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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2006

BULLETIN

In this issue:

Scientists from XMU explore innovations in cardiology research in MGH lab

Dr. Roger Hajjar

Three researchers from Xinjiang Medical University (XMU) in China have completed observerships in the Cardiovascular Research Center and the Cardiology Laboratory of Integrative Physiology and Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. Under the direction of Roger Hajjar, MD, FAHA, FACC, the scientists explored a range of techniques used to investigate cardiovascular conditions such as congestive heart failure.

Yuemei Hou, MD, PhD; Xiang Ma, MD, PhD; and Yan Ma, MD took part in experiments that looked at the molecular aspects of heart failure, and learned about the use of animal models and devices to simulate conditions in humans. XMU is collaborating with HMI to develop innovative research and education programs to support the growth of its cardiovascular, oncology, and animal research centers.

Hajjar has been involved in this partnership from the beginning. He said the researchers who spent time in his lab were interested in learning more about gene delivery and cell delivery. “XMU has a lot of talented researchers and is acquiring the equipment necessary to perform these types of experiments,” he said. “The scientists who came to Boston were also exposed to the detailed aspects of running a laboratory of this sort.”

HMSDC hosts women’s health program in DubaI
In early December, Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) presented Specialty Practi-Med: Women’s Health Throughout the Life Cycle, a two-day continuing medical education (CME) conference in Dubai attended by approximately 160 gynecologists, obstetricians, nurses, and general practitioners from the Gulf Region. This HMSDC course was the first to award delegates with CME credits toward the American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award.

Benjamin Sachs, DPH, MB, BS, professor of medicine at HMS and chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, led a multidisciplinary faculty that included faculty from HMS and local institutions, including four physicians practicing in the United Arab Emirates. “The lecturers and audience took the discussions to a very high level academically,” said Sachs, adding that “the faculty enjoyed interacting with participants with respect to both medicine and culture.”

“Continuing medical education programs like this one are a vital resource for health care providers, both generalists and specialists, working to keep up with the latest advances in health care,” said Muhadditha Yahya Al-Hashimi, DrPH, director of education at HMSDC. Pleased with the attendance of the program, she noted that several attendees praised the interactive format of the program and appreciated the opportunity to discuss various topics with faculty.

The program’s first day focused on care of adolescent girls, including interactive sessions addressing medical issues related to pregnancy, and family planning and pre-conception counseling. During the afternoon session, small-group workshops led by faculty discussed the treatment of asthma during pregnancy, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and prenatal diagnostic testing. The second day of the course focused primarily on health care issues of adult women, including cardiac disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and menopause. The afternoon again featured small-group workshops addressing gynecological issues including family planning and contraception, fertility after breast cancer, and preeclampsia.

“The program was very successful both in attendance and in addressing the particular needs of Gulf Region practitioners while providing up-to-date information on the full range of medical issues related to the health of women,” said Robert L. Thurer, MD, chief academic officer of HMSDC. “We look forward to providing similar world-class CME programs in the coming year.” He noted that programs for 2006 are already in the planning stages, including an update on oncology and a course on the management of obesity and its complications.

PABSELA to promote research opportunities for Latin American students
A pair of research fellows at Children’s Hospital are spearheading an innovative program designed to create training opportunities for graduate students in Latin America and promote professional exchanges in the biomedical sciences field. The Program for the Advancement of Biomedical Sciences in Latin America (PABSELA) has been developed in collaboration with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Fundación Instituto Leloir, a prestigious research center in Argentina. Dr. Miguel Velardez and Dr. Estanislao Bachrach, the Argentine scientists who started the program, have asked HMI to become PABSELA’s institutional partner.

The program’s initial aims are to enhance training capabilities of Harvard University graduate students and host university teachers in stem cell biology and other novel areas of biomedical science, train Latin American graduate students in leading-edge biomedical sciences, and advance the ties between Harvard University and Latin American universities. The long-term goal of PABSELA is to contribute to the development of the Latin American biomedical community by providing unique educational and research opportunities for scientists and graduate students.

PABSELA plans to establish a three-week lecture and laboratory course at the graduate level in Argentina, taught by faculty from Harvard University, University of Buenos Aires, and Fundación Instituto Leloir (Argentina), and held at Fundación Instituto Leloir. Designed to be a multidimensional graduate course in the field of stem cell biology and biomedical sciences, the course will consist of lectures, discussions of relevant scientific papers, and laboratory training. Graduate students from Latin American countries will learn about major advances in the field and the focus of current research, and acquire laboratory training in stem cell isolation, characterization, and differentiation. While the laboratory training will be limited to selected graduate students, lectures will be advertised and open to the entire academic community in these countries.

The course is designed to train a select group of graduate students who will then be able to implement new techniques of isolation, purification, and differentiation of stem cells in their own laboratories. Thus, the next generation of principal investigators in their countries will be better prepared to face new challenges in the field. Most importantly, they will be encouraged to think that developing countries can also be competitive in terms of scientific production, and that collaborations with developed countries are a way to facilitate this.

To help support this program, Velardez and Bachrach are attempting to draw funding from the government of Argentina, foundations, corporations, and private donors interested in biomedical sciences and education in Latin America.

So-net M3 produces new webcast series on stroke prevention
Through its partnership with HMI, So-net M3, Inc. will produce a new web-based continuing medical education (CME) program on stroke prevention for Japanese physicians, to be made available online in early 2006. The program features webcasts of 10 to 15-minute lectures by Louis Caplan, MD, professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, addressing major topics including evaluation of patients and future directions in therapy and in-hospital care.

