NOVEMBER 2009

COLLEGE EARNS A+ ....................2 DON’T WORRY, STAY HEALTHY ..6DEPARTMENT PROFILE ..................4 NEW HIRES ........................7what’sinside

Researchers Meet to Share IdeasPCOM’s Center for Chronic Disordersof Aging (CCDA) hosted a researchretreat this past summer bringingtogether researchers from thePhiladelphia and Georgia campusesand members of PCOM’s MedNet.

“The goal of the retreat was to be anopen forum for researchers to sharetheir work and identify areas in whichwe can collaborate,” explains retreatorganizer Camille DiLullo, PhD,professor, anatomy. Dr. DiLulloconceived the retreat over a year agoas the chair of PCOM’s researchcommittee. “We thought that the timewas right to discuss research at bothcampuses,” says Rick Kriebel, PhD,professor and chair, neuroscience,physiology and pharmacology.

Brian Balin, PhD, director, basic science research, CCDA; and professor, pathology, microbiology, immunologyand forensic medicine, agreed that the timing of the retreat was ideal. “The CCDA has begun funding pilotgrants for collaborative research within the College and with external collaborators,” notes Dr. Balin. “Externalcollaboration increases the critical mass of our research; it makes a small institution much larger.”

The two-day retreat opened with a campus tour, dinner and welcome by Ken Veit, DO ’76, vice presidentfor academic affairs and dean. Forty researchers participated in small-group meetings and posterpresentations. “Having the total PCOM research community together gave energy and commitment to thePCOM research agenda and hopefully gives PCOM greater visibility and credibility to external fundingsources,” Dr. Veit points out.

Gary Watson, PhD, chair, basic science and professor, biochemistry, GA–PCOM, says the retreat was a“wonderful opportunity for the faculty members from both campuses to get to know one another.” He alsomentions the timeliness of the meeting as coinciding with the first year of the master of biomedical sciencesthesis research at the Georgia campus.

One outcome of the meeting was the creation of afaculty development series initiated by FrancisJenney, Jr., PhD, assistant professor, biochemistry,GA–PCOM and Dianzheng Zhang, assistantprofessor, biochemistry/molecular biology. Themeetings, which will take place via videoconferencing between the two campuses, willcover curricular issues and teaching methods inaddition to research.

“This retreat was an important first step, and agreat success,” says Dr. Kriebel. “The feedbackwas very positive, and the momentum to continuethis type of group interaction is strong.” A researchforum is expected to be held on a yearly basis.

PCOMLINK

The research retreat brought PCOM and GA–PCOM scientiststogether with researchers from outside the College to share ideasand find common ground for collaboration.

Walter Ehrenfeuchter, DO ’79, professor and director,osteopathic manipulative medicine, GA–PCOM (left),had the opportunity to discuss research ideas withLindon Young, PhD, associate professor, pathology,microbiology and immunology.

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College Hosts ChineseDelegatesTwo years ago, Ken Veit, DO ’76, senior vicepresident for academic affairs and dean,traveled with a contingent of Americanosteopathic physicians and educators toChina’s Sichuan provence at the request of theChinese central government’s Ministry ofHealth. The mission was to educate Chinesephysicians and hospital administrators aboutprimary care and family medicine. This pastJuly, a delegation of twenty Chinese physiciansand health care administrators visited theUnited States to see first-hand how osteo-pathic medical schools train future physicians.

After two days of group meetings, therepresentatives broke into four groups, each visiting an osteopathic medical school.PCOM was honored to host one such groupcomprising four medical administrators andone physician. The team toured the campus, met with President Schure, visited two of the College’sHealthcare Centers and saw the sights of historic Philadelphia.

Much of what they learned about PCOM and educating primary care physicians was new to them,including the concept of student doctors working alongside physicians and seeing patients. Two PCOMemployees—Dianzheng Zhang, PhD, assistant professor, biochemistry/molecular biology, and Jane Meng,senior staff accountant, financial reporting—joined the group as interpreters and PCOM emissaries.

