surgeon (’62) has reconnected with his agrarian roots and can sometimes be found tooling around on a tractor at his family’s land 25 miles from his lakefront home in Gainesville, Ga., the town where he launched his career four decades ago.

“I think everyone in north Georgia knows Wiley,” said Dr. J. Timothy Fulenwider (’74), senior partner at Gainesville’s Northeast Georgia Surgical Associates, the practice that Dr. Black co-founded in 1980. “He’s one heck of a surgeon.”

By the time Dr. Black retired in 1996, he had performed tens of thousands of surgical procedures on patients who had traveled from as far away as Tennessee and North Carolina to the practice he started with fellow MCG alum Dr. John Darden (’71).

The two had known each other since 1976 when Dr. Darden joined the physicians group that Dr. Black was previously associated with. The two became close friends, sharing a love of golf and similar philosophies on patient care.

“He made his decisions regarding what was best for the patient, and that was how it was handled,” Dr. Darden said. “His responsibility was always to the needs of the patient.”

In the pre-managed care era, when physicians rarely concerned themselves with administrative and financial concerns, Dr. Black had a “no questions asked” policy regarding a patient’s ability to pay.

“I never asked; I’d let the office personnel work that out,” Dr. Black said. “My feeling was, if somebody came in and I felt like they needed an operation, I tried to put myself in their shoes, so to speak. I asked myself, ‘If I had that condition, would I have the operation?’ That’s how we judged each case.”

DAMON CLINE

Hospital officials presented Dr. Black with a commemorative shadowbox that included a pacemaker similar to the ones he first began implanting in patients during the 1960s.

That Dr. Black could become a doctor and make such important decisions is impressive considering his humble upbringings in rural White County, where he and his five siblings lived in a home that had no electricity for the first 10 years of his life. His father, a schoolteacher, was low on money but adamant that his children become educated.

Dr. Black attended North Georgia College in nearby Dahlonega for two years before transferring to the University of Georgia to major in biology, a field he had excelled in since childhood. He helped pay for his schooling by working part time as a lab instructor in the physiology department.

He referred to himself as a “pre-med” student even though his chance of affording medical school was dubious.

“I didn’t have a good plan B,” Dr. Black recalls. “My college advisor tried to get me to apply to all these medical schools like the University of Chicago and all these Ivy League schools. I thought that was out of the question for me because I didn’t have the financial resources. So when I applied for medical school, I only applied to MCG.” Dr. Black was in a quandary: He had excellent grades and a good shot at being accepted, but if he did get in, the high cost of tuition would surely mean his brothers and sisters would have to sacrifice their own college plans.

“I knew my family would do everything they could to provide for me, but at the same time, I didn’t want to deprive my other siblings from getting an education,” he said. “So I didn’t really know how I was going to manage.”

It turned out Dr. Black never had to make that difficult decision—he received a state scholarship shortly after receiving his MCG acceptance letter. He remained grateful throughout his entire career for the opportunities the scholarship provided, and last year he became one of the first MCG alumni to make a major scholarship gift to MCG via the Georgia Health Sciences University Foundation.

Dr. Black, an active member of the MCG School of Medicine Alumni Association, said he could have left the gift in his will, but that he wanted to help students sooner rather than later.

“I want it to be used, and I’d just as soon it be used while I’m still around,” said Dr. Black, whose recent $100,000 contribution is just part of a larger commitment he has made to support student scholarships in MCG’s Schools of Medicine and Nursing in the coming years.

“It would have been a huge loss for north Georgia’s medical community had Dr. Black not been able to attend MCG,” said Tony Duva, associate vice president for planned giving and senior director of development for the School of Medicine. “His generosity will help ensure that the state’s best and brightest continued

Trivia n Dr. Black’s first visit to Athens was when he decided to apply for admission to the University of Georgia. He and a friend drove there from Cleveland, Ga., and walked in to what they thought was the campus administration building. Workers in the office informed the young men they were actually at the U.S. Naval Supply School and gave them directions to the university. The supply school will soon become the permanent location of the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership, “so I guess we were just a little ahead of our time,” he said. n He planned to specialize in gastroenterology until nurses commented on how well he performed during his surgical rotation. “They told me I had good hands for surgery,” he said. “I thought the last thing I would be interested in was surgery. When I was in school, I just had distaste for the surgery residents we were associated with. I thought they were mean.” n Dr. Black developed the neighborhood he lives in along the shoreline of Lake Lanier. He initially acquired the tract solely to build his own home. He decided to subdivide the property when people began inquiring if he would sell some of the land. There are now more than a dozen homes on the street.

