January 11, 2013
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Vol. 31, No. 20
‘America’s Greatest Love Story’
Pharmacy student wins New Year’s Eve trip to New York City with pilot husband By Ashley BArker Public Relations
L
ike many couples around the world, Allie and Seth Butler watched the ball drop in New York City and celebrated with a kiss when the calendar switched from 2012 to 2013. They felt far from other normal couples, though. The MUSC doctor of pharmacy candidate (Class of 2015) and her husband, an Air Force captain and C-17 pilot, were standing on a stage in the middle of Times Square at midnight with cameras rolling and the title “America’s Greatest Love Story” flashing on screens across the country. By the time the couple are reunited in two more years, the pair would have only spent five months under the same roof of their then six-year marriage. The Butlers got some extra time together when they won NIVEA’s Kiss of the Year competition after she submitted their story and Facebook fan votes were tallied to favor the military couple. A story of sacrifice and commitment to serve their country, all while maintaining their relationship, started off at the the Ohio State University’s Air Force ROTC program. A Pittsburgh native, Allie was studying meteorology and ended up joining the ROTC program a quarter before Seth, who was on the way to a mechanical
4
engineering degree. They met and worked together off and on for two years before any sparks began flying. “I came back from my training and he had sent me some random Facebook message,” Allie said. “I just thought he was sending a congratulatory message to all my classmen that had returned. I found out later, when we started dating, that it was just to me.” It took a ski trip with the Photo credit: NIVEA pair’s unit in January 2006 MUSC PharmD candidate Allie Butler and her husband of four years, Air Force Capt. for the two to officially Seth Butler, celebrated the beginning of 2013 with a kiss on stage in Times Square. become a couple. Seven months later, Seth left for is now honoring her four-year inactive southwest Asia during two-to-three-week a training exercise. The distance didn’t commitment while pursuing a PharmD trips as frequently as once a month, stop them from getting married in July degree at MUSC. leaving very little time at home. Once 2008. “Our career fields just didn’t mesh,” a year, Seth also has a four-month “We make a lot of phone calls, more she said. “I couldn’t go to the same base deployment away from Charleston. so texts,” Allie said. “If he’s stateside, as him unless there was some sort of “He’s not on the front line or it’s a lot easier for us to communicate. special assignment. We were always going anything, but it’s a dangerous job,” Allie When he deploys, it’s more like me to be struggling to line our career fields said. “He is flying over some not-so-great texting him random things that need up, so I started looking at what else I locations. Anything can happen. It’s a taking care of or stories that have rather large object in the sky and hard to could do.” happened.” Allie plans to work for the government miss.” As a C-17 pilot, supply trips, because she expects to be moving In Charleston, the Butlers don’t have training and deployments are almost frequently while following Seth. But quite as conflicting schedules as they “continuously happening.” When did when Allie also was in the Air Force. moving with him to his next base will based in Charleston, his unit typically After four years as a weather officer, See Kiss on page 8 transports supplies to Germany and she left the military as a captain and
Grant ProGram The Giving Back Program manages gifts presented to the hospital by patients and families.
6
EnvironmEntal Contaminants
2
Around Campus
Researchers lead revolution into how chemicals disrupt endocrine cycles.
4
S.C.–Israeli Collaboration
5
Meet Karen
READ THE CATALYST ONLINE — http://www.musc.edu/catalyst
2 The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013
PeoPle
Around Campus
Teddy Bear Clinic
Kester Freeman
The next Teddy Bear Clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Feb. 23 at MUSC Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, 96 Jonathan Lucas St. Parents are invited to bring their child, along with his or her favorite stuffed animal, in for a tour of the Emergency Department. The stuffed animals will receive a check-up and the children can become familiar with the staff and the emergency room environment.
Kester Freeman, the executive director of the Institute of Medicine and Public Health in South Carolina and the former chief executive officer of Palmetto Health in Columbia, will serve as the interim executive director of the Medical University Hospital Authority. Freeman will remain until the new executive director arrives.