School of Pharmacy Gets Green LightThe PCOM School of Pharmacy – Georgia Campus moves closer to accreditation havingreceived Pennsylvania state approval. This approval extends PharmD degree-grantingauthority to PCOM, which gives PCOM the green light to begin recruiting for the first class of students to enroll in fall 2010.

The College has also gained the approvals of the Nonpublic Postsecondary EducationCommission of Georgia and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Thefinal authorization, the ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education) pre-candidacy accreditation, is still in process, and is necessary to begin instruction.

PCOM news

Among the highlights of the delegates’ visit was a tour ofPCOM’s Clinical Learning and Assessment Lab. Here, Dr. Veitexplains how students learn a range of medical procedureson the human patient simulator. Joining the group are BrianRudd (far left), simulation specialist, and Dr. Zhang (left).

College Earns an Standard and Poor’s, a company that rates corporate debt, raised its long-term rating for PCOM to A+ from A. According to their report, “The new ratingreflects increasingly sound operating surpluses in recent years…. PCOMdemonstrates good budgeting practices as management budgets for both asmall emergency reserve and full depreciation.” The report also notes “solidstudent demand and diversity of graduate programs” among its strengths.

According to Standard and Poor’s primary credit analyst Charlene Butterfield, “The stable outlook reflectsour expectation that PCOM’s solid demand will lead to continued operating surpluses and liquidity growthdespite the planned increase in capital spending to open the pharmacy school at the Georgia campus. Thesound balance sheet, with both the unrestricted cash pool and endowment, provide[s] stability at thecurrent rating and allow[s] PCOM to accommodate the capital spending.”

A+

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PCOM news

Graduate Programs MarkAnniversaryPCOM held its 10th commencement for studentsfrom the College’s graduate programs on July 31at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

A total of 237 students graduated from ninedegree programs. Laurada Byers, founder of theRussell Byers Charter School, and chair ofByerschool Foundation, offered thecommencement address.

Through Ms. Byers’ interest in PCOM, the RussellByers Charter School has become an invaluableresource to the College, serving as PCOM’s school psychology laboratory school in apartnership that mutually benefits PCOM’spsychology master’s, EdS and PsyD students and the K-6 students at Russell Byers.

Research NewsThanks to an endowment from the Osteopathic HeritageFoundation, interdisciplinary research is ongoing under theumbrella of the Center for Chronic Disorders of Aging(CCDA). These are some recent initiatives:

Adwoa Aduonum, PhD, adjunct faculty, biomedicalsciences, GA–PCOM, is studying the long-term effects ofmethamphetamine on learning and memory in collaborationwith a researcher at Meharry Medical College in Nashville,Tennessee.

Denah Appelt, PhD, professor, neuroscience, physiology and pharmacology, is using unique markersdeveloped by an investigator at Drexel University to look at how Chlamydia pneumoniae can trigger eventsthat are linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Brian Balin, PhD, professor, pathology, microbiology, immunology and forensic medicine, is studyingwhether a particular immune system molecule can be used to combat Chlamydia pneumoniae infection as itrelates to Alzheimer’s disease.

Qian Chen, PhD, research assistant professor, pathology, microbiology, immunology and forensicmedicine, is examining what causes vascular complications such as blindness, kidney failure and heartdisease in diabetes. Dr. Chen is also examining the role of PKC inhibitors. PKC inhibitors may be used inthe future to help patients having procedures such as heart bypass and organ transplant surgery. Dr. Chenis working on specialized techniques with researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.

Marina D’Angelo, PhD, assistant professor, anatomy, is researching the role of factors in cartilage thatcause tissue damage and abnormal bone growth in osteoarthritis and Marfan’s syndrome. Dr. D’Angelo iscollaborating with a laboratory at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Dental Medicine.

Farzaneh Daghigh, PhD, associate professor, biochemistry/molecular biology, is studying how certainenzymes may be linked to the inflammation that occurs in periodontitis (gum disease) and rheumatoid arthritis.