Each month, subscribers to the So-net 3 website will gain access to a new installment of the twelve-part series of webcasts. In the past three years, So-net M3, Inc., a division of the Sony Corporation in Tokyo, Japan, has collaborated with HMI to design and develop similar webcasts on diabetes and hypertension, hosting approximately 30,000 physicians in Japan as subscribers.

“The very user-friendly web-based format of these programs provides the opportunity for busy physicians in Japan to stay up to date on rapid advances in medicine at their own convenience,” said Peta Gillyatt, HMI associate director for continuing medical education and knowledge management. “So-net produces novel educational programs for physicians that range from ‘medical soap operas’ that illustrate best practices to more traditional continuing education programs.”

The So-net M3 production team, including members based in Tokyo, traveled to HMI’s offices in Boston in late November to videotape Caplan’s presentation. After the filming, So-net M3 translated and dubbed the presentation, including all slides and a transcript reviewed by HMI, into Japanese. Each segment of the webcast will be accompanied on the So-net 3 website by the corresponding slides, including images and explanatory text, used in Caplan’s presentation. Subscribers will be able to simultaneously watch video of Caplan speaking and the corresponding slides automatically cued according to each section.

The first four sections of the program focus on pathology and pathophysiology of stroke, the nature of vascular lesions, anticoagulant-antiplatelet treatments, and the evaluation of stroke patients. Building on what viewers learn in these segments, the following four webcasts examine vertebrobasilar disease and the cause, frequency, and evaluation of vascular lesions and stroke mechanisms. In the final four sections, Dr. Caplan looks forward to address future directions in stroke prevention, including the use of evidence based-medicine, neuroprotection, therapy, genetics, and in-hospital care. Viewers will receive a certificate of participation upon completion of the program.

From left to right: Sonali Mantoo, Joan Parambi, Kushi Bhatt, HMI program coordinator Marsha Sullaway, Vishnu Venkates, and Sandeep Pulimi.

Sri Ramachandra students complete HMS clerkships, set sights on career specialties
Six students from Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute recently completed clerkships in HMS-affiliated hospitals. Their Boston-based training comes as they each prepare for the next step in their medical careers.

Three of the students are preparing for residency training in the United States, while others already have their eyes on further training in India. Sandeep Pulimi, Sonali Mantoo, and Joan Parambi are planning to enter internal medicine residency programs in the U.S. Vishnu Venkatesan plans to return to India to complete his training in orthopedics, while Kushi Bhatt plans to pursue general surgery.

Parambi, who is hoping to focus on women’s health, completed courses in clinical laboratory medicine and gastroenterology. She was eager to see how clinical laboratory testing is performed in the U.S. Parambi said she enjoyed the weekly case discussions and “eye-opening” conferences during her time at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, which she described as an “eye-opener.”

Talking with Tom Aretz, MD, HMI vice president for education, the students cited the use of recent articles and primary literature, rather than textbooks, in their HMS learning experiences at HMS. Said Parambi, “They not only hear about cutting edge—they practice it.”

Helfrick tapped to lead International Society for Quality in Health Care
John Helfrick, DDS, MS, FACD, FICD, a senior consultant with HMI’s Quality Institute, has been elected president of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) for the period of 2005-2007.

Founded in 1985 as a non-profit and non-aligned body, ISQua is an international organization committed to improving patient safety and health care quality. ISQua has institutional and individual members in nearly 70 countries.

Helfrick has a rich background working with health care organizations around the world in the areas of quality improvement and patient safety. He played an integral role in the development of the quality oversight process for Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) and currently serves on the DHCC Licensing Board. Helfrick has also made significant contributions to HMI’s work with hospitals in India, including his role in Wockhardt Hospital’s preparation for accreditation by Joint Commission International (JCI).

Helfrick is a Past President of the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and currently serves as the Association’s Executive Director. From 1998 to 2000, he was Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission and Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Over the course of his career he has served in numerous academic, administrative, and clinical capacities, and has received several awards for his service to health care.

ISQua provides services to guide health care professionals, providers, researchers, agencies, policymakers, and consumers in their pursuit of excellence in health care delivery, and strives to continually improve the quality and safety of care for all people. In order to fulfill its mission, ISQua organizes an annual international conference, publishes the premier international journal on health care quality (International Journal for Quality in Health Care), and through its global accreditation program, assures the standardization and continual improvement of accreditors and other external evaluators of health care services across the world.

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara

Japan honors Hinohara for contributions to health care
Shigeaki Hinohara, MD has been awarded the Order of Culture by the Japanese government for his contributions to improving nursing education and combating lifestyle-related diseases. Hinohara, chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Luke’s Life Sciences Institute, has been at the forefront of the development of primary care practice in Japan. For the last four years he has been the driving force behind HMI’s annual Practi-Med Japan continuing medical education programs.

Hinohara joined four others in receiving the Order of Culture, Japan’s most prestigious honor in the areas of culture and science. “We are of the mind to continue to devote ourselves to our respective fields for the rest of our lives,” he said.

HMI names regional director to serve China and Asia-Pacific region

Roman (Dong) Xu

Over the course of its history, HMI’s partnerships with health care organizations in China have offered a close-up view of dramatic changes underway in the country’s health care system. The high demand for health care systems development and education expertise in China has led HMI to develop resources aimed at addressing the country’s evolving public health challenges.

Roman (Dong) Xu, MPP has been chosen to serve as Regional Director for HMI’s efforts in China and the Asia-Pacific region. Roman has a wide range of expertise in health care program development analysis, project management, and health care systems analysis. A graduate of West China University in Medical Sciences, Roman earned a master’s degree in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Roman will be based in Beijing, but organizations throughout China and the surrounding region are encouraged to contact him regarding establishing a partnership with HMI. Roman can be reached via email at roman_xu@hms.harvard.edu, or by phone in his Beijing office at 86-10-5826-3532.