Hoops for Hope
Cassandra Salgado Cassandra Salgado, M.D., was appointed to the role of vice chair for quality improvement in the Department of Medicine. Salgado assumed the role in the department effective Nov. 1, 2012. Since joining MUSC in 2004, Salgado has served as the university hospital epidemiologist and medical director of Infection Control. She has been on many hospital, departmental, and university committees, task forces, and workgroups focused on patient safety and quality. Salgado also serves as the fellowship program director
Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425. 843-792-4107 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Kim Draughn catalyst@musc.edu Catalyst staff: Cindy Abole, aboleca@musc.edu Ashley Barker, barkera@musc.edu
evenTs
Ashley River Tower Pharmacist Dr. Gus Katsanevakis, right, administers the flu vaccine to pharmacy tech Justin Caldwell. MUSC employees, staff, students, patients and their families can still be vaccinated against the flu and shingles (Zostavax) at MUSC Pharmacies. Call any of the pharmacies for information: Rutledge Tower, 876-0259; Ashley River Tower, 876-5585; and Hollings Cancer Center, 792-6440. for Infectious Diseases and is the Department of Medicine mentoring champion for the Infectious Disease Division.
Vincent Pellegrini Vincent Pellegrini Jr., M.D., was appointed chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He will be serving as the Medical University Hospital Authority musculoskeletal service line leader. He will be assuming this role The Catalyst is published once a week. Paid adver tisements, which do not represent an endorsement by MUSC or the State of South Carolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc., Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or 843-958-7490. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.
effective April 1. Pellegrini currently has research support from the Department of Defense and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and has a strong record of research funding from federal, foundation, and industry sponsors.
Hoops for Hope, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and free-throw competition, will be held March 2 at the College of Charleston’s TD Arena, 66 George St. The tournament, sponsored by the MUSC Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, will support the treatment and research for mental health disorders in children, adults and families. The event also will include a silent auction, children’s activities and more. Visit http://www. muschoopsforhope.org or call 7926470.
Water Missions International The Water Missions International Walk for Water will begin at 9 a.m., March 23 at Cannon Park, downtown Charleston. Visit www.watermissions. org/walk.
MUSC’s donation center for Red Cross has new hours The American Red Cross South Carolina Blood Services Region has new hours of operation for its MUSC donation center, 171 Ashley Ave. The schedule will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays. According to Barbie Kolar, donor recruitment representative, the new schedule will better match donors’ preferred times for making whole blood donations and help accommodate those MUSC employees who may work alternative shifts.
“We are truly grateful for your time and willingness to save lives. It is only through the dedication of donors like you that we are able to provide lifesaving blood to our hospital patients,” Kolar said. For information on the blood types most needed at MUSC, visit http://www.facebook.com/ MuscRedCrossDonorRoom. The American Red Cross blood donor room is located in Room 279 of the university hospital and can be reached at 792-1015 or 323-7457.
The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013 3
MUSC connects to health information exchange “As more and more health care I n September, MUSC Health became one of 28 partners to successfully connect to the nationwide eHealth Exchange. The project, formerly known as the National Health Information Network (NHIN), is a group of federal agencies and non-federal organizations that come together for a common mission — to improve patient care, streamline disability benefit claims, and improve public health reporting through an interoperable health information exchange. Participating organizations mutually agree to support a common set of standards that enable a secure, trusted, and interoperable connection among all participating exchange organizations for the standardized flow of patient information, by: q Sending health patient information to other participating organizations q Finding and requesting copies of health care information from other participating organizations, where permitted by law and policy q Matching patients to their data without a national patient identifier q Subscribing to receive updates to health information Currently, 28 partners, including MUSC Health, share health information across eHealth Exchange. The partners are a mix of private and public organizations that include Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
providers and payer organizations connect, the Exchange will become the health care Internet.” Dr. Frank Clark
Services (CMS), Department of Defense, Social Security Administration, and Veteran Affairs as well as industry heavyweights Kaiser Permanente, Marshfield Clinic, and several regional health exchanges such as MedVirginia. The on-boarding effort, which required meeting very strict testing requirements defined by the CMS’ Office of the National Coordinator, was led by Mark Daniels, director of OCIO’s Enterprise IT Architecture team. “The testing effort for on-boarding to the Exchange was an all-inclusive process and followed strict guidelines sent by the ONC [Office of the National Coordinator, Health Information Technology]. Not only did we have to address traditional IT integration testing, but we also had to ensure that all information, security and privacy safeguards were in place and working correctly,” said Daniels.