C. Scott Little, PhD, associate professor, pathology, microbiology, immunology and forensic medicine,under the auspices of the Food Allergy Research Initiative (FASI), is researching strategies to identify, treatand prevent allergic reactions to food products. Initially, Dr. Little’s research is focused on peanut allergies.

Among the graduates of the ODL program were PCOMemployees (from left) Tanya Ray, coordinator, schoolpsychology; Mark Cassidy, athletics and recreationmanager; and Donna Cleary, annual giving officer.

Department profile

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A school without students is like a book withoutpages. Putting the pages between the covers of thePCOM story is the Office of Admissions. Fourteenemployees strong, the Department fills theCollege’s programs not just with students, but withstudents whose interests, skills andpersonalities are well-suited to the uniqueschool that is PCOM.

“As representatives of the College, weprovide a glimpse into the world ofgraduate and professional studies atPCOM,” explainsKari Szentesy,associate directorof admissions.When Admissionsemployees visitcolleges anduniversities tomeet withacademic andmedical advisorsand students, theyput PCOM’s bestfoot forward. Thegoal is to get thestudents to visitcampus. “Oncethey’re here oncampus, they fallin love with theenergy of PCOM,”Kari proclaims.

With Admissionsas the gateway to the College, “everyonein the department is an ambassador,”Admissions Director Deborah Benvengerpoints out. All members of the staff areready, willing and able to answer themany and varied questions of students,parents and academic advisors. One ofthe newest members of the staff, AdmissionsAssistant Mark Chalmers, is often the first to fieldphone inquiries. “I help trouble-shoot students’questions about the application process,” heexplains. Admissions Assistant Yolanda Chasenotes that helping potential students is the best partof her job. “When an applicant calls and asks whatthey need to do to complete their application, I geta lot of satisfaction helping them move forward.”

As much as Admissions wants to help all Collegedepartments fill their classes, it’s more important toensure that each student is a good fit for PCOM and

that PCOM is a good fit for the student. Meeting one-on-one with potential students is an importantpart of the process. “Not only do the students have tobe academically strong,” explains Jonathan Cox,admissions recruiter, “we look at intangibles. Are they

passionate about being here? Ifthey’re interested in the DO program,have they shadowed a doctor – dothey understand what osteopathicmedicine is? We see the wholeperson, not just the numbers.”

AssistantDirectorMarshaWilliams,who oftenspends two-to-threeweeks amonth on theroad,focusesmuch of herefforts onrecruitingunder-representedstudents inmedicine forthe DOprogram.NamedStudentNational

Medical Association mentor of theyear, Marsha emphasizes theimportance of mentoring andcounseling students. “It takes follow-up – it’s not just about meetingstudents on the road – you have tokeep reaching out to them.”

To encourage minority students to considermedicine as a career, Marsha works with theCollege on a variety of pipeline programs. Shebrings urban high school students to campusthrough Philadelphia Futures and encouragesyoung inner-city girls to learn about health carecareers and osteopathic medicine through a newinitiative known as SEEDS (Sisters EmpoweringExcellence, Determination and Success).

“It’s important to have diversity in all professions,”says Marsha. “Through diversity, we can all gaincultural competence.”

The Office of Admissions – It Takes a Team

Nancy

Tiffany

Deborah

Janice

Marsha Kari

Chris

Carol

Mark

Johnathan

Yolanda

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Department profileIn addition to meeting, counseling and educatingstudents about the College, the Office processesthousands of admission applications a year, andthat means hundreds of thousands of pieces ofpaper. But that is changing. With Deborah asproject manager, Information Systems AnalystTiffany Pang has spearheaded a project, two yearsin the works, that has replaced the overflowing DOapplicant file folders with electronic files. Tiffanyexplains that she collaborated with MIS and theregistrar’s office and babysat the programmingcode to make it work. Associate Vice President forEnrollment Management Carol Fox proclaims thenew paperless system “wonderful. We are soappreciative of Dr. Schure’s support of us. Rightnow, only the DO applications are processed thisway. The graduate programs application processwill go paperless by the beginning of the nextcycle.” Kari adds that “the paperless system hascreated a huge opportunity for us to grow as ateam. Everyone’s learning how to do everythingand coordinate with each other.”