He’s also had success with other real estate holdings. “He was a wizard when it came to real estate,” Dr. Fulenwider said. “He has the midas touch.” n Most of the artwork in Dr. Black’s home was created by his wife Judy, an avid painter, and daughter Deanna, who is a self-employed artist in south Georgia. His other daughter, Michelle, is a human resources professional in suburban Atlanta.

Dr. Black met his wife Judy, a retired nurse, while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Texas after graduating MCG.

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41

PHIL JONES

Medical students Mark Snoddy (from left), Felicia Fountain and Lucien Marts are the inaugural recipients of the Dr. Wiley Black Scholarship Fund.

(Viren Vasudeva not pictured)

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students have the financial wherewithal to pursue their dreams of a career in medicine. By making an investment in our students, he’s making an investment in the future of health care in the state of Georgia.”

The escalation of the Vietnam War coincided with Dr. Black’s graduation in 1962. After his internship, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and spent two years as a flight surgeon stationed in San Antonio, where he medically certified pilots for flying status and performed preventive medicine. It was there he met his future wife, Judy, who was training to be a flight nurse with the Air National Guard. The couple married in 1968 during his general surgery residency at Emory University Hospital.

When it came time to go into private practice, he chose the North Georgia town he knew best.

“When I was growing up, people asked me what the closest large town was and I always said Gainesville,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t realize Gainesville was considered a small town, too.”

It wasn’t long, however, before Dr. Black was honing his skills even further. His decision to accept a vascular surgery fellowship at New York University’s Bellevue Hospital in 1972 turned out to be an excellent educational opportunity as well as a taste of culture shock for the young family (his daughters Michelle and Deanna were both toddlers at the time).

“A babysitter was $20 an hour,” Judy recalls.

“And their minimum was four hours.”

The family soon learned to adapt to the highcost town by bartering for services and finding ways to score cheap theater tickets. But by the time the fellowship was over, Dr. Black was ready to leave the Manhattan apartment on 34th Street for the green grass of Gainesville.

The Northeast Georgia Surgical Associates practice he co-founded with Dr. Darden, a general surgeon, was busy from its inception, as Dr. Black was the only vascular surgeon in town for several years. He was particularly adept at carotid endarterectomies (the removal of plaque from the carotid arteries), but it was pacemaker implants that kept him the busiest.

He performed the first pacemaker implant in Gainesville and estimates he performed the surgery an average of 100 times per year until his retirement. As a testament to his skill, when the regional representative for Medtronic Inc. – the creator of the implantable pacemaker – needed one implanted on his own heart, it was Dr. Black he called on to perform the surgery.

Upon Dr. Black’s retirement in 1996, staff at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center presented him with a commemorative shadow box that included a modern and 1960s-era pacemaker as well as a DeBakey clamp—Dr. Black’s “favorite” clamp.

“There’s a lot of history in that little case,” Dr. Black said.

These days, when he’s not on the golf course, he is usually hunting, fishing or tending to his garden.

He keeps his medical skills sharp by volunteering once a month at The Good News Clinic, an indigent health care service coordinated by area churches and nonprofit organizations. He consults with the internist and primary care physicians as well as performs minor surgical procedures.

The free clinic, which averages 18,000 patient visits annually, is the largest of its kind in the state.

“When Dr. Black was in private practice, everyone wanted to see him,” Clinic Director Cheryl Christian said. “Now, the people most in need have that opportunity. He’s been a big asset for us.”

