UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director From: UIC News Bureau Date: 28 Oct 2010 13:43:51 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 28, 2010 CONTACT: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, (312) 996-1583, jgala@uic.edu UIC HOSTS U.S. HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND QUALITY DIRECTOR WHAT: Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Health Research and Quality, or AHRQ, will speak on "Evidence-Based Transformation: Keeping the Patient at the Center of Care." Clancy's appearance is part of the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science 2010 Distinguished Lecture Series. WHEN: Monday, Nov. 1 1 p.m. WHERE: Herman Auditorium Molecular Biology Research Building 900 S. Ashland Ave. First Floor (Entry on Marshfield Ave. side) DETAILS: As director of AHRQ, Clancy launched the first annual report to Congress on health care disparities and health care quality. As a general internist and health services researcher, her major research interests include improving health care quality and patient safety and reducing disparities in care associated with race, ethnicity, gender, income and education. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: UIC Town Hall Addresses Racial Disparities and Infant Mortality From: UIC News Bureau Date: 28 Oct 2010 10:31:20 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 28, 2010 CONTACT: Sherri McGinnis González, (312) 996-8277, smcginn@uic.edu UIC TOWN HALL ADDRESSES RACIAL DISPARITIES AND INFANT MORTALITY WHAT: “Infant Mortality and Racism: What Is Holding Us Back and How Do We Move Forward?” a town hall meeting convened by the Maternal and Child Health Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. The town hall will include a cultural sensitivity exercise and a family panel discussion. Consumers, health and social service professionals, and researchers are invited to attend. WHO: Keynote speaker is Dr. Richard David, co-director of the neonatal intensive care unit at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and a featured physician in the documentary series "Unnatural Causes" (www.unnaturalcauses.org). WHEN: Fri., Oct. 29 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. WHERE: UIC School of Public Health 1603 W. Taylor St. (1st floor Auditorium) DETAILS: The event, held in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, and the Illinois Chapter of the March of Dimes, comes during Illinois’ celebration of 75 years of Maternal and Child Health programming with the passage of Title V of the Social Security Act. The Maternal and Child Health program at the UIC School of Public Health provides leadership education at the master's and doctoral levels for individuals pursuing careers in maternal and child health. For more information, visit www.uic.edu/sph/mch - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: UIC Receives $1.9 Million for Asian American Student Initiative From: UIC News Bureau Date: 26 Oct 2010 11:01:47 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 26, 2010 CONTACT: Brian Flood, (312) 996-7681, bflood@uic.edu UIC RECEIVES $1.9 MILLION FOR ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT INITIATIVE The University of Illinois at Chicago has received a five-year, $1.86 million federal grant to help underserved Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students. The grant is issued through the U.S. Department of Education's Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution program, part of the postsecondary minority-serving institution designations, including Hispanic-serving institutions, historically black colleges and universities, and tribal colleges and universities. UIC is the only Midwest university designated as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving institution. UIC will use the funding to establish the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Students' Educational Engagement Initiative to provide student support in recruitment, retention and graduation. Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students "are often stereotyped as academically successful despite the diversity within this population and the challenges faced by many students in this group," says Kevin Kumashiro, UIC professor of Asian American studies and education and the grant's principal investigator. Approximately 20 percent of UIC students identify themselves as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander. National census figures indicate this category represents more than 50 ethnic groups and 100 languages, Kumashiro said. "These students really mirror the broader student population, with a lot of first generation students, many from working class backgrounds and immigrant families," he said. The program will address academic experiences, community connections and support services. Specific goals include recruitment of underrepresented groups in the Asian American community, an institutional analysis of student retention, and creation of more courses with field components linking students with community organizations. "The more places students can feel connected, the more likely they are to succeed. That involves peer groups, instructors, and student services, but also involves places outside of the university," Kumashiro said. The project is fully funded by the grant and led by the UIC Asian American studies program and the UIC Asian American Resource and Cultural Center. The grant, and the university's recent launch of an Asian American studies program, Kumashiro said, "signals we're at a moment when UIC can really build the way it supports its Asian American students in succeeding, but also prepares all students to live in a multicultural society." UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Gallery 400 Awards First 'Propeller Fund' Grants for Public Arts Projects From: UIC News Bureau Date: 25 Oct 2010 13:30:59 