MUSC Health is using its connection to the exchange to electronically share patient information with the Ralph H. Johnson VA hospital and clinic as part of a national pilot program known as the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER). MUSC Health caregivers see thousands of VA patients each year, and the automated process significantly improves the time and efficiency of care. MUSC Health will use the exchange to automate the SSA’s disability request process in which MUSC Health has thousands of transactions per year. The automated process will reduce time required and reduce the need for manual intervention by MUSC personnel. “As more and more health care providers and payer organizations connect, the exchange will become the health care Internet – a secure, reliable, and convenient way to exchange patient information and achieve interoperability among caregivers,” said Frank C. Clark, Ph.D., vice president for information technology and chief information officer at MUSC. “We are also in discussion with CeHA, the Charleston-based health information exchange, about transitioning the MUSC Health exchange connection to CeHA, which would provide exchange access to CeHA members, Roper St. Francis, Trident in Summerville and East Cooper health care organizations.”
4 The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013
Researchers move forward with Israeli collaboration MUSC personnel representing research faculty and business development were part of a statewide delegation that traveled to Israel as part of a South Carolina-Israel program to promote the state and encourage collaboration. Participants included researchers, economic developers and technology experts who show an interest in advancing collaborative efforts. Joining the contingent from MUSC were Sunil Patel, M.D., Ray Turner, M.D., and Stephanie Willingham, all from the Department of Neurosciences; Joseph Helpern, Ph.D., Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Department of Radiology & Radiological Science; and Robert Donato and Coty P. Fishburne Jr., DDS, from the MUSC Foundation for Research Development. Fishburne, who also serves on the MUSC board of trustees, was impressed with Israel’s collaborative spirit and progress in research and development. The group toured hospitals,
universities and the country’s major technology business centers. Participants spoke to scientists, Israeli business leaders and government officials about potential business and commercialization activities. “Israel is known as a leader in research, especially in biomedicine. I feel South Carolina and Israel have a lot to offer in joint-collaborative projects,” said Fishburne. According to the South CarolinaIsrael Collaboration, exports from South Carolina to Israel in 2011 totaled almost $70 million and imports from Israel account for $44 million. Israeli company NeuroQuest, a Tel Aviv firm that focuses on developing blood-based immune biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, had been collaborating with MUSC’s Jacobo Mintzer, M.D., geriatric psychiatrist and Alzheimer’s disease researcher in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. The group announced in
MUSC’s Dr. Coty Fishburne, from left, Dr. Ray Turner, Dr. Sunil Patel, Robert Donato and Dr. Joe Helpern visit Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem as well as other Israeli hospitals and research institutions during the December 2012 tour. December its interests in establishing a U.S. headquarters in South Carolina. The collaboration’s goal is to drive Israeli companies to investors, partners and customers in South Carolina and to offer incentives in much the same
Patients improve care by giving back By Cindy ABole Public Relations MUSC hospital units and clinical areas now have a chance to improve patient care through a new grant program. On Dec. 6, the medical center awarded 15 grants to hospital employees for their proposed projects and ideas that would positively impact care and meet MUSC’s mission of education, patient care and research through the new Giving Back Program. The program was established in 2010 to manage gifts presented to the hospital by more than 800 patients and their families, according to Terry Wilson, Pastoral Care manager and chair of the Giving Back Program review committee. The amount of funding awarded each year is based on the amount raised for the fund from the previous year. The committee, which consisted of Wilson and hospital leaders, reviewed each application and ranked the top projects based on grant criteria and guidelines, funding, mission, timeline, impact/visibility and measurability. A total of 43 applications competed for funding. In the end, 15 grant awards, totaling more than $24,000, were approved by the committee. “This program exists because the grateful hearts of patients and their families inspired them to make gifts to the hospital. It’s wonderful to see the creative ways that a program such as this can directly improve patient