Dr. Black looks back fondly on his career and, although he decided to build his practice not far from his rural roots in the hills of north Georgia, there was never a moment where he felt his skills weren’t on par with any big-city physician. For that, he credits his education at MCG. “I’ve rubbed elbows with surgeons all over the country and I never had to apologize to anybody for my education,” he said. “I could hang in there with any of them.” n

Generations of Giving

Tony Duva, Associate Vice President for Gift Planning, Senior Director of Development

Endowed Chairs Benefit MCG and Donors Endowments are philanthropic vehicles that meet a variety of needs for both the donor and the Medical College of Georgia. An endowed chair is an award funded by a donor that is designated by MCG to a current professor or researcher. Endowed chairs are a great way to honor a faculty members’ clinical, academic and research excellence while helping support his or her faculty responsibilities.

For more information on making a gift to the MCG School of Medicine, contact Mr. Duva at 1-800-869-1113, 706-721-1939 or aduva@mcg.edu

With a long-term plan and steady perseverance, an endowment is something you can build during—and even after— your lifetime. The minimum to fully fund an endowed chair is $500,000, but the account can be started with as little as $10,000.

Chairs can be funded with cash, appreciated securities, assets, or a combination of the three.

Though a minimum is needed to create an endowment, you may choose to make a small gift now and pledge to fulfill the minimum over a designated period of time.

Gifts to create an endowed chair may offer significant tax benefits to you.

The beauty of an endowed chair is that the corpus of the endowment stays intact; investment income generated from the corpus is made available to the faculty member appointed to the chair in support of teaching and research, in accordance with university regulations.

If desired, a chair may be named in honor of the donor or an honoree proposed by the donor.

Level

Funding Amount

Endowed Chair

$500,000

Distinguished Chair

$1,000,000

University Distinguished

$2,000,000

Gifts to create endowed chairs provide much-needed support to our valued faculty. If you are interested in making a gift to support an existing endowed chair or would like to create a new chair fund, please contact me in the Office of Development. n

IT’S A FACT: Though MCG is Georgia’s Health Sciences University, only a quarter of the university’s operating budget is funded by state government appropriations. The rest must come from other sources, including philanthropic gifts.

Thank you for your continued support of the MCG School of Medicine.

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Class Notes

Awards? Professional Honors? Special Activities? We would love to hear what’s new with you.

Contact Damon Cline, editor, at 706-721-4706 or e-mail dcline@mcg.edu.

1940s

1920s Dr. Leila Daughtry Denmark

28

was recently honored with a Georgia Senate resolution recognizing and commending a medical career that spanned almost 80 years, ending with her retirement in 2004 at age 104.

Dr. Leander K. Powers

1950s 40

recently served as grand marshal for the Guyton, Ga., Christmas parade. Dr. Powers, 95, has lived in Savannah, Ga., since the mid-’40s but visits his beloved hometown of Guyton weekly. His father, Dr. Bruce P. Powers (class of 1898), was an Effingham County physician for 36 years, taking his son along when he made house calls in the county’s first car. His father carried two bags, one with surgical supplies (including pliers to pull teeth) and the other with medicine he made himself.

Leander, or Lee, won the Savannah Junior Boys Doubles tournament in 1930 with the late Waldo Sowell of Guyton. Lee earned a pharmacy degree from the University of Georgia and ran Powers Drugs in Guyton for a year before enrolling in medical school. After graduating and serving in World War II, he established a solo family practice in Savannah and still mans his office four days a week.

Dr. J. Randall Kennedy

57

practices pediatrics in Bradenton, Fla., and recently discussed sickle cell disease and its relationship to malaria at the 2009 International Hematology Conference in Havana, Cuba.

Dr. Don Thomas

59

was the honoree at the 2009 Toast of the Town in Rocky Face, Ga. The Whitfield County native has practiced family medicine in Dalton for 45 years at Whitfield Medical Professional Associates. He also served as president of the local hospital board staff. Dr. Thomas is serving his seventh term in the Georgia State Senate representing the 54th District.

He and his wife, Emma Jean, have eight children, 19 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

1960s Dr. Patton Smith

62

has retired after 43 years of practice in Monroe County, Ga. Dr. Smith began working at Monroe County Hospital in 1966 following an internship and resident at the former Macon Hospital (now The Medical Center of Central Georgia) and two years in the Army working at a hospital in Mexico.