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 25, 2010 CONTACT: Anne Brooks Ranallo, (312) 355-2523, aranallo@uic.edu GALLERY 400 AWARDS FIRST 'PROPELLER FUND' GRANTS FOR PUBLIC ARTS PROJECTS Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago and threewalls, a nonprofit gallery, have awarded the first grants from the Propeller Fund, a new program funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts to promote informal, independently organized art activities with a public component. The grants total $50,000, awarded in five grants of $6,000 and 10 grants of $2,000. A five-person jury selected the recipients from more than 140 applicants based in Chicago. "This year's awarded projects are a wonderful reflection of the diverse, self-organized activity happening in Chicago's artistic communities," says Lorelei Stewart, director of Gallery 400. The larger grants were awarded to: -Daniel Tucker, a cultural and political organizer, who will convene an advisory group to document the history of socially engaged art in Chicago -Tamalli Space Charros Collective, for a business project combining multimedia art and Mexican cuisine -Todd Diederich and Sara Fagala, for a ballroom event featuring documentary photography, a fashion line, and photo shoot -The Dorchester Project, a South Side collaborative, to encourage community development and exploration of arts, culture, and design -The Alliance of Pentaphilic Curators, for five funerals for five "notional deaths," each hosted by a Chicago cultural producer. The smaller grants will support projects like a Logan Square exhibition and publishing venue, limited-edition screen-printed Chicago neighborhood posters, a temporary replica of a Frank Gehry building on a vacant West Side lot, and a video game in which music comparable to that of Guitar Hero will be played on an ancient Hmong instrument. Gallery 400 will host a public reception celebrating the grants on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. in the fifth-floor Great Space in UIC's Art and Design Hall, 400 S. Peoria St. For information, call (312) 996-6114. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Spain Bestows Honor on Emeritus Scholar From: UIC News Bureau Date: 25 Oct 2010 12:47:38 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 25, 2010 CONTACT: Brian Flood, (312) 996-7681, bflood@uic.edu SPAIN BESTOWS HONOR ON EMERITUS SCHOLAR A University of Illinois at Chicago professor emeritus of Hispanic and Italian studies has received one of Spain's highest honors in recognition of his devotion to promoting Spanish and Latin American culture. Klaus Müller-Bergh, a resident of Glencoe, Ill., and scholar of Spanish and Latin American literature, was honored with the Order of Isabella the Catholic, which is conferred by Juan Carlos I, king of Spain. Müller-Bergh was awarded a corresponding medal and the title of Commander of the Order of Isabel la Catolica by Ambassador Javier Rupérez, consul general of Spain in Chicago, during a recent event at the law offices of Baker & McKenzie. "By recognizing the merits of Professor Müller-Bergh in the dissemination and better knowledge of our language and culture, his majesty the king of Spain has considered his contribution to Spain and to Spanish as an example to be followed, and a contribution worth remembering," Rupérez said. "His deep knowledge of classical and contemporary Spanish literature led him quite naturally to the study and analysis of the works of some prominent Hispanic American writers, where his insights are an indispensable tool for reflection and understanding of their universe of creation." Müller-Bergh is the author of numerous articles and books including "Mariano Brull, Poesía reunida," which was published with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In addition to Spanish language and literature, his research interests include Portuguese and French expression on the American continent, 20th century Latin American avant-garde poetry and prose, Caribbean literature, and history of ideas related to the New World. Müller-Bergh, who was born in Germany and raised in Spain, said he was particularly gratified to receive the award of the Royal American Order of Isabella the Catholic because "it came as a surprise." "I'm also deeply grateful for the Spanish, Latin American, North American and European friends and scholars who have read and appreciated my work over the years." Over the course of his career, Müller-Bergh garnered several fellowships and grants from entities such as the Fulbright program and the American Council of Learned Societies. Argentina, Cuba, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Spain have been among his many research destinations. Müller-Bergh taught at UIC from 1971 to 2006. He is currently an associate editor of the Latin American Writers series published in four volumes by Charles Scribner's Sons. He received his doctorate and master's degree from Yale University and his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame. The Order of Isabella the Catholic, often called the Royal American Order of Isabella the Catholic, was founded in 1815 by Ferdinand VII as a reward for loyalty to the Spanish kingdom or its American colonies. Named in honor of Queen Isabella I of Castile, who with her husband, Ferdinand of Aragon, helped to finance Christopher Columbus' journey to America. