SUMMER 2014 | SANFORDHEALTH.ORG
The New Cancer Epidemic
Sanford achieves one of the highest oropharyngeal cancer survival rates in the nation
discoveries Summer 2014
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Message from David Pearce, PhD The New Cancer Epidemic Updates from Development & Research Events Calendar
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message from David Pearce
This issue of Sanford Discoveries showcases Sanford Health’s continued evolution of bringing scientific discoveries to the clinical setting, resulting in some of the best health outcomes in the nation. Sanford Health ENT physician-scientist John Lee, MD, FACS, is leading the way when it comes to developing advanced therapies for what has become a growing health epidemic – head and neck cancer.
Sanford Health Development & Research 1305 W 18th Street PO Box 5039 Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5039 For questions or additional information email us at discoveries@sanfordhealth.org or visit us on the web at sanfordhealth.org
A recent study at Sanford tracked the survival rate of head and neck cancer patients over the last five years. Two years post-treatment, 98 percent of Sanford Ear, Nose and Throat patients survived their cancer. This is compared to the national average of 72 percent according to SEER survival data tracked by the National Cancer Institute. Sanford’s Head and Neck Cancer Team is a premier example of Sanford’s growing physician-scientist culture and how it is accelerating the translation of discoveries to some of the most advanced health care available today.
David Pearce, PhD Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Sanford Research
The New Cancer Epidemic
S anford achieves one of the highest oropharyngeal cancer survival rates in the nation
Cancer leaves its marks. Whether it is the loss of hair due to chemotherapy or the emotional scars of battling a disease, all that are diagnosed bear some sign of their illness. But the marks left behind from one certain type of cancer are often more severe than others.
specialist and researcher John Lee, MD, FACS. “A lot of other effects from cancer, you can cover up with a shirt or scarf. The treatment for head and neck cancer is so drastic. People do not realize how socially detrimental this type of cancer is to those who are dealing with it.”
“With head and neck cancers, it affects the part of us that allows us to eat, to vocalize, and to communicate with others,” says Sanford Ear, Nose and Throat
The prevalence of head and neck cancers has exploded in the last few years across the nation and even here in South Dakota. The amount of patients being treated
Cover Photo (left to right): Oncologist and Hematologist Steven Powell, MD; ENT Specialist and Surgeon Andrew Terrell, MD; ENT Specialist and Surgeon Chad Spanos, MD; Radiation Oncologist Michelle Lohr, MD; and ENT Specialist and Surgeon John Lee, MD.
for this at Sanford Health has gone from 9 in 2008 to 304 in 2013. “This is really the new cancer epidemic,” says Dr. Lee. “The number of people we’ve seen with tonsillar cancer in the last few years has tripled if not quadrupled in size.” And in most of these new cases, the cause is the human papilloma virus - known more commonly as HPV. Fuel to the fire HPV is a DNA virus. It can affect both men and women and is essentially fuel for cancer growth. There are dozens of strains of the virus, some of which will lead to no issues and will go away on their own, while others are the reason for most cases of cervical cancer. Many of the head and neck cancer cases form from two strains of the HPV virus. And while Dr. Lee knows the culprit behind the cancer, where it’s coming from is still largely a mystery. “At this point, the actual reason is not understood yet,” says Dr. Lee. “But we are seeing it mostly in white men who are between the ages of 55 and 60.” A better way As the number of patient cases has increased, so has Sanford’s success in helping patients overcome the disease with Dr. Lee’s leadership. Sanford Health’s Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) team of doctors is producing one of the best health outcome rates in the nation for head and neck cancer patients. A recent study at Sanford tracked the survival rate of head and neck cancer patients over the last five years. Two years post-treatment, 98 percent of Sanford Ear, Nose and Throat patients survived their cancer. This is compared to the national average of 72 percent according to SEER survival data tracked by the National Cancer Institute. Sanford ENT’s use of robotic surgery also enables patients to have a quicker recovery time with a less invasive procedure. But even with all these advancements and promising outcomes, 4 | discoveries
Sanford Health ENT surgeons John Lee, MD and Chad Spanos, MD, are leading the way in head and neck cancer research and care, providing their patients with some of the highest cancer survival rates in the nation.
