The Arch
winter 2010 edition • college-wide edition college of health professions • medical university of sc
ALUMNI RECEPTION An MHA and DHA Alumni Reception was held at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday, August 10th. The event was a great opportunity for alumni in the area to reconnect and catch-up. In addition to alumni, perspective DHA students were invited to a presentation on the program given Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC by the Division Director Dr. Jim Zoller. All attendees had an opportunity to tour the museum at their leisure. A special thanks to Brian Poplin, DHA Class of 2010, and ARAMARK for sponsoring this wonderful event! LEFT: Brian Poplin, DHA Class of 2010, talks with Dr. Jim Zoller, DHA Division Director and Catherine McCullough, Director of Development, at the Charlotte alumni reception.
LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECEIVES HELP FROM CHP By Dawn Brazell, The Catalyst: MUSC’s College of Health Professions raised more than $2,500 in school supplies for Murray-LaSaine Elementary School. Now, they can relax a bit. Maybe on their brightly-colored bean bags and carpets that will be adorning some of their rooms as they enjoy the new supplies dropped off by MUSC’s College of Health Professions (CHP) Dec. 10. “Colorful carpets, bean bags, markers, crayons, paper and even a laser printer for our media center brightened all of the spirits of those of us here at Murray-LaSaine,” Interim Principal Reginald L. Bright said. “Our school was filled with smiles and exclamations of delight. These wonderful gifts from the College of Health Professions brightened our days and reminded our teachers how truly appreciated and valued they are for all of their hard work and dedication.” Debra Battjes Siler, director of research administration at CHP, said it was a rewarding experience for the college as well. “The kids were all standing out in front of the school holding banners and singing Christmas carols when we arrived. (Continued on page 3)
INSIDE
2 Showcasing Success 2 Visit from Oakbrook Middle School
CHP staff in front of Murray-Lasaine Elementary School post-drop off
3 World-Class Research Center 3 Local School Receives Help from CHP (cont.)
4 Attention Alumni 4 World-Class Research Center (cont.)
The Arch
winter 2010 edition • college of health professions
page 2
SHOWCASING SUCCESS The College of Health Professions held its annual awards ceremony, Showcasing Success, Oct. 8 at St. Luke’s Chapel. The following individuals were honored: Quarterly Staff Champions (1st quarter)-Ann Brown, MHA and Debra Frasier; Staff of the Year - Gary Melancon; Scholar of the Year - Bonnie Martin-Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-S; Outstanding Service - Patty Coker-Bolt, PhD, MHS, OTR; Developing Scholar - Lee Saunders, PhD; Teacher of the Year - Nicole Michaud, MSP, CCP. RIGHT ABOVE: Presenting the Staff Team of the Year Award to Finance is College of Health Professions Interim Dean Dr. Lisa Saladin, right: Angie DeVeaux, from left, Debra Frasier, Shari Bergquist, Katie Weas, Paula Butler and Julie Parrish. Not pictured are Kristi Beeks, Marisah Daniels, Ashley Walpole and Karen Richardson. RIGHT BELOW: Dr. Lisa Saladin, right, presents Nicole Michaud with the Teacher of the Year Award.
ABOVE: Scholarship Award recipients are front row from left: Lesley Dillard, Kelly Anderson, Kristen Merritt, Rebecca Jones, Andrea Grunberger, Amanda Cooper, Gretchen Reibold, Elizabeth Douglas and Sarah Enoch. Back row from left: Christopher Franz, Sean Wittorf, Steven Johnson, Steven Alvarez, Jill Polhemus, Melissa Turpin, Johnathan Ahearn and Tatyana McElveen.
VISIT FROM OAKBROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL Approximately 50 kids from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program at Oakbrook Middle School in Summerville visited the College of Health Professions Research building on Friday, January 28th. The visit was the outgrowth of an invitation Steve Kautz extended to Charleston area teams competing in the LEGO Body Forward Competition that features robotics and a team project in biomedical engineering. The research team had three stations set up for the kids to watch. In addition to getting encouragement to study math and physics, the kids got to see: • Demonstration of the ZeroG overhead body weight support system and the split-belt treadmill in the Locomotor Rehabilitation Lab. Mark Bowden PhD, PT, Chris Gregory PhD, PT, and Aaron Embree talked about how these high tech tools were used to help recover locomotion after stroke and spinal cord injury. • Demonstration of passive walking principles and a leg swing assist exoskeleton from engineer Jesse Dean PhD. • Demonstration of how to measure three dimensional motion and the use of that measured motion to control a LEGO robot (just like the kids use in their competition) to mimic the arm movements of the subject extraordinaire,Jenna Nott. The demonstration was programmed and run by engineer Cameron Nott in the Upper Extremity Function Lab. The kids and teachers loved the demonstrations, and the event was covered by several print and television outlets.