But working as a team has always been a strongsuit of the Office, especially since severalemployees have been working together for overtwenty years. After 41 years at the College, timehas not diminished Carol’s enthusiasm for PCOMand Admissions. “As exciting and challenging asAdmissions is, I can’t help but sit back and thinkabout what an awesome responsibility we have.The work we do, and the decisions we make, mayinfluence the future of our applicants. It’s not a jobto be taken lightly.”

Chris Naulty and Janice Tonkin, both admissionsassistants, have a combined forty-three years ofservice. When Chris joined the office in 1986,there were no computers, only word processors.“We had to manually enter every application. Ofcourse there weren’t as many applications then.The number of DO applications has risen fromabout 2,600 to about 7,000 since 2000,” sheexplains. Janice works primarily with the graduateprogram applications, but when things get busy,she helps out with the DO applications as well.“Whatever they need, I’ll do,” she says. “It getscrazy at times, but it’s fun and satisfying to see aclass get full and to meet our goals.”

But filling classes is not the end of the job forAdmissions. The Office also plays a major role inCommencement, and much of that work ishandled by Nancy McCullen, supervisor. “Wereserve the space, whether it’s the Kimmel Centeror the Academy of Music, notify the graduatingstudents about what they need to do, update theWeb site, oversee the production of the program,

contract with the speaker, put together themarshalling order, invite faculty and collectresponses and handle the set-up for the graduatebarbeque. We start in January to get ready for allthree commencements in the spring.” Even thoughNancy has worked in Admissions since 1994, sheadmits that she still gets a lump in her throat atCommencement. “I know how important this day isfor the students and their parents.”

It’s a lot of work, and the Office couldn’t do it allalone. “We can’t do what we do without help fromthe PCOM community,” claims Deborah. “Studentsget involved with outreach – they work at our openhouses and lead campus tours; they’re our bestrepresentatives. Faculty plays a critical role bymeeting with potential students and sitting in oninterviews. Our work is truly a team effort.”

Admissions at the Georgia CampusWhile the Admissions team in Philadelphia recruitsstudents primarily from the mid-Atlantic states, theAdmissions folks on the Georgia campus focustheir efforts on Georgia and the surrounding states.Admissions Coordinator Trena Gologan andAdmissions Assistant/ Recruiter Trina Burseyrecruit for the DO and Biomed programs.Admissions Coordinator Aisha DeBerry’s goal is toacquire applicants for the new School of Pharmacy.

To attract prospective candidates to the GA Campus,the admissions team holds open houses severaltimes a year and offers tours and one-on-one visitson a weekly basis. In addition, they visit colleges anduniversities and have developed solid relationshipswith premed advisors. “Applications for the DOprogram have continued to increase, peaking last year at almost 2700 for 86 places in each class and wehave every confidence that we can build a strongapplicant pool for pharmacy also,” says Carol.

In addition to recruiting applicants, the GA–PCOMteam has worked hard during the past five yearsto spread the word not only about Georgia’snewest medical school, but about osteopathicmedicine as well.

From left, Trena, Trina and Aisha.

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kudos!

H. William Craver, III, DO, associate deanfor undergraduate clinical education,GA–PCOM, participated in a forum on medicalschool admissions sponsored by theSouthwest Georgia Area Health EducationCenter.

Jane Dumsha, PhD, director of researchand sponsored programs, was a guestspeaker at the 3rd Annual OPTI-WestResident and Faculty Development ResearchConference. She presented a talk on“Conducting Research on a ShoestringBudget.”