Dr. Lee is pushing for more. “We think that there is a better way to do it,” says Dr. Lee. “We want to be able to target the specific virus and help the body clear that virally infected cell out.” With that motivation, Dr. Lee and his team are using a drug targeting those cells. “The cancer cells require two viral proteins to grow and to live,” explains Dr. Lee. “What we have done is taken a normal virus vaccine and have put in the proteins that are required. But we’ve changed them in such a way that they can’t cause cancer. They can just cause an immune reaction.” It is this immune reaction found in HPV-positive head and neck cancer patients that Dr. Lee and the other researchers working on this study are counting on to deliver some positive results. “This is something that our lab has brought to the forefront,” says Dr. Lee. “Let’s say I’ve been therapeutically vaccinated. This vaccine will help my body get ready to clear that tumor better during radiation treatments. My immune response will be heightened.” Currently the treatment team is testing another method to improve immune response in the tumor using a non-toxic drug called DCA. This has gone through years of testing and is just about to reach the end of a three-year human clinical trial conducted by Dr. Lee, which is the first of its kind in the nation. The study involved 50 Sanford patients. Throughout the trial, the participants received best practice care and treatment for their cancer in addition to either a dose of the new medication or a placebo over the course of eight weeks. This was a blind study where neither the patients nor the doctors knew if they were taking the placebo or the new drug. And because the study is still in progress, Dr. Lee’s team of researchers is unable to gather any data on the effectiveness of the drug, as they are still blind to who received it. Center for discoveries So while it is too early to tell what the study findings will reveal, they are important steps in the world of cancer research. And these steps are being taken right here at Sanford Health. “As a nation, we are seeing thousands of new cases like this every year and it’s been going up,” says Dr. Lee. “For the type of care we provide at Sanford, patients use to have to go out of state. Now they just travel a few hours or across town. We are essentially bringing the forefront of medicine to South Dakota.”
updates
A grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will provide Sanford Research’s Jill Weimer, PhD, with $1.75 million over five years to study intracellular trafficking in neurological disorders such as the rare pediatric Batten disease.
Sanford Research Dr. Weimer Secures NIH Grant To Explore Intracellular Trafficking A grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will provide Sanford Research’s Jill Weimer, PhD, with $1.75 million over five years to study intracellular trafficking in neurological disorders such as the rare pediatric Batten disease. Weimer’s study, “Novel mechanisms for distal transport in developing and mature neurons,” was selected by the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for funding. Neuronal processes known as axons and dendrites in the brain serve to pass information between cells. Because these processes are often several centimeters in length, neurons, unlike any other cells in the body, require unique ways to sort and transport proteins and essential cargo over long distances. When neurons lose the ability to properly sort and move these proteins, the connections break down, leading to neurodegeneration. This loss in synaptic connection is often one of the earliest changes in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases like Batten disease. Weimer and her team will explore how a certain protein complex might keep cells alive by allowing continued transportation of cellular cargo.
“The transportation of cargo within axons and dendrites is essential to maintaining synaptic connections and keeping them alive,” said Weimer. “We believe the protein complex we are studying in our lab--which contains CRMP2, KLC4 and CLN6 proteins--is essential for neuronal survival. Without it, the cells in our brain aren’t able to get the needed supplies to the end of their processes, synapses disappear and the processes degenerate. Imagine you were trying to ship corn from South Dakota to Pennsylvania on a train and someone removed the wheels and engine; this protein complex serves a similar function for transport in neurons.” Dr. Weimer is a scientist in the Children’s Health Research sanfordhealth.org | 5
Center at Sanford Research. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina and has worked at Sanford Research since 2009. “The exploration of diseases that afflict children continues to be a point of emphasis for us,” said David Pearce, PhD, vice president and chief operating officer of Sanford Research. “The effects of Denny Sanford’s gifts are undoubtedly impacting the quality of research we are able to undertake locally with support from national agencies like the NIH.”
