Well, the novel H1N1 influenza has definitely made its presence felt on campus. Fortunately, the symptoms appear to be fairly mild and amenable to self-isolation. I applaud everyone’s cooperation in preventative measures…good cough hygiene, washing/sanitizing hands frequently, and staying home if you’re symptomatic. All faculty, staff, and students are reminded to utilize the on-line reporting system for each day you are out sick and when you are back. Thanks especially to Jeanine Mount (SAS/Academic Affairs), Mike Pitterle (PPD/IIT) and Lauren Shawl (IIT) for their heroic efforts in figuring out strategies to keep our essential classes running if UW-Madison decides to go to a social distancing mode or to close altogether and to Warren Heideman (PharmSci/Research) for working on keeping essential research instruments and activities running. Mike is also working on access to work computers from home for essential support personnel. The vaccine is on its way, which will be deployed to high risk groups first (school and college age students, health care workers, including PharmD students, pregnant women, and others). The age group including most faculty and staff will not fall into priority categories for vaccination. See below for additional information about seasonal influenza vaccination that is important for faculty and staff. I’ll continue to communicate frequently by email or through the website as the situation develops. Stay well!
Items on the “save the date” list include:
- New: The first “Furlough Friday” party has been scheduled for Friday, October 2 from 3:00-5:30 in the Commons. With the theme of “pure indulgence,” you can expect lots of chocolate and other goodies. Again, if you happen to be on furlough, come on by, if you wish. (Just don’t call, email or text anyone.) If you’re not on furlough, join us and raise a glass to the absurdity of it all. The yoga people have canceled, but we will still have the chair massage available thanks to Sara Falsone. PharmSci seminar attendees can come before the seminar, after, or both.
- New: The October 6 Executive Committee meeting has been canceled due to lack of agenda items. As you might imagine, this means that the November 3 meeting will be jam packed. The meeting will be held at 12 noon in room 1128. Please note: 11 members and 9 advisory members must be present to constitute a quorum for general business.
- The external site visit for our BS/MS/PhD program review will occur on Monday and Tuesday, October 12 and 13. The site visit team is composed of Ron Borchardt (Kansas), Carl Buckner (Oklahoma-Team Coordinator), Phil Schneider (Arizona), and Bernard Sorofman (Iowa), with Rob Kalil serving as the Graduate School representative. The schedule was presented at the retreat and will be firming up soon with interactions as committees, faculty/staff/student groups and individual meetings all part of the process.
- The second named lectures of the fall will be the Busse Lectures, scheduled for October 22 and 23. We are pleased to have Valentino Stella, Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Kansas, visit us as the 2009 Busse Lecturer.
- New: October 28 has been chosen for “An Afternoon with ICTR.” A reception and resource fair will be held from 12:00-12:30 in the HSLC Atrium, and the main program will run from 12:30-3:30 in 1335 HSLC. Past (John Dopp, PPD) and present (Orly Vardeny, PPD) KL2 scholars will be presenting posters, joined perhaps by current TL2 fellow, Grace Manheim (SAS).
- New: Seasonal influenza vaccinations will be available across campus at 12 different times and locations between Monday, November 3 and Friday, November 14 (schedule attached). Make sure and bring your insurance card. To be honest, seasonal influenza makes H1N1 look like child’s play, especially in the age group of most faculty and staff. Get immunized!
- The third named lecture of the fall will be the Hutchinson Lecture, honoring PharmSci professor emeritus C. Richard “Hutch” Hutchinson. The 2009 Hutchinson Lecturer will be Bill Fenical, Professor and Director of the Marine Research Division at UCSD and Director of the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A great article about Bill and natural products chemistry was recently published in Chemical & Engineering News and can be found at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/87//8732sci1.html. Mark your calendars for November 13.
- Make plans now to attend the 2009 Pharmacy Alumni Association Reunion Weekend on November 13 and 14. Similar to past years, SOP faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend the Friday event as my guests. Dean’s Club members (donors at or above $500 for the year) will also be invited as my guests. Those faculty and staff that are also Dean’s Club members will get twice the thanks! See http://www.pharmacy.wisc.edu/alumni/reunion2009_reg.pdf or contact Pam French (Alumni Relations; email Pam) for registration forms and information.
- New: Our annual fall Faculty Recognition Event will be held on Thursday, November 19 from 3:00-5:00 in the Commons. Come celebrate the many accomplishments of our incredible faculty.
- New: Breakfast with the Dean for all assistant professors will be held on Thursday, December 10 from 8:00-9:00 in room 1128.