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Specially Trained Officers Respond Better to Mental Health Calls From: UIC News Bureau Date: 22 Oct 2010 16:40:18 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 22, 2010 CONTACT: Jeffron Boynés, (3120 413-8702, jboynes@uic.edu SPECIALLY TRAINED OFFICERS RESPOND BETTER TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS A University of Illinois at Chicago study suggests that the Chicago Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team is moving towards the goal of getting mentally ill people who come in contact with police the mental health services they need. Amy Watson, assistant professor at UIC's Jane Addams College of Social Work, led a team of researchers who studied the police department's Crisis Intervention Team program. The program provides specialized training for select officers in recognizing mental illness, responding to those with mental illness, and improving the safety of all involved. In 2007, the researchers surveyed program-trained and nontrained police officers about mental health-related calls they had taken. The findings suggest that Crisis Intervention Team training may lead to different responses from team officers in comparison to other officers in encounters with people with mental illness. Crisis Intervention Team officers directed a greater proportion of subjects with mental illness to mental health services, and used less force with subjects exhibiting resistant behavior, than did other officers. Crisis Intervention Team officers may be able to recognize resistant demeanor as a symptom of mental illness and then implement de-escalation techniques, according to the study. They may also be better prepared to link persons with mental illness to mental health services. "Our findings are encouraging," said Watson, principal investigator of the study. "We are planning future research to better understand the role of the mental health system in determining how officers resolve mental health related calls and to examine longer-term outcomes for persons with mental illnesses and communities." The findings were reported in the July issue of Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research and online in August in the journal Crime & Delinquency. The National Institute of Mental Health funded the study. Research co-investigators include Melissa Morabito of the University of Massachusetts Boston; Amy Kerr, doctoral student at Loyola University of Chicago; Jeffrey Draine of the University of Pennsylvania; Victor Ottati of Loyola; and Beth Angell of Rutgers University. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Nightshades' Mating Habits Strike Uneasy Evolutionary Balance From: UIC News Bureau Date: 21 Oct 2010 14:15:11 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 21, 2010 CONTACT: Paul Francuch, (312) 996-3457, francuch@uic.edu NIGHTSHADES' MATING HABITS STRIKE UNEASY EVOLUTIONARY BALANCE Embargoed for release: Thursday, Oct. 21, 2 p.m. EDT Most flowering plants, equipped with both male and female sex organs, can fertilize themselves and procreate without the aid of a mate. But this may only present a short-term adaptive benefit, according to a team of researchers led by two University of Illinois at Chicago biologists, who report that long-term evolutionary survival of a species favors flowers that welcome pollen from another plant. "We've shown that a strong, short-term advantage experienced by individuals that have sex with themselves can be offset by long-term advantages to plant species that strictly avoid self-fertilization," says Boris Igić, UIC assistant professor of biological sciences. The result is "an apparently unending competition between these two reproductive strategies," he said, "contributing to disparities in species diversity observed among different groups of plants." The findings are reported in the Oct. 22 issue of Science by Igić and lead author Emma Goldberg, postdoctoral research associate in biological sciences. Their study focused on Solanaceae, the large and diverse plant family commonly known as nightshades. It includes such important crop plants as potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco. Just under half of the known nightshade species cannot self-fertilize. Goldberg and Igić measured the long-term effects of self-fertilization, which is caused by frequent mutations and is difficult to lose once a plant acquires it. The researchers applied a mathematical model to calculate the rate of accumulation of species, also called the diversification rate. "We found those species that avoid self-fertilization diversify faster, giving them a long-term advantage," Goldberg said. "It's a trade-off," Igić added. "The short-term benefits of mating assurance and ability to invade a new environment are pitted against long-term advantages of greater genetic diversity, allowing plants that avoid self-fertilization to have more offspring during unpredictable environmental changes." Avoiding self-fertilization also allows plants to more easily keep beneficial mutations and provides a degree of protection against some harmful mutations, Igić said. The findings underscore that both individual and species characteristics can strongly shape how a group of plants evolves and diversifies. "The ability or inability to self-fertilize is subject to forces that act strongly, and in opposite directions," Goldberg said. "The balance between these opposing forces helps explain the diversity of plants within the nightshade family, and potentially many other plant groups." Other authors on the Science paper include Joshua Kohn of the University of California, San Diego; Russell Lande of Imperial College, London; Kelly Robertson of UIC; and Stephen Smith of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, N.C. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation. For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: UIC Receives $7 Million Grant to Test and Treat Inmates for HIV From: UIC News Bureau Date: 20 Oct 2010 10:23:53 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 20, 2010 CONTACT: Sherri McGinnis González, (312) 996-8277, smcginn@uic.edu UIC RECEIVES $7 MILLION GRANT TO TEST AND TREAT INMATES FOR HIV The University of Illinois at Chicago has received a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study effective ways to seek, test, and treat inmates with HIV. The project is led by researchers from the UIC School of Public Health, the UIC College of Medicine and the Cook County Jail. The researchers will focus on inmates at Cook County Jail and at Illinois state prisons to increase the number of inmates tested, provide effective anti-retroviral therapy to HIV-positive prisoners, and provide case management after release to maintain effective treatment. “Each year, an estimated one in seven individuals infected with HIV passes through a correctional facility,” said Dr. Lawrence Ouellet, research professor of epidemiology and one of the principal investigators, “which suggests that these facilities are key sites for public health interventions targeting HIV/AIDS.” In an effort to identify those with undetected or untreated infection and potentially reduce HIV transmission in the community, the research team will help to implement and evaluate “opt-out” testing when a person enters jail or prison. The researchers believe that by making HIV testing a routine feature of health exams the number of inmates tested will increase, according to Dr. Michael Puisis, a co-principal investigator and the chief operating officer at Cermak Health Services of Cook County Jail. Currently, inmates must “opt-in” for HIV testing, which is not part of standard tests when they enter the system. Under the new procedures, inmates still have the option to refuse testing. The project will also evaluate telemedicine as a way to provide HIV care to state prison inmates. Using confidential, interactive video teleconferencing, a physician at UIC will perform a complete history and physical exam and eliminate the need for prisoners to be transported from remote locations for care. “In the past, inmates housed in the Illinois Department of Corrections prison facilities had very limited access to subspecialty care,” said Dr. Jeremy Young, assistant professor of infectious diseases at UIC and a co-principal investigator. “Several studies of HIV-positive patients have shown improved adherence to antiretroviral treatment regimens and superior clinical outcomes when physicians with specialized training in HIV medicine are involved in their care.” Another part of the project will offer case-management services to newly-released HIV-positive inmates to encourage sustained care. The grant will also provide partner notification and counseling and testing for people who are part of the detainees’ social networks who may be at risk for infection. In addition to Cook County Jail and UIC, the research partnership includes the Illinois Department of Corrections, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, South Side Help Center, and the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit at www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Link Between Two Forms of ALS Suggests Drug Target From: UIC News Bureau Date: 20 Oct 2010 09:59:03 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 20, 2010 CONTACT: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, (312) 996-1583, jgala@uic.edu LINK BETWEEN TWO FORMS OF ALS SUGGESTS DRUG TARGET For the first time, researchers have discovered a disease mechanism that links hereditary amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to the more common "sporadic" form of ALS -- and points to a possible therapeutic target. The findings are reported online in advance of publication in the journal Nature Neuroscience. ALS is an adult-onset disease that causes progressive degeneration of motor neurons and death within three to five years of diagnosis. Scott Brady, professor and head of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, studies how neurons shuttle proteins from the cell body, where they are made, down the long "axon" of the nerve cell to the synaptic terminals where they are needed. Disruption of axonal transport is proving to be common factor in a number of adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases, says Scott, who is one of the new study's authors. Such disruption results in loss of transmission of signals from one neuron to another, and eventually to a "dying-back" of the axons, which form these connections. This loss of connectivity causes symptoms of ALS long before the neurons actually die, says Gerardo Morfini, assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology at UIC and one of the co-authors. Previous studies showed that the most common cause of hereditary ALS were mutations in a gene for an enzyme called superoxide dismutase-1, or SOD1. But hereditary ALS accounts for less than 10 percent of ALS cases -- and only a quarter of hereditary ALS patients have mutations in SOD1. Researchers, including scientists from UIC, the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and four other centers, found that another enzyme in nerve cells, called P38 MAP kinase, which was known to be elevated in ALS, was activated by mutant SOD1. When activated, P38 disrupted the transport of material from the cell body to the axon. "The big question is what causes the disease in the 90 percent of cases without a genetic component, and why is the disease seen in sporadic cases of ALS almost undistinguishable from the hereditary ALS forms?" said Scott. In this latest paper, based on evidence that some patients with sporadic, or non-hereditary, ALS had a modified form of SOD1, the researchers created an oxidized form of SOD1 that is partially unfolded, which they were able to show also activated P38 and caused the same disruption in the axon's transport system. Recently, members of the research team generated a monoclonal antibody to a mutant SOD1 that recognized all of the different mutant forms of SOD1 and yet didn’t react with normal SOD1. It seemed likely, Scott said, that the antibody was reacting with the same key feature that all of the mutants shared. They found that the antibody reacted with oxidized SOD1 as well. "This told us that you didn’t need a mutation, you just needed a partially denatured protein -- a protein that is not quite folded correctly may expose a biologically active domain that activates this pathway," said