National Genomic Oncology Advisor Selected for Edith Sanford Breast Cancer James Ford, MD
A leading medical oncologist and geneticist at Stanford University has joined the Edith Sanford Breast Center team as its national genomic oncology advisor. James Ford, MD, will guide Sanford Health on clinical research and personalized treatments for breast cancer. As Edith Sanford’s national genomic oncology advisor, Dr. Ford will help develop and launch clinical trials in genomics and provide technical expertise to treating physicians based on the interpretation of genomic data gathered from those clinical trials. “Dr. Ford is devoted to studying the genetic basis of breast cancer
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development, treatment and prevention,” said Gene Hoyme, MD, president of Sanford Research and chief academic officer. “His research vision supports that of Edith Sanford, which is to understand the role of genetic variances in cancer genes in regard to the risk and development of breast cancer and other common cancers.” Dr. Ford is currently an associate professor of medicine (oncology) and genetics and director of the Stanford Cancer Genetics Clinic and the Cancer Genomics Program at Stanford University Medical Center. He graduated from Yale University in 1984 and received his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine in 1989. The recipient of numerous national awards, Dr. Ford is also an editor for Cancer Research, PLoS Genetics and DNA Repair and serves on the scientific review committee for the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Sanford Clinical Trial Looks for Genetic Targets in Cancer Sanford Health is working to enroll approximately 50 adult patients whose cancer has progressed after the first line of treatment or who have rare cancers without standard treatment options in a clinical trial to look for genetic information that could help customize treatment options. The Genetic Exploration of the Molecular Basis of Malignancy in Adults (GEMMA) began earlier this
month across the Sanford footprint. Enrollees are consenting adult patients with advanced cancers whose disease has progressed on at least one line of therapy or who have a rare cancer with no standard treatment. DNA will be extracted from tumor samples and tested to identify targets for treatment. “DNA contains genetic information that acts as a blue print for how our bodies are made and work,” said Steven Powell, MD, a Sioux Falls oncologist and clinical researcher. “A single change in the sequence of DNA can lead to cancer, and while we know some the genetic changes that can cause disease, we have much more to discover. We are learning that some of these changes can be targeted with new therapies. This could change the face of cancer care.” Patients enrolled in GEMMA are screened over a period of up to two weeks to determine if they fit the study criteria. Upon enrollment, tissues are analyzed, and the patient’s case is reviewed by their physician and the Sanford Genomic Tumor
Board, a panel of experts in cancer care and genetics, to determine the best course of treatment. Next-generation sequencing technology will be used to analyze the tumor samples and provide real-time clinical information for each patient’s care team. Throughout the study, patients will regularly meet a research coordinator for progress updates. Following treatment, patients will be monitored for two years. “GEMMA patients receive treatment in line with the best in the world,” said Anu Gaba, MD, a hematologist and oncologist based in Fargo. “The experts tasked with studying a patient’s tumor provide a diverse prospective and allow for a personalized treatment regimen that will consider each person’s unique genomic composition.” This study is the beginning of a focused effort to provide patients access to novel personalized therapies. To complement the GEMMA study, Sanford will open several additional clinical trials that utilize novel therapies that treat genetic targets found on the GEMMA study.
Genetic Analysis of 3,000 Women Could Identify Cancer Risk Three-thousand bio specimens from women will be analyzed as part of the ongoing collaboration between Edith Sanford Breast Center and Athena Breast Health Network to determine whether certain genetic variants could be indicators of breast cancer. The effort aims to gather information that will impact prevention strategies and more precisely identify risk levels of developing breast cancer. As part of the study, 1,500 women at elevated risk and 1,500 women at average risk for breast cancer will be genotyped. “We believe this to be one of the largest groups of women to ever be studied to determine breast cancer risk levels,” said Gene
Hoyme, MD, president of Sanford Research. “If an elevated risk is identified, care teams can improve the likelihood of healthier lifestyle changes and implement preventative treatments when appropriate.” In November, Edith Sanford Breast Center and Athena Breast Health Network announced a partnership in which Sanford Health became a member of the Athena Breast Health Network, positioning the health system to begin providing patients with a comprehensive breast cancer risk assessment at the time of mammography screening. Additionally, the program will offer patients the opportunity to participate in research aimed at gaining a better understanding of breast cancer and its risk factors, ultimately raising the standard of care for women everywhere. To analyze each sample from the 3,000 women, AKESOgen, an Atlanta based biomarker and genetics company selected by Edith Sanford and Athena, will utilize Oncochip technology. “The Oncochip is a uniquely designed genetic analysis tool that uses Illumina’s beadarray technology. It will allow us to provide genetic data of the highest quality to the collaboration. The data will benefit both the participants and the breast cancer research community,” said Mark Bouzyk, PhD, chief scientific officer of AKESOgen. Data gathered and studied by Edith Sanford and Athena could positively influence the riskassessment tool and care plans. “The addition of the genetic variants risk assessment allows us to deliver a new level of personalized medicine and gain a better understanding an individual’s risk, thus putting our collaboration at the forefront of modern medicine,” said Laura van ‘t Veer, PhD, Director of Applied Genomics at the University of California, San Francisco and an Athena spokesperson.