- New: Mark your calendars for an SOP Faculty/Staff Meeting on Tuesday, December 15 from 12:15-1:15 in room 2002.
The 2009 Rennebohm Lectures, featuring Bill Evans, Director and CEO of the St. Jude Children’s Hospital, were a huge success. Thanks to Paul Hutson (PPD) for serving as Bill’s campus host, and to Anna Legreid Dopp (ESP) for setting up pharmacy CE credits for both lectures. There are so many people that make our most prestigious lecture work…thanks to you all! And a special thanks to Steve Skolaski and the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation Board for funding the lecture series for now 54 years!
Analytical Instrumentation Center (AIC) rates have been under review for about a year. While additional discussion is necessary to arrive at optimal rates, the following increases go into effect today, October 1: mass spec samples will go from $10 to $12 and NMR rates will go from $3.00 to $3.50. Thanks to Warren Heideman (PharmSci/Research) and the AIC staff for thoughtful consideration of the unsustainable financial situation we are currently in and for continued input by users and cognizant committees. Another step-up is likely for February 1, 2010. The goal is to have final rates in place for July 1, 2010.
Our current “salary credit” system is of great benefit to individual PIs, but presents a real problem when personnel are hired on those funds. In order to stabilize and sustain the impact on our FTE count and related fringe benefit costs, all personnel hired on these funds will be charged the associated fringe benefits (varies with the type of person) as of July 1, 2010.
A reminder that the entire “health sciences campus,” from UWHC to HSLC to Rennebohm Hall to the Waisman Center was declared a No Smoking Zone in 2008. I ask all smokers to please respect this boundary (map attached) and, better yet, let me know if you need resources or people to talk to about quitting.
The School held its annual Scholarship Ceremony in early September, which is always a wonderful opportunity to connect scholarship recipients to the individual, corporate, and foundation donors and friends that made their scholarships possible. This year 101 students received 63 scholarships for a record total of $264,780…even considering the losses to our endowed funds. In addition, Jeanine Mount (SAS/Academic Affairs) garnered over $130,000 for our most financially strapped students from HRSA, and the School received ~$115,000 from the UW Advanced Opportunity Fellowship program dedicated to underrepresented minority students. That’s over $500,000 in need- and merit-based financial aid…wow!
The Academic Work Group, working on issues of medically underserved rural areas in the state, met at the School recently. Thanks to Marty Kieser (PPD/Experiential Ed), Dave Mott (SAS), and Melanie Schneider (SAA) for their continuing valuable input on possible solutions from the School’s point of view.
Some faculty highlights that have crossed my desk recently:
- There has been definite positive motion in the hiring of Robert Thorne’s (PharmSci candidate) wife, Aparna Lakkaraju, by the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Keep your fingers crossed!
- Congratulations to Chris Sorkness (PPD) for two recent NIH grant funding successes. Chris is co-principal investigator on the big U10 AsthmaNet project, as well as co-investigator on the even bigger Inner City Asthma Consortium. Quite a month!
- Congrats also to Orly Vardeny (PPD) for funding from GlaxoSmithKline to further her work on β2-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms and interactions with beta blocker therapy.
- And to Warren Rose (PPD) received funding from the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation to explore an in vitro pharmacodynamic model as an alternative to animal models to assess bacterial virulence and toxins.
- I’m not sure that I ever mentioned that Tom Thielke (UWHC/PPD emeritus) will be working extensively with the School’s Office of Global Health. We knew he couldn’t stay retired!
- May Xiong (PharmSci) successfully obtained her independent NIH R00 Pathway to Independence Award to further her research in personalizing treatments for cancer patients. Well done, May!
- Congratulations to the faculty selected to receive this year’s Robinson Faculty Travel Awards in PharmSci…Arash Bashirullah, Tim Bugni, and May Xiong. It’s a wonderful moment to honor the memory of one of our greats…the late professor emeritus Joe Robinson and his wife Bonna…who continues to support the School in many ways.
- Lara Collier (PharmSci) competed in the marathon in the Fox Valley recently and Paul Marker (PharmSci) did the half marathon…I’m in awe!
Notable notes from the staff include:
- Congratulations to Scott Rajski (PharmSci, Shen lab) on his recent engagement!
- Diane Stojanovich (Communications) participated in and completed (!) the recent Ironman event in Madison. Awesome!
- Congratulations are also in order for alum Jeremy Johnson (PPD/KL2 scholar) and his wife on the birth of their fourth child, Elia Rose, on September 9!