Scott. Team members at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center obtained tissue from the spinal cords of nine patients with sporadic ALS. Four of the nine tissue samples from patients -- and none of 17 samples from healthy controls -- reacted with the antibody, suggesting that misfolded SOD1 was a factor in a significant fraction of patients with sporadic ALS. "While mutations in SOD1 give rise to only a quarter of hereditary ALS cases, we may be able to relate as much as 50 percent of sporadic ALS to SOD1 misfolding," said Scott. "This means that if we can find something that can protect patients with the mutation, it should also be able to protect the patients with the misfolded SOD1." The new findings identify the specific role of the P38 enzyme in disrupting axonal transport, said Morfini. "This not only defines a therapeutic target, but with a number of p38 inhibitors being investigated, there is real potential that these findings may eventually help patients with ALS." Thur work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the ALS Association, The Angel Fund, ALS Therapy Alliance-CVS Pharmacy, and Project ALS. Yuyu Song at UIC; Daryl Bosco, Benjamin Fontaine, Nathan Lemay, Diane McKenna-Yasek and Robert H. Brown of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center; N. Murat Karabacak and Jeffrey Agar of Brandeis University; Francois Gros-Louis and Jean-Pierre Julien of Laval University in Quebec; Piera Pasinelli of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia; dvd Holly Goolsby and Mathew Frosch of the C.S. Kubik Laboratory for Neuropathology at Massachusetts General Hospital also contributed to the study. For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Mile Square Health Center to Rebuild with $12 Million Grant From: UIC News Bureau Date: 19 Oct 2010 13:51:22 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 19, 2010 CONTACT: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, (312) 996-1583, jgala@uic.edu MILE SQUARE HEALTH CENTER TO REBUILD WITH $12 MILLION GRANT The University of Illinois at Chicago’s Mile Square Health Center received a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to build a new facility in the Illinois Medical District and improve access to primary care. The new 46,000 square foot facility will replace the current aging structure. "The increased capacity will make it possible for Mile Square to be a medical home for twice as many families throughout the city of Chicago and suburbs, in addition to offering convenience care -- same day and drop-in appointments," said Henry Taylor, executive director. "We anticipate 76,000 individual patient visits in its first year, including individuals newly insured under health care reform." The multidisciplinary facility will offer specialty care in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, ob/gyn, midwifery, mental health and dentistry. "Our location in the medical district allows us to serve all the major medical centers here -- Rush, UIC, Stroger and the V.A., as well as serve as a Federal Quality Health Center for uninsured individuals who might otherwise end up in emergency departments," Taylor said. The new center will also offer increased teaching opportunities to medical residents interested in learning how to best deliver community-based care. Construction is expected to cost $26 million and should be completed in 2012. Land donated by the university helped keep project costs down, Taylor said. "We’re very grateful to the Board of Trustees for their support." The $12 million dollar grant was part of HHS awards of $727 million to 143 community health centers across the country, including eight in Illinois, to expand access to quality health care. The funds are the first in a series of awards that will be made available to community health centers under the Affordable Care Act. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Brain Imaging Identifies Differences in Childhood Bipolar Disorder, ADHD From: UIC News Bureau Date: 12 Oct 2010 12:39:45 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 12, 2010 CONTACT: Sherri McGinnis González, (312) 996-8277, smcginn@uic.edu BRAIN IMAGING IDENTIFIES DIFFERENCES IN CHILDHOOD BIPOLAR DISORDER, ADHD Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are the first to use brain imaging to examine the effects of emotion on working memory function in children with pediatric bipolar disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The study is published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. PBD and ADHD are very severe developmental disorders that share behavioral characteristics such as impulsivity, irritability and attention problems. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers at UIC examined the brain activity of children as they performed a working memory task while viewing faces with different emotions, such as angry, happy or neutral expressions. The children, ages 10 to 18, were asked to remember the faces and to press a button in the MR-scanner if they saw the same face that was presented two trials earlier. The study involved 23 non-medicated children with bipolar disorder, 14 non-medicated children with ADHD and 19 healthy controls. "It's a simple yet elegant working memory test that tells us a lot about how their brain remembers stimuli like faces or objects," said Alessandra Passarotti, assistant professor of psychiatry at UIC and lead author of the study. "We also added in an emotional component -- because both disorders show emotional deficits -- to study how their working memory is affected by emotional challenge." The researchers found that while both disorders show dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex relative to healthy controls, the ADHD group had the most severe dysfunction in this important region. The prefrontal cortex controls behavior, such as impulsivity, and executive function, as well as complex cognitive processes