University of California medical centers. Edith Sanford Breast Center is its first partner outside of California and was selected because of its expertise in breast cancer genomics and its ability to integrate the risk assessment into patient care.
JDRF Selects Sanford Project’s Guo for Grant Zhiguang Guo, MD, PhD
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has awarded The Sanford Project’s Zhiguang Guo, MD, PhD, a three-year, $750,000 grant to study biomarkers that could earlier indicate the onset of juvenile (type 1) diabetes. Guo’s study is titled “Identification and Validation of Beta Cell Biomarkers in Humanized Mouse Models with Functional Human Islets.” Type 1 diabetes is characterized by a loss of beta cells, which create insulin. This loss, however, can be difficult to detect in its early stages. Using a mouse model, Guo and his research team will work to identify biomarkers that correlate with the early loss of beta cells. The mouse model will include human islet grafts, which maintain beta cell production. “Success in these experiments could help develop a panel of biomarkers for clinical evaluation of type 1 diabetes stages,” said Dr. Guo. “Further, this could help start early therapeutic interventions to effectively protect remaining beta cell mass and to prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes.” Dr. Guo, who also received a $500,000 grant from the JDRF in August, is a scientist with The Sanford Project at Sanford Research. JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. It currently sponsors $568 million in scientific research in 17 countries.
Athena Breast Health Network is a collaboration among the five
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Orvar Jonsson, MD and Shawn Kelly, MD, Sanford Cardiovascular Institute Sioux Falls, “Does a cardiac rehabilitation program immediately following hospitalization reduce hospital readmissions and improve quality of life outcomes in heart failure patients?” Gene Hoyme, MD, president of Sanford Research and chief academic officer for Sanford Health, was presented with the Spirit of Augustana Award for Research and Innovation.
Sanford’s Hoyme Honored by Augustana College Gene Hoyme, MD, president of Sanford Research and chief academic officer for Sanford Health, was presented with the Spirit of Augustana Award for Research and Innovation at Augustana College’s commencement on May 24. Hoyme was also the featured speaker. According the Augustana, “The Spirit of Augustana Award for Research and Innovation recognizes individuals who have the courage to try and the resilience to try again. These are the pioneers who understand and appreciate the unmet needs of others, and who are passionately driven to seek and find ways to save lives through the wonders of science. As fellow citizens, we revere those who research and innovate and, as importantly, who encourage research and innovation in others.” Hoyme is an Augustana alumnus who went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He is internationally known for his work in pediatrics and medical genetics, particularly in the area of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This spring, Hoyme was featured in The Augustana, a publication for alumni, parents and friends of the college. The article, “Sequencing the Future of Medicine,” chronicles Hoyme’s journey from an undergraduate at Augustana to the world of genetics. 8 | discoveries
New Research Proposals Backed by Sanford Seed Grant Research Fund Six Sanford research studies have been selected to receive funding from the Sanford Seed Grant Research Fund, established in 2011 to grow and evolve unfunded research ideas of Sanford clinicians. “By investing in our clinicians’ ideas, we’re investing in the quality of patient care provided here and around the country,” said David Pearce, PhD, vice president and chief operating officer of Sanford Research. “These grants further broaden Sanford’s physician-scientist culture by providing clinicians with initial funding required for bringing their research to the forefront.” The proposals were chosen based on the criteria of purpose and priority, scientific integrity, potential for future funding and feasibility. The recipients include the following: Gabriela Balf, MD, Sanford Behavioral Health Bismarck, “Nurse-based intervention to improve treatment adherence using motivational style.” Purpose: To study an intervention that combines several successful adherence enhancing factors that improves health and reduces the harmful effects of treatment non-adherence.