Dr. Lamar Fleming

65

received the MCG School of Medicine’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for Professional Achievement. Dr. Fleming is a professor of orthopaedic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, chief of Hand Service at Grady Memorial Hospital and chief of the Hand Section at Atlanta’s Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

He completed a junior residency in medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital before serving in the U.S. Navy as a flight surgeon from 1967-70. He returned to Augusta to complete a junior residency in surgery at then-Talmadge Memorial Hospital, then completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center. He is a past president of the Eastern Orthopaedic Association and the Southern Orthopaedic Society.

He has served as the director of the Robert P. Kelly Orthopaedic Society at Emory University since 1978.

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Dr. Talmadge A. “Joe” Bowden

66

received the School of Medicine’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for Loyalty. Dr. Bowden is professor emeritus of surgery and former chief of the Section of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Surgical Endoscopy at MCG. He completed a surgical residency at MCG in 1971, including a year as chief resident from 1970-71. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 197173, earning the rank of major and serving as chief of the Division of General Surgery at the U.S. Air Force Regional Hospital at Shaw Air Force Base. He has served as editor-in-chief of The American Surgeon since 1990. Dr. Bowden completed the University of the South’s School of Theology Advanced Degree Program in 2001 and was ordained as a priest in 2002. Since then he has served as a chaplain at MCGHealth and part-time assisting priest at the Church of the Holy Comforter.

Dr. William P. Brooks

67

a family physician in Macon, Ga., and board member of the Georgia Health Sciences University Foundation, received the Bibb County Medical Society’s 2008 Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Brooks has served as chief of staff at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, president of the Bibb County Medical Society, second and first vice president of the Medical Association of Georgia and president of the MCG School of Medicine Alumni Association. He serves on the local Boy Scouts of America Executive Board and has chaired Friends of Scouting. An Eagle Scout himself, he has helped many young men develop leadership skills. Dr. Brooks and wife Veronica have a son, William (also an Eagle Scout), a daughter, Courtney, son-in-law Jamie and grandson Brooks Garner, 2.

1970s Dr. Howard M. Maziar

72

was named the 2009 Psychiatrist of the Year by the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association. The award honors exceptional contributions to patients, the profession and the community. Dr. Maziar is vice president of the association and treasurer of the Georgia Psychiatry Political Action Committee.

He was recently appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to serve on the Georgia Physicians Partnership, charged with offering the perspective of health care providers to the Georgia Department of Community Health on developing state health care programs. He is also a member of the Physicians Institute for Excellence in Medicine Board of Directors.

Dr. John A. Mitas II

73

West Chester, Pa., is in his seventh year as deputy executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American College of Physicians.

After graduating from MCG, he trained in internal medicine and nephrology. He taught at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center from 1982-84 as a nephrologist and head of dialysis, then served active duty in the U.S. Navy. After retiring in 2000, he worked for a vaccine company designing clinical trials for smallpox and anthrax vaccines. He left to work for the American College of Physicians. He still hopes to do some writing and “fun” traveling. He and wife Rosalind have been married for 31 years and have three grown children, “all doing well in their own right,” he says.

Dr. E. Daniel DeLoach

74

Dr. James Pilcher Jr.

75

a fourth-generation doctor, recently returned to his hometown of Louisville, Ga., to practice at Jefferson Hospital, which his parents started in 1947. His father, the late Dr. James Pilcher Sr., was a general surgeon and his mother, Mary Frances, handled day-to-day operations and worked as a night nurse.

He practiced in Dalton, Ga., for many years before moving back home, where he enjoys spending time with his 87-year-old mother. He is married to Dr. Grace Gilgenast.

Dr. Larry Van Carson

76

has joined Carolina Neurosurgical Services at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, N.C. Dr. Carson, board certified in both neurosurgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, specializes in complex spine and craniofacial surgery. He was previously with the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center at West Virginia University, where he was an associate professor of neurosurgery and plastic surgery.