such as working memory, attention and language. >From a treatment, learning and intervention perspective, the next step for researchers and clinicians is to figure out how to help patients use their prefrontal cortex, Passarotti said. The researchers also found that while the ADHD group had greater dysfunction in working memory circuits in the brain, the bipolar group had more deficits in regions of the brain involved in emotion-processing and regulation. Now that researchers are starting to differentiate between the two disorders at a brain network level, rather than just at a behavioral level, the long-term goal is to develop diagnostic tests based on neurological and behavioral markers of illness that can be used in a clinical setting. Currently patients are diagnosed using clinical measures, questionnaires, behavior scales and interviews with parents. It is difficult for physicians to differentiate between the two disorders behaviorally, which may lead to an incorrect diagnosis and wrong medications, a worsening of symptoms, and greater frustration for children and parents, said Passarotti, a researcher in UIC's Institute for Juvenile Research. She said that while researchers still do not understand all of the neurological deficits that characterize ADHD and PBD profiles, they know that drug treatment that works for ADHD does not work for bipolar disorder. "In fact, if you give a stimulant to a child with bipolar disorder, they become more manic, and this makes their illness even worse, whereas if you give the mood-regulation medicine commonly prescribed for PBD to a child with ADHD, they still show a lot of attention deficits and do not show any improvement," Passarotti said. "Our hope is that by better differentiating between these two severe developmental illnesses, we can help develop more accurate diagnoses and more targeted treatments for PBD and ADHD." Co-authors of the study are Dr. Mani Pavuluri, the Berger-Colbeth Term Chair in Child Psychiatry and director of the Pediatric Brain Research and Intervention Center at UIC, and John Sweeney, professor of psychiatry, neurology and psychology and director of the Center for Cognitive Medicine at UIC. [Editor's Note: fMRI images available on request.] For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Clue to Unusual Drug-Resistant Breast Cancers Found From: UIC News Bureau Date: 8 Oct 2010 14:54:00 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 8, 2010 CONTACT: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, (312) 996-1583, jgala@uic.edu CLUE TO UNUSUAL DRUG-RESISTANT BREAST CANCERS FOUND Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found how gene expression that may contribute to drug resistance is ramped up in unusual types of breast tumors. Their findings may offer new therapy targets. The study is published in the Oct. 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, where it is designated a paper of the week. Approximately 70 percent of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor. These "ER-positive" tumors usually respond to hormone-related therapies, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. But not always. "We were interested in a subset of ER-positive tumors that are unusually aggressive and also drug-resistant," said Jonna Frasor, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at the UIC College of Medicine and principal investigator of the study. Following up on earlier observations that these aggressive ER-positive tumors express genes that respond both to estrogen and inflammatory factors called cytokines, Frasor and her colleagues focused on the gene for a drug-transporter protein which is believed to pump chemotherapy drugs out of tumor cells, making them resistant. It is unexpected to find estrogen and inflammatory proteins seemingly working together to drive the cancer’s aggressiveness, says Madhumita Pradhan, a student in Frasor’s lab and first author of the paper. In many cases, estrogen is known to be protective against inflammatory processes, Pradhan said. The researchers showed that in breast cancer cells, an inflammatory protein called NFĸB and the estrogen receptor act together to increase expression of the transporter gene. And they were able to show how. An area on a gene called a promoter acts as an on/off switch that determines whether the gene is transcribed and the protein it encodes is produced. The promoter has spaces called response elements, where molecules can attach and help to turn the switch on or off. "We found that the estrogen receptor gets recruited to the promoter of this gene," Frasor said. "Once there, the ER allows NFĸB to be recruited to its own response element. Once the second molecule binds, it actually stabilizes the ER and the gene is turned on to a much greater extent than with the ER alone." This novel mechanism could have important implications in the treatment of breast cancers in which inflammation and estrogen can promote cancer progression, Frasor said. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Leslie Bembinster, visiting research associate, and student Sarah Baumgarten also contributed to the paper. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Film Series to Honor 20th Anniversary of Reunited Germany From: UIC News Bureau Date: 7 Oct 2010 11:04:54 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 7, 2010 CONTACT: Brian Flood, (312) 996-7681, bflood@uic.edu FILM SERIES TO HONOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF REUNITED GERMANY The University of Illinois at Chicago will kick-off the "Made in West/East Germany" film series, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the German reunification, with presentations on Oct. 19 and 21. The multi-institution sponsored series features film screenings that pair one East German film with one from West Germany in an effort to examine the traditions, connections and similarities of the two film cultures. The UIC presentations, which are themed "Before the Wall: East/West Germany in the 50s," are as follows: Oct. 19, 5:30 p.m. "Sky Without Stars (Himmel ohne Sterne)" by Helmut Käutner, West Germany (1955, 109 min.; German with English subtitles), Lecture Center B1, 805 S. Morgan St. Oct. 21, 6 p.m. "A Berlin Romance (Eine Berliner Romanze)" by Gerhard Klein, East Germany (1956, 81 min.; German with English subtitles), Lecture Center B1, 805 S. Morgan St. Prior to the Oct. 21 screening, an opening reception for the series will begin at 5 p.m. in the Sandi Port Errant Language and Culture Learning Center at Grant Hall, Room 308, 703 S. Morgan St. The presentation of "A Berlin Romance" will be followed by a discussion featuring Jennifer Fay, associate professor of film studies and English, Vanderbilt University, and author of "Theaters of Occupation: Hollywood and the Re-education of Postwar Germany," and Jennifer Kapczynski, assistant professor of Germanic languages and literatures, Washington University at St. Louis, and author of "The German Patient: Crisis and Recovery in Postwar Culture." Admission is free and open to the public. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information call (312) 355-0907. To learn more about the films and the entire series, visit http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/chi/kue/flm/en6612607v.htm. The presenting institutions and organizations are UIC, DePaul University, Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, the DEFA Film Library, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and the Goethe-Institut Chicago. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Heart Healthy Diet: Low Fat or Low Carbs? From: UIC News Bureau Date: 7 Oct 2010 10:49:33 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 7, 2010 CONTACT: Paul Francuch, (312) 996-3457, francuch@uic.edu HEART HEALTHY DIET: LOW FAT OR LOW CARBS? Losing weight, especially among adults who are very heavy to obese, is a good way to prevent the onset of atherosclerosis, the artery-thickening condition that leads to potentially deadly heart disease. A diet that is low in either fats or carbohydrates can help reduce weight. But which one is the more heart-healthy? Shane Phillips, a University of Illinois at Chicago assistant professor of physical therapy, says preliminary evidence favors the low-fat approach, and he cautions against recently popular low-carbohydrate diets, which usually allow generous portions of meats and other foods that can contain a lot of fat. "People have different opinions about healthy diets. Being overweight or obese is a risk factor. The question is, how do you lose weight in the most healthful manner?" Phillips asks. Earlier, limited studies he conducted suggested that weight loss with carbohydrates might not fully protect the circulation. He is now going to study 60 young-to-middle age people in hopes of reaching more conclusive findings. Phillips received a $1.25 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to put qualified volunteer subjects on six-week diets -- randomly chosen to get either low fat or low carbohydrate. All subjects will be clinically obese, with body-mass indexes between 30 and 39. All their breakfast, lunch and dinner meals will be pre-prepared. While Phillips expects that everyone will lose weight, he hypothesizes that the low-fat diets will promote better body chemistry for healthier arteries. Blood samples will be taken every two weeks and tested for levels of chemicals linked to healthier cardiovascular function. Nitric oxide produced by the endothelium, the inner-lining of arteries, regulates stability which helps to keep blood pumping freely. Atherosclerosis, closely linked to obesity, can reduce nitric oxide production while raising levels of reactive oxygen species, a troubling invader that further scavenges remaining nitric oxide thereby compounding the problem of vascular health. While weight loss -- regardless of what dietary route is taken -- should reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, Phillips hypothesizes that those on a low-fat diet will have better vascular endothelial function compared to those on the low-carbohydrate diets, and therefore will have reduced risk of heart disease. He will check if low-carbohydrate diets also lower levels of the blood protein hormone adiponectin, which helps control the harmful reactive oxygen species. "Is adiponectin a secret to how blood circulation is protected?" Phillips asked. "It is usually high and protective in lean individuals, and has been associated with obesity, where it's lower," he said. How diet may affect adiponectin levels and other markers of cardiovascular health and how these factors might protect small blood vessels is a previously unexplored question Phillips hopes to answer. "We're looking for healthy ways to live," Phillips said. "Heart disease is a main killer. Can research uncover new ways that allow people to prevent it more effectively? If we know about certain aspects of a diet that affects vasculature, we hope to leverage it to a better treatment candidate." For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Students to Voice Political Concerns From: UIC News Bureau Date: 5 Oct 2010 14:21:42 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 5, 2010 CONTACT: Brian Flood, (312) 996-7681, bflood@uic.edu STUDENTS TO VOICE POLITICAL CONCERNS WHO/WHAT: National Student Issues Convention. More than 400 students from the University of Illinois at Chicago will voice their top political concerns as part of the National Student Issues Convention, an annual event involving several thousand high school and college students across the country. Robert Fioretti, 2nd Ward alderman, is scheduled to present opening remarks. WHEN: Friday, Oct. 8 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. WHERE: UIC Forum 725 W. Roosevelt Road DETAILS: The event, organized by the UIC department of political science, provides students