Purpose: To determine if patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of heart failure benefit from a fourweek cardiac rehabilitation program immediately following hospitalization. Kyle Judd, MD, Sanford Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Sioux Falls and Vishal Bhatia, MD, Sanford Diabetes and Thyroid Clinic - Sioux Falls, “Randomizing control trial to determine the effect of teriparatide on healing of fragility fractures of the pelvic ring.” Purpose: To further evaluate the utility of the drug teriparatide in expediting fracture healing in patients who have sustained insufficiency fractures of the pelvic ring. Steven Powell, MD, Sanford Hematology Oncology - Sioux Falls, LuAnn Eidsness, MD, Sanford USD Family Medicine - Sioux Falls and Jennifer Schmidt, RN, Sanford Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic - Sioux Falls, “Integration of palliative care into the management of advanced head and neck cancer.” Purpose: To determine the feasibility of incorporating the palliative care team into the management of head and neck cancer patients undergoing standard chemoradiation therapy.
Chad Spanos, MD, Paola D. Vermeer, PhD, Laurie Gromer, CNP, and Jennifer Schmidt, RN, Sanford Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic - Sioux Falls, “Characterizing circulating tumor cells from head and neck cancer patients.” Purpose: To molecularly characterize Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs), a critical first step in identifying key components in the metastatic process. Peter Van Eerden, MD, Michelle Cooley, CNP, Sanford Fetal Care Center - Fargo and Amy Elliott, PhD, Sanford Research - Sioux Falls, “The impact of a comprehensive stillbirth evaluation guideline on the classification of stillbirth as explained versus unexplained at Sanford Health, Fargo.” Purpose: To examine provider patterns in ordering the most efficacious test in stillbirth evaluation and implement a systematic classification of stillbirths utilizing the most common literature-based systems.
Sanford Applied Biosciences Announces Name and Ownership Changes
4th Annual Sanford Type 1 Diabetes Symposium Convenes Experts
Sanford Applied Biosciences, SAB, (formerly Hematech) became part of Sanford Research last year. The goal of SAB has been to continue development of the transchromosomic bovine human antibody system to produce polyclonal antibodies for infectious disease, cancer, autoimmunity and inflammation.
The 4th Annual Sanford Type 1 Diabetes Symposium, “The Gut Microbiome, Immunity and Type 1 Diabetes,” was held at the Sanford Center May 15 – 16. The annual event, convened by The Sanford Project Director Alex Rabinovich, MD, brings together diabetes research experts from around the world to share ideas and collaborate on new discoveries.
Following on from the tremendous momentum over the last several months it is time for Sanford and SAB to move on to the next stage of development as they contemplate clinical trials for infectious disease targets in 2015. This has prompted a change, which will allow SAB to capitalize upcoming initiatives through investments. In order to accomplish this, SAB is transitioning to an independent, for-profit corporation called SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc., which will continue to be known as just “SAB.” Sanford will maintain a significant ownership interest in this new corporation and SAB will continue to be located at the Sanford Center as a key Sanford research partner and collaborator.
Participants included Mark Atkinson, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Eric W. Triplett, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Michelle I. Smith, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Danny Zipris, University of Colorado, Denver, CO; Alexander V. Chervonsky, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Marika Falcone, San Raffale Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Mikael Knip, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Outi Vaarla, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; and Marian Rewers, Denver, CO.
Sanford Applied Biosciences is now SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. and has become an independent, for-profit corporation.