- Welcome to Julie Schneider as the new Director of the Ebling Library. Julie has always been a friend of pharmacy and will continue to work with Rhonda Sager on SOP needs.
From our students, residents, and postdocs:
- The Graduate Student Mixer was held on September 4. Over $250,000 in fellowships, awards, and travel grants were presented, including:
- Rennebohm TA Awards: Mohammed Amin (SAS, Mott group), Howard Chen (PharmSci, Kwon group), Monica Hwang (SAS, Young group), and Nicole Rockich (PharmSci, Kwon group)
- Rennebohm Dissertation Awards: Amy Chung (PharmSci, Kao group) and Mingming Ma (PharmSci, Li group)
- Travel Awards in PharmSci: Drug Action…Rita Buresh (Marker group) and Mike Conway (Heideman group); Witiak (Drug Discovery)…Grant Buchanan (Hsung group) and Richard Gantt (Thorson group); Lachman (Drug Delivery)…Thomas Diezi (Kwon group) and Kyle Kleinbeck (Kao group)
- Zaman-Saroya Award: Vatsal Mehti (METC program)
- Graduate Fellowships to first year students: Connors Fellows…Matthew Biller and Hannah Cohen (PharmSci); Kier Fellows…Sam Kok Gan and Yan Wang (PharmSci); Resch Fellows…Yiwei Ma and San Zeng (PharmSci); Roudenbush Fellows…Xiaoxuxn Li and Siwei Zhang (PharmSci); and Weiderholt Fellow…Kevin Look (SAS).
- David Schmidte (PharmSci, Kao group) completed his MS and PhD and is now off to law school at Notre Dame…wow!
- Kyle Kleinbeck (PharmSci, Kao group) recently received a Baxter Innovation Award for his dissertation work. Nicely done!
- Kyle is also leading the planning group that is bringing the 43rd Annual Pharmaceutics Graduate Student Research Meeting (PGSRM) to Madison in summer 2011.
- We appreciate the continuing assistance of Anna Reinhart in the Dean’s Office and welcome back Nikee Shafer as well who took a break for the summer. Likewise, Megan Heim (DPH-2) remains in her important role as a student assistant in the Student and Academic Affairs Office and has been joined by Cassie Witcraft and Chelsey Blum, undergrads from other majors. We also have two new student additions to the Stockroom…Tim Jurczak and Michael Lee. Welcome to all!
In the alumni, donor, and friend category:
- Linda Halsey (Development) and I had the pleasure of hosting a group of some 20 pharmacy alums and friends in the Chancellor’s Box at Camp Randall for the September 5 Badger victory over Northern Illinois University. Likewise, alum and ASHP president Lynnae Mahaney and her husband Kevin joined Dave and I for the victory against Fresno State on September 12. A fellow graduate student with me at Minnesota and current Director of Drug Metabolism and Toxicology at Covance, Rick Ridgewell, and his wife Deb attended the victory against Wofford (Wofford?) on September 19.
- Alum and BOV member, Tom McCourt, has recently joined Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, as chief commercial officer and senior vice president of marketing and sales. Great work, Tom!
- Alum and BOV member, Marianne Ivey, was selected as the 2007 John W. Webb Lecturer by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Her lecture was recently published in the Am J Health-Syst Pharm…not sure why it took so long, but congratulations in any case!
- Alum Gerhardt “Gerry” Fregien opened a beautiful Medicine Shoppe on Monona Dr.
- Alum Franklin “Rocky” Ladien was highlighted in the Phi Delta Chi distinguished alumnus report in the recent PDC Communicator.
- A couple notable promotions for some Walgreen Badgers… Alums Brennan Beck and Timothy Galinsky were promoted to district pharmacy supervisors, and alum Greg Primuth was promoted to Atlanta and Carolinas market pharmacy director. Also, alum Alan Hodkiewicz recently celebrated 30 years of service with Walgreens. Congrats!
- To remind you about the people who have been selected as 2009 Citation of Merit recipients: alums Jim Wright, Richard Scheife, Ken Kirk, and Lynn Van Campen….what a great group! And don’t forget to add Tom Thielke, 2009 Alumni of the Year, to the list. They will all be recognized at the Friday Dean’s Reception during the PAA Reunion Weekend on November 13. Please plan to attend as my guests.
- Alum Lynne Dittman honored the School with the recent report of a gift in her estate plan…thank you!
Enough for today! Remember…I don’t know about something if you don’t tell me. Take care…Jeanette