Dr. Aaron Embry playing tester for the ZeroG overhead body weight support system under the control of Dr. Chris Gregory.
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The Arch
winter 2010 edition • college of health professions
page 3
CHAIR TO HEAD WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH CENTER By Dawn Brazell, The Catalyst: It turns out the ’80s oil bust was a good thing for MUSC’s College of Health Professions, but it would take a few decades to become apparent. The bust put Steven A. Kautz, Ph.D., who then held a Bachelor of Science in geophysics, on a path to becoming a biomechanics and neurosciences researcher. His studies led him into the field of rehabilitation, with him earning a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis. Kautz said he loved finding out that he could apply his expertise in mathematical analysis and computer simulations to the clinical setting to change the way therapy could be done.
Dr. Steve Kautz
Coming to MUSC in July as chair of the Department of Health Sciences and Research at the College of Health Professions (CHP), Kautz said it’s an exciting time to be doing rehabilitation research given the progress in technology and neurosciences. One of his specialty areas is stroke rehabilitation, with him examining the effect on a person’s ability to move after blockage of the blood vessels in the brain happens. Kautz wants to continue research that will give doctors and therapists the theoretical framework and measurements toolbox they need to know the most effective treatment, custom-tailored to a patient’s specific impairment. That’s one reason he decided to leave his position as professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and program coordinator of the movement science track in the Rehabilitation Science Doctoral program at the University of Florida in Gainesville to come to MUSC. Attracted to MUSC because of its goal to create an interdisciplinary, world-class research center, Kautz is eager to begin work in CHP’s newly renovated laboratory space totaling 5,500 square-feet. (Continued on page 4)
LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECIEVES HELP FROM CHP Continued from page 1: The teachers and the principal and the school nurse were so happy and so grateful. This is what Christmas is all about.” The college was looking for a good cause and decided to adopt a local school. JoAnn King, CHP grant coordinator, has a daughter who works at Murray-LaSaine and she told them how the Title 1 school has to work so hard to have enough supplies. The school has more than 90 percent of its population qualifying for free or reduced lunches. The parents of these children are not required to buy school supplies; the school must provide all supplies and the teachers get only $250 a year to provide supplies for their classrooms. Jim Moore, IT specialist, said it was an opportunity for him to show gratitude. “People are happy, especially with the economy the way it is, to be in the position to help someone,” he said. Karen Richardson, administrative assistant, said her motivation was the children. “That’s the important thing.” To unsubscribe to this e-newsletter please email “Unsubscribe” to meltonl@musc.edu
The Arch
winter 2010 edition • college of health professions
page 4
ATTENTION ALUMNI Please check out the MUSC College of Health Professions Job Database. Whether you are an employer looking to post an employment opportunity or a job seeker, it’s easy! Copy and paste this link into your internet browser: http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/chp/chpstu_ services/student/career.htm/career_services.htm
CHAIR TO HEAD WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH CENTER Continued from page 3: The labs will feature an instrumented split-belt treadmill that can measure 3-D ground reaction forces, a Vicon motion-capture system that allows human movement data to be collected at up to 242 frames a second, a one-of-a-kind perturbation system for investigating balance during walking, and a hightech, computer controlled body-weight support system that assists someone walking over the ground or on a treadmill. When the laboratory is completed in November, the resources in place will be among the best in the country for rehabilitation research, he said. Mark Sothmann, Ph.D., interim vice president for academic affairs and provost, said Kautz brings with him a nationally recognized research program in neurorehabilitation and extensive experience through his work with one of the nation’s best doctoral programs in rehabilitation sciences at the University of Florida. He also brings with him the designation as a Veterans Affairs (VA) Research Career Scientist, of which there are only 174 nationwide. Kautz said his joint appointment with VA Medical Center is critical. “The VA is the No. 2 funder of rehabilitation research next to the NIH. It’s a great funding source as far as being able to build a research program. It turned out that here, they really embraced having a VA appointment and a MUSC appointment and building a research program at both the same time. They saw it the same way I saw it—as a big winwin situation.” Kautz said CHP is a natural home for him in these efforts because his first commitment is providing therapists with better tools to improve the quality of life for patients. “We want to make sure that we can understand when someone comes in what their strengths and deficits for being able to change is, and put all of those pieces together to get the best outcomes for these people.”
Drs. Bowden and Embry demonstrating the new split-belt treadmill and ZeroG overhead suspension system in the College of Health Professions Research Building.
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The Arch
winter 2010 edition • college of health professions
page 5
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Send us your comments, compliments or concerns! Please call us to contact former professors, or the College. Contact: Lauren Melton meltonl@musc.edu
Office of Development College of Health Professions 843.792.9134 | 866.690.2284 http://www.musc.edu/chp
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