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SDSU and Sanford Partner on Human Health, Nutrition Research South Dakota State University (SDSU) and Sanford Health have partnered to conduct collaborative research on human nutrition, weight management and other dietary-related areas. This research will address key objectives of the Profile by Sanford ® program. Profile is a weight-management program that uses customized meal plans and health coaches. It was developed by Sanford physicians and researchers. Through the partnership, SDSU researchers will have opportunities to collaborate with investigators from Sanford Research on topics like metabolism, food choices and consumption, prenatal nutrition, genetics, food manufacturing and nutritional interactions with the human microbiome. Research findings relevant to Profile will be considered as the program evolves and expands. Sanford Health will provide $250,000 annually for five years for the seedgrant program. Also, SDSU is requesting an additional $200,000 through the South Dakota Board of Regents Research and Development Innovation program to bring the total collaboration with Sanford to $450,000 for the 2015 fiscal year. “This partnership really is about people and communities,” said Kevin Kephart, the university’s vice president for research. “By combining our efforts and resources, SDSU and Sanford are building on a solid foundation of ongoing research and a strong, existing relationship. The resulting synergy will help improve quality of life and better serve the public good throughout South Dakota and the region.” The Profile system utilizes mealreplacement products, nutritionally complete foods, qualified health coaches and client tracking of body weight, blood pressure and physical activity through smart wireless technology. A clinical and scientific advisory board comprised of 10 10 | discoveries
Sanford physicians and researchers oversaw the development of Profile. “Profile by Sanford is based on the latest clinical and scientific evidence,” said Rich Adcock, president of Sanford Frontiers, which developed Profile. “The goal of this program is to significantly expand our research and developing efforts with a world class university; the collaboration between Sanford and SDSU is a natural fit because of the university’s mission as a leading land-grant research institution.” Seed-grant proposals are due July 29, and recipients will be announced in September.
South Dakota Innovation Lab Grows A formal relationship between the South Dakota Innovation Lab (SDIL) partners will provide for an expanded list of South Dakota schools to be reached. Sanford Research, the PAST Foundation and South Dakota’s Mid-Central Education Cooperative recently signed an agreement to further grow the SDIL, which develops programs in rural South Dakotan schools. The SDIL’s programs help youth problem solve in ways that are relevant to their lives and communities. New SDIL sites include Arlington, Clark, Deubrook, Deuel, Estelline, Hamlin, Mitchell LB Williams Elementary and Mitchell Middle School, Webster, West Central/ Humboldt Elementary and Wolsey/ Wessington. The original pilot SDIL schools are Armour, Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Marty, Platte-Geddes, South Central and Wessington Springs. The program also aims to build new skills for rural teachers--
including those on South Dakota’s reservations--using high-quality professional development, community engagement and culturally relevant and holistic educational programs. “The SDIL is designed to change the paradigm of what a school is-to make learning more a reflection of life and a place where inquirybased problem solving and doing projects is the norm,” said Dan Guericke, director of the MidCentral Education Cooperative. SDIL schools are making a difference in their communities. In Lower Brule, students learned about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by solving perhaps the largest problem faced by their community – lack of housing. The students constructed “micro homes” and auctioned them off. Through SDIL, rural communities with similar opportunities and challenges can share teachers, ideas and resources. By integrating transdisciplinary problem-based learning (TPBL) with communityrelevant issues, SDIL provides South Dakota’s rural schools with a process and resources that ensure students receive a robust and rigorous 21st-century education. “Transdisciplinary problembased learning isn’t new, nor is community-relevant curriculum. But integrating the two is, making SDIL responsive to the needs of rural American education,” said Jill Weimer, PhD, a scientist at Sanford Research and assistant professor at the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota. “Rural America has significant challenges in providing meaningful student participation in 21st-century careers; our vision at SDIL is to fill the demand and need for skilled labor in STEM disciplines.”
South Dakota State University and Sanford Health have partnered to conduct collaborative research on human nutrition and weight management, addressing key objectives of the Profile by Sanford ® program.
Thompson Elected to Clinical Trials Board Paul Thompson of Sanford Research has been elected to a four-year term on the board of directors of the Society for Clinical Trials. Thompson serves as the director of biostatistics in clinical research and oversees methodology and data analysis at Sanford. He is also a senior scientist in clinical research and has a secondary appointment in the Center for Health Outcomes and Prevention Research.