Walter Ehrenfeuchter, DO ’79, professorand director, osteopathic manipulativemedicine, GA–PCOM, taught an eight-hourfaculty development class on muscle energytechnique for the osteopathic manipulativemedicine faculty at Midwestern University,Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Katherine Galluzzi, DO, professor, chairand director, geriatrics, is the chair of theAmerican Osteopathic Association Council onPalliative Care Issues and was asked tobecome a member of the Pain and PalliativeCare Cancer Core Competency AdvisoryCommittee. She presented two lectures at the2009 joint annual conference of the TexasOsteopathic Medical Association and theTexas Society of the American College ofOsteopathic Family Physicians: “DispellingMyths: Evidence-based Treatment ofFibromyalgia” and “A Holistic Approach toSmoking Cessation.” In addition, Dr. Galluzziwrote the article “Managing Herpes Zosterand Postherpetic Neuralgia,” which appearedin the Journal of the American OsteopathicAssociation Supplement.

David Kuo, DO ’96, was promoted toprogram director of the PCOM – MercySuburban Hospital Family Medicine ResidencyProgram.

Gregory McDonald, DO ’89, vice chair,clinical associate professor and director,forensic medicine, was named PCOM 2009Teacher of the Year.

Harry Morris, DO ’78, professor and chair,family medicine, was named national advisorto the American College of Osteopathic FamilyPhysicians Board.

Don’t Worry, Stay HealthyWith the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu,headlining the news, it’s hard not to be concerned.But “there is no need to panic,” says Rani Bright,MBBS, assistant professor, pathology, microbiologyand forensic medicine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),“the H1N1 does not seem more serious thanseasonal flu. In seasonal flu, certain people are at‘high risk’ of serious complications. This includespeople 65 years and older, children younger than fiveyears old, pregnant women, and people of any agewith certain chronic medical conditions. About 70percent of people who have been hospitalized withthis 2009 H1N1 virus have had one or more medicalconditions previously recognized as placing people at‘high risk’ of serious seasonal flu-relatedcomplications…One thing that appears to be differentfrom seasonal influenza is that adults older than 64years do not yet appear to be at increased risk of2009 H1N1-related complications thus far.”

But we do need to practice good personal hygieneand keep our immune systems healthy. One step theCollege has taken to help us stay healthy is installinghand sanitizer dispensers around campus. Weencourage you to sanitize your hands after you’vebeen in a high use area such as an elevator. Here aresome other suggestions for staying healthy this winter.

Help keep your immune system strong:

• Get plenty of rest• Drink plenty of water• Get regular exercise• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, especiallythose that are good sources of Vitamin A such ascarrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, collards, kaleand winter squash.

• Wash your hands – a lot.• Avoid touching your face, eyes, nose and mouth.• Sneeze into a tissue and throw the tissue away.• Try to avoid people who are sick.• If you do get sick, please stay home from work. A good rule of thumb is to stay home for 24 hoursafter your temperature has returned to normal.

For the latest information about the H1N1 virus,visit the CDC Web site at www.cdc.gov.

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New Hires 1. Trina Bursey, Admissions Assistant, Office of Admissions, GA–PCOM

2. Mark Chalmers, Admissions Assistant, Office of Admissions

3. Alisia Curtis, Administrative Assistant, Basic Science, GA–PCOM

4. Gina DeGregoria, Secretary, PhysicanAssistant Studies

5. Michael Deimling, RPh, PhD, Professor, PCOM School of Pharmacy

6. Oliver Epps, Jr., Sergeant, Security and Public Safety

7. Huo Lu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Basic Science, GA–PCOM

8. Marta Motel, DO ’88, Director, PCOMHealthcare Center – Lancaster Avenue Division

10. Susan Panichelli-Mindel, PhD, Core Faculty, Clinical Psychology

11. Timothy Poole, PharmD, AssociateProfessor, PCOM School of Pharmacy

12. Jiayin Zheng, PhD, Post-Doctoral Researcher,Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology

PromotionsAisha DeBerry, from Administrative Assistant toAdmissions Coordinator/Recruiter, GA–PCOM

Lisa D’Addieco, from Administrative Assistant tothe Campus Executive Officer, to Business ServicesCoordinator, GA–PCOM