Dr. Lex A. Simpson

78

practices orthopaedic medicine at the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic in Reno, Nev. He is a past chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at Cleveland Clinic in Florida and head team physician for the National Hockey League Florida Panthers. He completed fellowships in adult reconstructive and sports medicine at Kantonsspital St. Gallen and the University of Toronto. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

a plastic surgeon with Savannah Plastic Surgery and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, has been appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce. Dr. DeLoach is certified by the American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and is a clinical professor in the MCG Department of Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons.

He and wife Cameron Elizabeth have three children.

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1980s Dr. Christopher Cates

82

an interventional cardiologist at Emory University School of Medicine and director of vascular intervention at Emory University Hospital, has been named one of America’s Top Doctors by Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd., a New York-based health care research firm. Dr. Cates specializes in angioplasty, cardiac catheterization and peripheral vascular disease. Dr. Cates, who for the past 20 years has held a heart clinic in the rural Georgia towns of Hiawassee and Blairsville, is one of a select few doctors in Georgia with honorary membership in the International Andreas Gruntzig Society, honoring the inventor of coronary angioplasty.

Dr. James D. Fortenberry

84

is pediatrician-in-chief of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The not-for-profit system emphasizes excellence in research, teaching and wellness. Dr. Fortenberry formerly served as director of critical care medicine at Children’s at Egleston. He is an associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Fortenberry completed a pediatrics residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., and a fellowship in pediatric critical care at Texas Children’s Hospital at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. A father of three, he and his wife live in Tucker, Ga.

Dr. Don Griffin

84

co-presented the program, “Sleep Your Way to Better Health,” at Piedmont Newnan Hospital in Newnan, Ga., as part of Better Sleep Month in May. Approximately 70 million people in the United States are affected by a sleep disorder.

Dr. Griffin completed his residency in family practice from the Tallahassee Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, Fla.

Dr. W. Morris Brown

85

has joined Piedmont Heart Institute Atlanta. The cardiovascular surgeon joined the Piedmont Hospital medical staff in 2001 and completed his internship, residency and research and clinical fellowships through Emory University-affiliated hospitals.

Dr. Robert Kelly

86

has joined the staff at Northeast Georgia Physicians Group’s Oakwood, Ga., office. He completed his residency at the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s School of Primary Care Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Family Practice.

Dr. Kelly most recently practiced at Duluth Family Medicine PC in Duluth, Ga. He and his wife, Theresa, have four children: Elizabeth, Madeline, Christopher and Patrick.

Dr. Mark Harvey

88

who practices general internal medicine in Sandersville, Ga., has been appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the State Medical Education Board. He and wife Lisa have two children.

Dr. Rick Myhand

88

has joined the oncology staff at Adena Cancer Center in Chillicothe, Ohio. A colonel in the U.S. Medical Corps, Dr. Myhand has a held a number of positions at military hospitals across the nation, most recently as chief of Hematology/Oncology Services at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Dr. Myhand is board certified in internal medicine and has subspecialty certifications in hematology and oncology. He completed his residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and his fellowship in hematology/oncology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Clayton Pulliam

88

practices family medicine at Habersham Medical Center in Demorest, Ga. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and completed a family medicine residency at Anderson Memorial Hospital in Anderson, S.C.

1990s Dr. Inchol Yun

91

has joined the Northeast Georgia Physicians Group in Gainesville, Ga. Dr. Yun completed his residency in family medicine at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in Spartanburg, S.C. He is board certified in family medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the American Medical Association and the Southern Medical Society.

Dr. Yun spent the last 10 years practicing at Lawrenceville Family Practice in Lawrenceville, Ga. He and his wife, Lesley, have two children, Megan, 15, and Preston, 13.

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Dr. Gary Klein

92

chief medical officer of Vangent Inc., a global consulting and information management firm, has been selected to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s Physicians’ Community Steering Committee. Dr. Klein also currently serves as the President of the American Academy of Disaster Medicine, and was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine.

Dr. Marc H. Leblanc

97

has joined the medical staff at Genesis HealthCare System in Zanesville, Ohio. The board-certified hospitalist completed his residency at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

2000s Dr. Brian M. DeLoach

00

Statesboro, Ga., completed a family medicine residency at MCG, worked for five years at Bohler Family Practice in Statesboro, then became chief of medical staff and medical director for Health Services at Georgia Southern University. He and his staff serve nearly 18,000 students.