Giving Back Grant Program Committee Terry Wilson, chair, Pastoral Care and Interpreter Services; Glenn Richmond, Clinical Effectiveness; Becky Cherrington, R.N., Nurse Alliance chair; Nicole Bernier, Ambulatory Care; Hailey James, MUHA Administration; Jean Smith, Therapeutic and Professional Support Services; Kesha Graham, Medical Director’s Office; Jennifer Fox, R.N., Clinical Effectiveness & Patient Safety; and Dave Soutter, Heart & Vascular Center Development care,” said Wilson. Project ideas ranged from staff training to new equipment. For example, clinical nurse manager Cynthia Dollason, R.N., who works at the MUSC Children’s After Hours & Specialty Care clinic in North Charleston, requested funds to purchase a portable hand-held pulse oximeter unit for the clinic. According to Dollason, the addition of a portable unit can provide fast and accurate pulse rate measurements and feedback for a toddler or newborn. With the advent of flu season, the device is valuable. It can provide more accurate respiratory readings and provide a more calming experience for the child. “This device will help make the difference,” she said. According to Wilson, the next call for Giving Back applications will occur later this spring, when the fund will award another $25,000 in grant projects.
way that BMW, Boeing and other corporations have established operations in the state. S.C.’s research universities and centers of economic excellence are
See Researchers on page 9
The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013 5
Meet Karen
Karen Hilbert Department OB/GYN East Cooper Women’s Center How long at MUSC I started Jan. 2. How are you changing what’s possible at MUSC By the thoroughness of care that I provide to my patients Last book read “The Best of Me” by Nicholas Sparks Dream vacation A trip to Tuscany Greatest moments in your life Getting married and having my fraternal twins, Seth and Megan. Favorite restaurant Joe’s Crab Shack in Myrtle Beach Meal you love to cook Lasagna A must-have in the pantry Chocolate Nickname in high school Freckles Unique talent I am very crafty. Favorite quote Live, laugh, love
6 The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013
takinG thE lonG viEw Researchers lead revolution into how chemicals impact environmental health By dAWn BrAzell Public Relations
O
n the surface, crocodiles in the renowned Kruger National Park and the oil spill along America’s Gulf Coast may not seem to have much in common — unless you’re MUSC researcher Louis J. Guillette Jr., Ph.D. The reproductive endocrinologist and a developmental geneticist is involved in studies in both regions to figure how chemicals and contaminants interact with the environment in ways that impact human health. His research is confirming just how dramatic and far reaching these impacts can be. That’s a subject Guillette, director of the Marine Biomedicine & Environmental Sciences Center, explores in a reflective piece published in Science magazine titled “Life in a Contaminated World.” (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6102/1614. summary) The article commemorates the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s book ,“Silent Spring,” that challenged thinking that up until the early 1960s saw pesticide use as simply a benefit to agriculture and public health with few detrimental consequences. Guillette observes in the article that the book was the start of a debate that continues to this day on the relative benefits and risks of not just pesticides but of all synthetic chemicals. His goal: To get researchers, doctors and the public asking the right questions. “It’s time. A revolution is taking place. The new
realization is that your health is a combination of what you inherited from mom and dad, but also the environment you saw from the day you were conceived. It’s no longer diseasecentric in that you have a mutation and it’s a predisposition for disease,” he said, adding that a person’s diet and lifestyle, level of stress and exposure to chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors all could be factors leading to such conditions as diabetes, obesity, cancer or infertility. “It’s not just your genes. The idea is there is far more you in your health than just what is inherited from mom and dad. Your daily actions actually have a much greater impact, not only on your health but the health of your children and even your grandchildren. This potentially has a multi-generational effect.” The reason Guillette is so passionate and gives dozens of public health talks every year is that he sees the impact of how chemicals and environmental
contaminants can mimic hormones and act as endocrine disrupters. Endocrine disruptors can create issues from infertility to obesity by mimicking the actions of naturallyoccurring hormones in the body or preventing the hormones produced. An example is how the liver handles excretion. Researchers are studying compounds that act as obesogens that encourage the body to store fat and re-program cells to become fat cells or the liver to become insulin resistant. In his wildlife biology research for the past 20 years, Guillette has found infertility and reproductive issues in alligator populations from Florida to South Carolina. Mammals use hormones that are identical to what reptiles use, which is why alligators and crocodiles serve as typical research subjects for Guillette as sentinel species to study environmental impacts on human health.