Trena Gologan, from Admissions Assistant toAdmissions Coordinator/Recruiter, GA–PCOM

Petra Kottsieper, from Clinical AssistantProfessor, to Assistant Professor, Psychology

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News from HR

WENDY ROMANO CAROL WEISL ABIGAIL CLAYTON BRUCE FAIRFIELDExecutive Editor Editor/Writer Graphic Designer Photographer

Send, fax or e-mail news items to: Marketing andCommunications, Levin Administration Building; fax6307; e-mail: carolwe@pcom.edu. We can also bereached at x6300.

PCOMLINK

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Love Cures AllFor six years, Lisa Wooten,office manager, PCOMHealthcare Center – Roxborough Division, watchedstudent doctors pass throughthe Healthcare Center. Shewas always friendly, answeringtheir questions and helpingthem find their way around. But one day, five yearsago, she did more than watch, she took notice.

“Each group of students does an eight-weekclerkship at the Center,” Lisa explains. Six weeksinto one rotation she noticed a fourth-year medicalstudent and, “for some reason, he caught myinterest,” she recalls. Yet she didn’t say anything toTed Colterelli until the day before the end of hisclerkship. “I walked up to him and asked him out.He was surprised, but pleasantly so. We went on adate, and we hit it off immediately.”

That was in 2004. The two were married this pastApril. “I originally wanted to be an English teacher,”she recalls. “Ted was accepted into other medicalschools but he chose PCOM. It’s amazing howthings work out.”

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NOVEMBER 11 Annual Meeting of theCorporation Zedeck Amphitheater10:30 a.m.

Board of TrusteesMeeting Evans Hall 327 A&BNoon

DECEMBER 8 PCOM HolidayLuncheon PCOM Cafeteria

Faculty Senate Meeting Zedeck Amphitheater4:00 p.m.

DECEMBER 17 GA–PCOM HolidayLuncheonGA–PCOM Cafeteria

JANUARY 22 Founders’ Day Ginsburg Amphitheater11:00 a.m.

calendar of events

This newsletter was printed on Finch CasaOpaque digital, a paper manufactured with66% renewable energy, utilizing 30 percentpost-consumer recycled fiber.

30% PCW

Don’t Flush the Forest Most of us don’t spend a lot of time thinking about toiletpaper – we’re just happy to have it when we need it. Butmaybe it’s time to give toilet paper some thought.

Although brands differ, 25 to 50 percent of the pulp used tomake toilet paper in this country comes from tree farms inSouth America and the United States. The rest comesmostly from old, second-growth forests that serve asimportant absorbers of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming. In addition, some ofthe pulp comes from the last virgin North American forests, which are anirreplaceable habitat for a variety of endangered species.

What can you do? Look for toilet paper made with either some or allrecycled paper. If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100 percent recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees and about 169 gallons of water a year.

If you can’t find toilet paper made with recycled fiber, you can switch to one-ply paper.And, believe it or not, pulling toilet paper over the roll rather than from under reducesthe amount of paper used. Quilted toilet paper also uses more virgin fiber than regular toilet paper.

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a difference.

go green Where to Find Toilet Paper withRecycled ContentThe following brands of toilet papercontain 100 percent recycled paper:Seventh Generation, Trader Joe’s,Nature’s Balance and Whole Foods 365.

Two brands that are easier to find at thelocal grocery store are Marcal SmallSteps and Scott Naturals. These brandscontain 40 percent recycledmaterial.

PCOM is on Facebo ! Become a fan of the “official” PCOMfacebook Page!

PCOM will soon have its offical Facebook page!Become a fan and see your friends andcoworkers rap in the video “PCOM Rocks.” Bethe first to know about PCOM events. Find outwhat’s on Dr. Schure’s mind by reading his blog.Be in the loop.

You can become a fan by logging on towww.facebook.com and type in “PhiladelphiaCollege of Osteopathic Medicine.” You musthave a Facebook account to become a fan.