He also is the medical director for GSU’s Athletic Training Education Program. He teaches students in that department and precepts for the School of Nursing Nurse Practitioner Program. He and wife Holly have a 2-year-old son, Mixon.

Dr. John Joseph Desmond

1940, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000. Class of 1970 will be inducted into the Emeritus Club

1940

Friday, April 23

1945 1950

School of Medicine Dean’s Reception 5:30 p.m., Marriott Hotel and Suites School of Medicine Alumni Association Banquet and Distinguished Alumnus Presentation 6:30 p.m., Marriott Hotel and Suites

06

has joined the Family Health Care Center practice in Millen, Ga., as a family physician specializing in pediatrics and women’s health. The Jenkins County native recently completed her third year of family medicine training at Spartanburg Regional in South Carolina.

1955 1960

Saturday, April 24

1965

President’s Cookout Noon, 920 Milledge Road

1970 1975

School of Medicine Reunions 6:00 p.m., social hour, and 7:00 p.m., reunion dinner

05

has been selected to serve on the American Association for Cancer Research’s Associate Member Council. The fourth-year otolaryngology resident in the MCG School of Medicine, will be one of four members serving three-year terms to advise association leaders on research issues. The council also develops programs addressing the needs of early-career scientists and works to increase the number of physician-scientists. Dr. Weinberger is pursuing a laryngology fellowship in England in 2010 to study speech and swallowing disorders.

Dr. Angela Davis

Class Reunions will be held for the School of Medicine Classes of :

03

recently completed a pain management fellowship in Augusta and joined Dr. William Megdal at the Athens Spine Center in Athens, Ga. He served as chief resident during an anesthesiology residency at MCG. His interests include minimally invasive treatment of discogenic, mechanical and neuropathic conditions of the spine and extremities.

Dr. Paul Weinberger

Building and Strengthening Our Legacy April 22 - 25, 2010

00

has joined the Floyd Family Medicine residency program as a faculty member. He will see patients at Floyd Medical Center and the Floyd Family Medicine Residency Clinic in Rome, Ga., as well as teach residents and medical students there. Dr. Desmond was previously with Affinity Health Group LLC. in Tifton. The board-certified family medicine physician completed his residency at Halifax Health Medical Center, Daytona Beach, Fla. He and his wife, Penny, reside in Rome with children, Quinn and Sam.

Dr. Benjamin McCurdy

Homecoming 2010

MARK YOUR CALEND AR

Homecoming Dance 9:45 p.m., Marriott Hotel and Suites, Oglethorpe Ballroom

Sunday, April 25

1980 1985 1990

School of Medicine Alumni Association Memorial Service 10:30 a.m., MCG Alumni Center School of Medicine Alumni Association Emeritus Club Luncheon 11:30 a.m., MCG Alumni Center

1995 2000

Look for registration materials to arrive in the mail in January.

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In Memor y Dr. F. Kathryn Edwards

50

died Feb. 27 at age 86. The Atlanta native had a private pediatric practice in addition to starting the Pediatric Cardiology program at Emory University in 1960. She retired from Emory in 1993 as associate professor of pediatrics and radiology.

She established the F. Kathryn Edwards, M.D. School of Medicine Scholarship Endowment fund at MCG. After retirement she moved to Huntsville, Ala., to be close to her brother and his family. She enjoyed many hobbies and traveling around the world during her retirement. Dr. Edwards is survived by her sister-in-law, three nieces and their husbands as well as grand- and great-grand nieces and nephews.

Dr. Darriel G. Kitchens Jr.

51

died June 13 at age 87. Born in Metter, Ga., he served in the 11th Armored Division during World War II and in the Seventh (Bayonet Division) Infantry in the Korean War. He practiced in Marion, Ga., from 1957 until his retirement in 1993. Survivors include two sons and a sister.