inTo The Wild
Dr. Louis J. Guillette in South Africa. Watch a video at http://bit.ly/Dr_Louis_Guillette_Jr.
Guillette was asked to go to South Africa to Kruger National Park to examine why almost half of the crocodile population there has died off in the past two and a half years. He went in September for a couple of weeks to catch and test crocodiles, getting chased by hippopotamuses and driving through maternity herds of elephants. “You would come around a bend and there would be a lion. It’s like being in Africa 100 years ago,” he said. It was, except that this area is a low-lying drainage
See heAlTh on page 7
The Catalyst, January 11, 2013 7 Dr. Guillette, who traveled with armed guides while doing research in Kruger National Park, took time to photograph the wonders of the region. Below, he shows off his ‘Rachel Carson was right’ button.
heAlTh Continued from Page Six basin and the crocodiles are in trouble, as well as catfish. “I do know crocodilians, and there are some things that don’t measure up. Something is going on. The park is an environmental wonderland, a place that people come from all over the world to visit. It resembles New Orleans as far as environmental problems in that it’s a low-lying area susceptible to contaminants that are transported in rivers from all over the country.” Guillette said the initial four year study in South Africa will be an interesting collaboration, as will be the three-year BP trust fund-sponsored Gulf of Mexico research grant. Guillette and colleagues Demetri D. Spyropoulos, Ph.D., Satomi Kohno, Ph.D., and John E. Baatz, Ph.D., landed a $1.2 million grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the gulf. The study, “Using Embryonic Stem Cell Fate to Determine Potential Adverse Effects of Petroleum/Dispersant Exposure,” involves the latest in innovative testing methods that takes advantage of where the researchers have set up shop. Although the Hollings Marine Labarotory is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-administered facility, it is a fully cooperative enterprise with activities governed by the five partner organizations that include MUSC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “It’s not just great science we’re proposing, but it is also the setting that provides us a step up compared to lots of places. We have this unique community that we have built and continue to build. It validates the marine biomedicine model we have of having a medical school partnering with NOAA and NIST and world-class analytical chemists and biologists.”