the opportunity to debate with their peers in a convention-like setting, collaborate to develop an agenda, and convey their concerns to elected officials and candidates seeking office. Higher education funding, the DREAM ACT, health insurance, inner-city gentrification, and the environment are topics students have debated at previous conventions. During two sessions, the UIC students will determine the full agenda for Chicago and Illinois and vote proportionally in adopting a national agenda. At 11 a.m., candidates for public office or their representatives will address the students' final agenda during a panel session chaired by Dick Simpson, UIC professor and head of political science. Media are welcome. For more information, call (312) 413-3780. - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: 'Future of Chicago' Lecture Series Continues From: UIC News Bureau Date: 5 Oct 2010 11:02:04 -0500 To: archives@uic.edu UIC News Release October 4, 2010 CONTACT: Brian Flood, (312) 996-7681, bflood@uic.edu 'FUTURE OF CHICAGO' LECTURE SERIES CONTINUES Four presenters have been added to the University of Illinois at Chicago's "Future of Chicago" Lecture Series, which focuses on the social, economic, and political conditions of the Chicago metropolitan region. Lectures are from noon to 12:50 p.m. in Lecture Center C3, 802 S. Halsted St. (directly west of Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St.). Admission is free and open to the public. For more information call (312) 413-3780. Upcoming lectures include: Oct. 13 "The Future of Corruption in Chicago" Joe Ferguson, inspector general, City of Chicago Oct. 20 "The Chicago City Council and the Future of Chicago" Sandi Jackson, 7th ward alderman Oct. 27 "Latino Politics in Chicago" Maria de los Angeles Torres, UIC professor and director of Latin American and Latino studies Nov. 3 "Inside the Chicago Machine" Jim Laski, former Chicago city clerk and alderman - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign. UIC Hosts U.S. Healthcare Research and Quality Director.msg Subject: Former RTA Head to Lead UIC's Urban Transportation Center From: UIC News Bureau Date: 4 Oct 2010 12:53:55 -0500 To: diazm@uic.edu UIC News Release October 4, 2010 CONTACT: Anne Brooks Ranallo, (312) 355-2523, aranallo@uic.edu FORMER RTA HEAD TO LEAD UIC'S URBAN TRANSPORTATION CENTER Stephen E. Schlickman, former executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority of Northeastern Illinois, has been named director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois of Chicago, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. The Urban Transportation Center studies urban transportation planning, policy, operations and management. It provides technical assistance to government agencies, nonprofits, industry and other universities to address transportation issues. The center is part of UIC's College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, where Schlickman has taught transportation project funding and finance as an adjunct lecturer since 1999. He received the college’s Alumni Appreciation Award in March. As director of the center, Schlickman plans to extend its reach. "I’d like to make the center not only nationally prominent, but internationally prominent, on the cutting edge of research in urban transportation," Schlickman said. "I want to focus on a few high-priority areas, like infrastructure repair and maintenance. Our nation is now second-rate in that area to what we used to consider emerging economies, like China, and we’re rapidly sliding toward third-rate." Schlickman has more than 30 years of transportation experience. As head of the RTA from 2005 until this month, he was charged with oversight, financial assistance and planning coordination for the region’s transit operating agencies: the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace. Previously, he was a consultant providing financial, project policy, and legislative advice to clients in all modes of surface transportation, as well as water and urban park infrastructure. He led the Business Leaders for Transportation coalition in supporting the Illinois FIRST legislation, which provided $5.7 billion for highway and transit infrastructure. >From 1989 to 1991, Schlickman directed the City of Chicago's office in Washington, D.C. Earlier, he worked in various positions for the Chicago Transit Authority, including government relations manager and administrator of a CTA oversight commission during the 1982-1983 financial crisis. Schlickman earned a law degree from DePaul University and a bachelor's degree in government from Georgetown University, where he drove a bus in the university transit system in 1975. He has served as president of the Illinois Public Transportation Association, as a legislative committee member of the American Public Transportation Association, and as policy committee representative on the board of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. "We are delighted to have Steve join us as a permanent member of our CUPPA team," said Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and interim dean of the College of Business. "Steve is a tireless advocate for efficient and coordinated transportation systems. His successes at the RTA in capital modernization and expansion, securing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, and his involvement with the nation's major transit operators will complement the center’s legacy of dynamic leadership." Schlickman will take over from Siim Sööt, associate professor emeritus, who has served as interim director of the center since 2008. Soot will continue his research at the center. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu - UIC - NOTE: Please refer to the institution as the University of Illinois at Chicago on first reference and UIC on second reference. "University of Illinois" and "U. of I." are often assumed to refer to our sister campus in Urbana-Champaign.