Dr. William Cottles Shirley

51

died June 21 at age 87. Dr. Shirley, an obstetrician/ gynecologist in Macon, Ga., was on the clinical faculty of MCG and Mercer University. He was a past president of the MCG School of Medicine Alumni Association and served on the MCG Foundation. He received the Bibb County Medical Society’s 1999 Physician of the Year Award and was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Survivors include wife Bess Baxter Shirley, three children and four grandchildren.

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Dr. Zeb L. Burrell Jr.

52

died June 2 at age 80. Dr. Burrell, proclaimed the Father of Emergency Medical Services in Georgia by the state legislature, practiced in the Georgia cities of Milledgeville, Athens and Elberton, eventually serving as medical director for Elbert County Emergency Medical Services. He received a Charles B. Gillespie, M.D. Distinguished Georgia Emergency Medical Service Director of the Year Award shortly before his death, marking only the second time the award was presented. He helped develop the Northeast Georgia Region 10 EMS System, heralded by the federal government as a national model.

He and his wife, Lenette Owens Burrell, a founding faculty member of MCG’s School of Nursing in Athens, in 1969 wrote a textbook, Intensive Nursing Care, that he used in teaching EMS standards.

Survivors in addition to his wife of 59 years include four children, 11 grandchildrena nd two greatgrandchildren.

Dr. Bob C. Wade

52

died March 17 at age 91. The Byron, Ga., native practiced general medicine, including making house calls, in DeKalb County for two decades. He served in England during World War II and lived briefly in New York before settling in Lilburn, Ga. Dr. Wade spent his retirement years working at his 300acre farm in Bucks County with his late wife, Sue. He is survived by a son, two daughters, a sister and six grandchildren.

Dr. Philip Bartholomew

63

of Sandy Springs, Ga., died Aug. 17 at age 78. The Atlanta native, known as “Dr. B.,” retired in 1996 after 30 years in the private practice of obstetrics/ gynecology. Dr. Bartholomew earned his bachelor’s degree from Emory in 1954 and served in the U.S. Navy for four years. In addition to his wife Margaret and son Philip Bartholomew Jr., survivors include a daughter, Lauren Luik of Whitehouse Station, N..J.; a son, J. Christian Bartholomew of Dunedin, Fla.; a sister, Gale B. Hill of Durham, N.C.; and six grandchildren.

By the Numbers 762 753 335

427

Students who are Georgia residents

484 10.4%

Under-represented minority students

Female students

1,432

School of Medicine Alumni

54.9%

Alumni residing in Georgia

Students

2006

Full-time instructional faculty

Male students

Association members

2007

2008

2009

2005

2006

MEDICINE Administration Dean D. Douglas Miller

Senior Associate Deans John D. Catravas Joseph Hobbs William Kanto Walter J. Moore Anthony L. Mulloy

2007

2008

2009

Residents

Degrees Conferred

SCHOOL OF

Vice Dean for Academic Affairs Ruth-Marie Fincher

New Enrollees

Applicants

2005

Fall 2009

425

Associate Deans Andrew T. Albritton Linda Boyd Peter F. Buckley William A. Guest Kathleen M. McKie Andria Thomas Christopher White Geoffrey H. Young Assistant Deans Iqbal M. Khan Kathryn Martin Wilma Sykes-Brown

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Executive Associate Dean for Administration Michael A. Herbert Director of Operations Joel Covar Chief of Staff Donna Dauphinais MCG-UGA Medical Partnership Campus Dean Barbara Schuster Associate Dean Scott Richardson Sources: MCG Division of Strategic Support and the School of Medicine

MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

Charlotte, NC Permit No. 3307 Office of the Dean Augusta, Georgia 30912 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

www . mcg . edu / som / georgiamedicine

What if... ...An enzyme that protects a fetus in utero... ...could be used to help the body accept a life-saving transplant? ...Cells harvested from a patient’s own skin... ...could help repair brain damage from a stroke? ...The secrets of cancer could be illuminated... ...using a firefly?

At the Medical College of Georgia, scientists and doctors at our Discovery Institutes are not only imagining the possibilities—they’re making them happen.

Better health today...and tomorrow A Research Institution of the University System of Georgia

MCG —Journeying beyond imagination to discovery. www.mcg.edu/som/discovery