inTo The lAB Guillette and colleagues have worked extensively for years trying to find out how environmental contaminants and native hormones influence gene expression via steroid receptors – acting as mimics of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. The question was how to screen chemicals, in this case the
petroleum and dispersant chemicals, in a way to avoid testing a wide array of wild animals. Fortunately, together with Spyropoulos, Kohno and Baatz, they had insights based on their research programs that could contribute a new approach to testing environmental chemicals. They’ve developed a technique that can take the estrogen or progesterone receptors from the more than 40 marine animals that have been cloned and put it into a cell with a reporter construct so that when researchers add a chemical, it binds to the receptor, said Guillette. “That is translated to the reporter, binds to the reporter and turns on a gene and the cell glows, and it does it in a dose-dependent fashion. Now you can say this chemical can be an estrogen or a progesterone or whatever, and determine the dose. It lets us know we now have an active compound to study.” Spyropoulos and Baatz also have been able to harvest lung cells from
pygmy sperm whales and make inducible pluripotent stem cells where they took lung cells and “drove them backwards developmentally.” Guillette said they’ll be able to take aged oil or whatever substance they’re studying and test it on cells to see if it changes the developmental process, so instead of stimulating muscle cell growth, the treated cell becomes a fat cell, for example. “There’s a whole world out there we realize of compounds called obesogens. These are chemicals that in the developing embryo instead of stimulating the production of muscle or fiberblast cells, it actually stimulates more fat cells. The chemicals and contaminants in the diet during embryonic development may be programming that body to store more fat.” The Gulf of Mexico research initiative received 629 applications and MUSC was one of 19 chosen. The initiative is helping to build a portfolio of top scientists who are working together. “The hope is that although the projects are solicited as individual investigator-driven projects, by sharing this information, we are building a community that is interested in finding out what’s going on. We can start to get some idea about whether we should be concerned and where we need to do more work.” There are several chemicals that are common, such as BPA found in plastics and tri-butal-tin found near harbors around the world, that have been suggested to have obesogenic activity. Guillette said their BP study can’t answer everything, but they know how to be selective in their focus to find those
chemicals that do disrupt endocrine cycles. “We know that obesogens are a critical component and that things like estrogens and androgens are critical for long-term and short-term fertility. We know that glucocorticoids or stress hormones are associated with inflammation and immune function. We can take human glucocorticoid receptors, whale and alligator and fish glucocorticoid, and line them up in different cells and test the chemicals all at the same time. Then we can see if the chemical potentially interacts with the receptor that is associated with stress and immune function, and we can also test if it goes across species.”
The CArson ConneCTion Their work builds on what Rachel Carson believed decades ago, even without the scientific testing methods that researchers have today. If Carson were alive today, he’d like to tell her thank you and that she was right. He’s proud to be following in her footsteps. “If I told you that in a week you’re going to get 2,000 chemicals in your body that your grandparents never had in their body, and we have no idea what the health consequences are, and not just in you – it’s in your kids too. Would you think that was good?” The revolution happening is that scientists from critical disciplines are joining forces to change the way this game is played, he said. “We’re coming together to say as biologists, as health professionals, as chemists, we need to start working together. Chemists need to start taking toxicology and health classes, and biologists need to start working with chemists.” It’s an immense undertaking and one still surrounded in controversy, but Guillette sees the science winning out. “We’re supposed to be bright people. We’re supposed to be leaders in the world in innovation. Let’s start innovating. And you know what? There’s money in that. There’s real money in that because a proprietary chemical is always going to make you more money than something that’s 50 years old. If that’s your vested interest, that’s fine. For me, I just want healthy kids.”
8 The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013
kiss Continued from Page One not be an option until she finishes her education. In April, Seth will head to San Antonio for more training. Then he’ll go to his new base in Mississippi in August, where he’ll be instructing future pilots. As a part of the winning NIVEA package, the Butlers were flown to New York City twice — once to appear on “The Wendy Williams Show” with the other two couples who were finalists and again to have their first kiss of 2013 in front of the world — and were given exclusive VIP tickets to the New Year’s Eve party at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square. During their second trip, two videographers followed the couple around filming their Big Apple visit and interaction with the 11,875-pound Times Square Ball. “They were documenting everything for the two days and I told Seth, ‘I bet paparazzi are going to get confused.’ Lo and behold, paparazzi started taking pictures of us too because they didn’t know who we were,” Allie said. The Butlers also met “Saved By The Bell” actor Mario Lopez and his wife, Courtney Mazza, who were kiss ambassadors and hosts of NIVEA’s televised celebration.
“The dimples are really big in person, extremely big,” Allie said about meeting Lopez. “I just couldn’t get A.C. Slater (his “Saved By The Bell” character) out of my head when I saw him. I feel bad because I’m sure he gets stereotyped with that all the time. But that’s my generation. That’s what we watched every day after school.” Being together was better than all of the celebrity-like treatment, though. “He’s the highlight of pretty much everything,” Allie said. “We’re still in the honeymoon phase after four and a half years of marriage.” While they watched the thousands of people crowd into Times Square and musical performances by bands like Train, the Butlers had a huge fan club of their own. Family and friends were all watching different broadcasts hoping to get a glimpse of their big moment. “People were recording the TV with their phones and texting us all night,” she said. “My mom usually goes to bed at like 8, so this was a struggle. I’m sure she was taking down some coffee that night.” When the calendar changes to 2014, Allie hopes she and Seth are together still but in a much more low-key location. “It was so much fun, but it’s off the bucket list now. Check. Done,” she said. “I won’t ever do New York on New Year’s Eve again. How can you top that?”