The Sanford PROMISE Discovery Days Continues to Attract Regional High School Students The 6th Sanford PROMISE Science Discovery Days held on April 29 hosted approximately 160 regional high school students from Alcester Hudson, Montrose, Mitchell, Spencer, Western Christian, Dakota Valley, Deubrook, Parker, CTE, MOC Floyd Valley, Beresford, and a group of home school students. The goal of the Discovery Days program is to engage and motivate students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers. Scientists from Sanford Research and throughout the region shared their careers and academic background with student through hands-on activities. Additionally, professors, educators, coordinators, and others from regional universities and programs hosted interactive booths to further excite interest in science tracks. Discovery Day opens students’ eyes to the wide variety of careers associated with scientific research and development.
2014 Sanford PROMISE Scholars, Fellows Selected Five high school students and six educators have been selected by Sanford Research as PROMISE scholars and science educator fellows for 2014.
Jason Dorman, Sanford Sports Science Institute operations manager, teaches Discovery Day students the dangers of overheating while exercising in heat.
The Sanford Program for the Midwest Initiative in Science Exploration (PROMISE) connects communities with new frontiers in science and research and aims to increase community understanding of science, raise awareness of the benefits of research and emphasize the role of both in our society. The Sanford PROMISE accomplishes this mission through a wide variety of programs, providing both students and educators from across the Midwest with reallife medical research experience. The Sanford PROMISE Scholars Program offers regional high school students the chance to complete research projects in mentor laboratories at Sanford Research during the summer between their junior and senior years. Students receive hands-on training in biomedical techniques and ethics and develop projects that will impact research conducted in their mentor’s lab. This year’s selections are from five different high schools: •A bigail Miller, Dakota Valley High School •E mily Miller, Aberdeen Central High School • J ohn Schmidt, Lake Preston High School •W illiam Trevillyan, Brandon Valley High School •R ebecca VandeBraak, Washington High School The Science Educator Research Fellowship Program supports heath research performed by middle and high school science teachers with a focus on pediatrics. During the summer, participants conduct independent community-based
or biomedical research under the supervision of a Sanford scientist and receive inquiry-based instruction to support the translation of their research experience into the classroom. Educators for 2014 hail from six different schools: • Kay Bass, Harrisburg High School •C athryn Carney, BoydenHull High School •D arwin Daugaard, Dell Rapids High School •D arren DeNeui, PlatteGeddes Middle/High School • J eff Peterson, West Central High School •M arie Gillespie, Pierre Indian Learning Center “The hands-on research experience each PROMISE scholar receives serves as a valuable starting point for what could be promising careers in this field,” said Elizabeth McMillan, curriculum education coordinator for Sanford PROMISE. “Educators who were selected as fellows will enjoy access to researchers who are nationally known for their work in their respective fields.” The Sanford PROMISE Scholars Program, overseen by McMillan, is in its fourth year, while the Science Educator Research Fellowship Program is in its second year and is coordinated by Peter Vitiello, PhD, an associate scientist in the Children’s Health Research Center at Sanford Research.
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events June 27: Signs and Symptoms of Genetic Conditions: A Handbook Book Release
Comprised of 31 clinical protocols from the world’s foremost clinical geneticists, including Sanford Research President H. Eugene Hoyme, Signs and Symptoms of Genetic Conditions provides a practical manual for the diagnosis and management of common human genetic conditions based on presenting signs and/or symptoms. Available for sale June 27 on Amazon.com.
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2014 ADA Tour de Cure, Saturday, July 12, Sanford Center
July 12: 2014 American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure October 10: Sanford Genetics and Genomic Medicine Symposium * Unless otherwise noted, all events will be located at the Sanford Center, 2301 East 60th Street North, Sioux Falls, SD 57104
give. If you are interested in providing philanthropic support for any of the research or initiatives featured in this publication, please contact the Sanford Health Foundation. Thank you. Sioux Falls Region: (605) 312-6700 Fargo Region: (701) 234-6246 Bismarck Region: (701) 323-8450 Bemidji Region: (218) 333-5515 foundation.sanfordhealth.org Edith Sanford Breast Foundation: (855) 463-3484
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