Photo provided by Allie Butler
C-17 Air Force pilot Seth Butler and his wife, Allie, an MUSC student, met at the Ohio State University and were married in July 2008.
The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013 9
Nominations being accepted for Teaching Excellence Awards A call for nominations is under way to all MUSC faculty and students. The purpose of these awards is to recognize members of MUSC who have made contributions to the university through teaching. Awards may be given from the following categories: q Clinical/Professional (EducatorMentor): For teaching excellence in nontraditional roles with individuals or small groups, specifically those who teach, mentor, or serve as role models in their clinical and professional development. q Scholarship/Academic (EducatorMentor): For teaching excellence in nontraditional roles with individuals or small groups, specifically those who teach, mentor, or serve as role models in their scholarly or academic development. q Educator-Lecturer: For teaching excellence in traditional, didactic or classroom teaching. q Developing Teacher: For teaching excellence demonstrated by a junior faculty member in either of the above categories. Any regular, full-time faculty member who holds an academic rank of instructor or higher in a college or department of MUSC, who has not
reseArChers
been the recipient of this award within the previous three years is eligible for nomination. Faculty who are nominated in the Clinical/Professional (EducatorMentor), Scholarship/Academic (Educator-Mentor), or Educator-Lecturer categories must have taught at MUSC for three or more years. Those nominated for the Developing Teacher category must have taught for a minimum of two years at MUSC and for no more than four years total at an institute of higher education. Presented for the first time in 1995, these awards were proposed as part of MUSC’s Educational Strategic Plan. In addition to a commemorative medallion, each recipient will receive a cash award from the MUSC Foundation. Nomination deadline is Jan. 28. Nominees will be invited to submit supporting materials, and a committee of faculty and students representing MUSC’s six colleges, Library Sciences and Informatics, and the Student Government Association will select the recipients for this year’s awards. Forms may be obtained and submitted at http://www.carc.musc. edu/nomination/. For information, call Marcia Higaki at 792-2228.
Continued from Page Four
attractive for potential business partners, and Israel can serve as a bridge to the European market for South Carolina companies. Additionally, both countries offer grant support to encourage joint venture research and development through U.S.-Israel binational foundation grants. The collaboration is built on six identified clusters of strength in S.C. and Israel where there is potential for synergy and relevance biomedical, advanced materials, sustainable systems, transportation, defense and security. A program of work was developed for this visit to showcase companies and institutions on both sides and encourage introduction that may lead to meaningful interaction and collaboration. Helpern, who is director of the Center for Biomedical Imaging and the SmartState endowed chair in Brain
Imaging, felt the visit was everything he’d hoped it would be. “We visited universities and researchbased hospitals around the country, and every host took the time to earnestly thank us for coming, which showed us Israel’s sincerity for South Carolina’s presence in this venture,” said Helpern, who’d like to see a postdoctoral exchange program between both countries. “Israel is a vibrant, progressive country with so much to give in regards to technology collaborations, biomedicine and academia. Who wouldn’t want to move forward in this opportunity?” The delegation visit was organized by the American Israel Chamber of Commerce Southeast Region and supported through a grant from The InterTech Group, a holding investment company based in Charleston.
Earl B. Higgins awards to honor former director MUSC’s Office of Student Diversity is accepting nominations for the Earl B. Higgins Award. Established to honor a former director of minority affairs, the award acknowledges dedication to positive contributions to diversity enhancement on the campus, in the colleges, the university or MUHA. Nominations are being accepted for two separate awards: The Earl B. Higgins 2013 Achievement in Diversity Award and The Earl B. Higgins 2013 Student Leadership in
Diversity Award. Nominations must include the nomination form (http:// academicdepartments.musc.edu/ diversity/earlbhiggins.html/) and two letters of endorsements. Packets may be submitted via fax and mail; however electronic submissions are recommended. Send submissions to burnham@musc.edu. For information, call Willette S. Burnham, M.Ed., executive director for student programs in the Office of Student Diversity, at 792-2146.
10 The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013
I
eMployee Wellness
t’s that time again — New Year’s resolutions. How often do we decide that this year will be different, that this will be the year we stick to our goals and lose weight, get in shape, and be a better person? With the right tools, resources, a supportive environment and motivation to succeed, this might be the year. MUSC Employee Wellness has put together a month of Susan Johnson programs and resources that focus getting fit and healthy, not only for this month but for a lifetime. In addition to the programs listed below, watch broadcast messages for daily wellness tips. q Lose weight: Join the Lunchtime Losers Group, a weight loss program designed for employees that meets weekly for 10 weeks at noon every Thursday at the Institute of Psychiatry. Email Josh Brown, Ph.D., at browjosh@musc.edu. q Get fit: Never tried Zumba? Give it a try from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., Jan. 16. at the wellness center (email muscempwell@musc.edu). Then make it a habit on Wednesday nights at 5 p.m. in Room 302, Harborview Office Tower (email curryf@musc.edu) or join the MUSC Wellness Center. Visit www. musc.edu/hcc for information. q Eat right: Try the “Green Plate” specials in the cafeteria for healthy options. Check out the electronic menu system that calculates nutrients at
Health at work
http://www.muschealth.com/nutrition/ dining/retail/menusretail.htm. For a quick snack, look for green or yellow choices in the vending machines or opt for all healthy options in the healthy vending machines in Colbert Library and the Wellness Center. Employee Wellness Events q Weight Management Month Lunch and Learn: “Carbs, Fats and Protein – oh my.” Join registered dietitian Debbie Petitpain as she discusses how each of these macronutrients work in harmony in the body, which foods provide them and why diets ‘free’ of anyone of them are inherently unbalanced. The session will be held from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., Jan. 16, Room 103, Colbert Education & Library Center. Bring your lunch and join us in person or online via Adobe Connect Meeting. (email muscempwell@musc.edu to register). Check broadcast messages for daily “Commit to be Fit/Healthy Lifestyle” tips this month as well. q Worksite screening: The next worksite screening will be held from 7 to 11a.m., Jan. 22, Room 125, Gazes (Strom Thurmond) building. This screening, valued at about $350, is available to employees with the State Health Plan for only $15 (covered spouses can also participate for $15). Employees and spouses without this insurance can participate for $42. To register, go to www.musc.edu/employeewellness and click Worksite Screening Appointment. Email johnsusa@musc.edu or whela@ musc.edu for more information.
Essay contest accepting submissions The MUSC Multicultural Student Advisory Board and Office of Student Diversity are accepting sutdent submissions for the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Essay Contest Requirements: Essays must be 1,200 words or less Written double-spaced using a 12 point font Submitted electronically by 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 11 to burnham@musc.edu The winning essay and the MUSC Gospel Choir will be featured during the annual MLK Day Program at noon, Friday, Jan. 18, Room 302, Basic Science Building For information, call 792-2147 Cash awards for 1st place $250, 2nd place $150 and 3rd place $100 Visit www.musc.eduy/diversity for details on essay theme and requirements.
The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013 11
Items for Sale
Misc. Services
Full-Size Whirlpool Cabrio W/D. Top of the line, in great shape. $750/OBO. Jackie (23071) for info.
Basic Lawn Care Reasonable Rates Greg 843 303-2615
Rooms For Rent 1 furn. BR/BA on Daniel Is. Minimum 6 mo. lease or longer. 600.00/mo. 843-834-6267
TO ADVERTISE IN THE CATALYST CALL 849-1778
12 The CATAlysT, January 11, 2013