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Prominent Yale Scientist Will Address the 28th Annual Graduate Student Research Forum
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The 28th Annual Graduate Student Research Forum, sponsored by the Graduate Student Association, will take place on Tuesday, March 15. The daylong event will feature poster and oral presentations by graduate students and a keynote address by
Patrick Sung, Ph.D.,
p
rofessor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and of therapeutic radiology at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Sung will present "The Role of the BRCA2-DSS1 Complex in DNA Break Repair."
Monica K. Cheng, Ph.D. '03, deputy head of business development and licensing, cardiometabolic diseases at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will serve as the alumna moderator of the day's events.
Dr. Sung's research focus
es
on mechanisms associated with homology-directed repair of DNA double-strand breaks in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in mammalian cells. The double
-
stranded DNA repair pathway uses a process of homologous recombination to promote error-free repair. Central to this process
is
the
group of
RAD52
genes that are essential for
DNA damage
repair
induced by ionizing radiation.
In mammals, the efficiency of recombinational DNA repair is modulated by tumor suppressor proteins, BRCA1 and BRCA2. Dr. Sung has identified that these nuclear proteins have a critical role in response to DNA damage and exhibit a binding domain that interacts with human RAD proteins. His studies provide a rationale of how losses of BRCA function may compromise RAD-mediated DNA repair systems ultimately destabilizing the genome and contributing to cancerous growth.
Dr. Sung served as chairman of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale and chaired the Cancer Etiology Study Section at the National Institutes of Health. He received his B.S.
degree from the University of Liverpool and his Ph.D. degree from Oxford University.
He serves on the editorial boards of Genes and Development and DNA Repair and is an associate editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
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AOA History of Medicine Visiting Professor Lecture Kicks Off Black History Month
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 The New York Medical College Iota chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), the national medical honor society, kicked off Black History Month on campus with the Fourth Annual Saul A. Schwartz, M.D. '30, AOA History of Medicine Visiting Professor Lecture on February 2.
Visiting Professor
Richard D. deShazo, M.D.,
second from left, professor of medicine, allergy and immunology, at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, presented "Practice in Parallel: The Story of Black and White Physicians in the South." Dr. deShazo examined the epidemic of health disparities since slavery and took the audience on a journey of the past 397 years of discrimination in medicine.
Joining Dr. deShazo prior to the lecture, from left were: Mrs. Gloria deShazo; f
ourth-year medical student Nicholas Bartell, AOA Iota chapter president; William H. Frishman, M.D., the Barbara and William Rosenthal Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine, professor of pharmacology and councilor of the Iota chapter; and Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer.
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| GRANT NEWS |
 Debra Bessen, Ph.D.,
p
rofessor of microbiology and immunology, received a one-year
$256,939 grant and a $202,952 grant for an additional year from the National Institutes of Health for her work, "Population Analysis of Group A Streptococcal Phenotypes." "This grant will help us to understand the underlying basis for how the common streptococcus bacterium causes different diseases. Specifically, we plan to compare strains of the bacterium that cause strep throat, to strains that trigger autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatic fever," said Dr. Bessen. "With the new knowledge gained, we hope to ultimately improve diagnostics and develop better prevention strategies."
Group A streptococci cause a diverse array of >700 million infections each year throughout the world, and can be deadly. Knowledge of the biology of the organisms that cause the more severe diseases, such as rheumatic fever, will facilitate a better understanding of the disease processes, and aid in better diagnostics and clinical management, and in developing vaccines.
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| NOTEWORTHY |
A recent study on pancreatitis1, one of the most frequent gastrointestinal disorders, which analyzed the field of pancreatic research for the last 112 years (from 1900 to 2012) and examined nearly 28,000 publications from around the world, ranked New York Medical College as third of all global institutions with respect to total citations listed in other publications, and for research activity involving collaboration with other countries. Much of this research on pancreatitis was carried out over a period of four decades in the NYMC Department of Surgery, with support from the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, Inc., according to Albert B. Lowenfels, M.D., professor emeritus of surgery and professor of family medicine.
The study-which used data from the Web of Science database- concluded that for the benefit of scientific progress, more countries with significant numbers of patients suffering from chronic and acute pancreatitis should contribute to international collaborations and female researchers should be encouraged and supported.
1.
Groneberg DA, Braun M, Klingelhoefer D, et al. Pancreatitis: Global Research Activities and Gender Imbalances: A Scientometric Approach Using Density-Equalizing Mapping. Pancreas. 45(2):218-227, February 2016.
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New York Medical College Leadership News:
Albany Times Union -- 2/2/2016
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs
BuzzFeed -- 2/1/2016
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs
The Washington Post with Bloomberg -- 1/31/2016
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs
Chicago Tribune -- 1/28/2016
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., dean of School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs
Faculty News:
Live Science -- 2/3/2016
Paul J. Rosch, M.D., clinical professor of medicine
Weston Forum -- 2/3/2016
Simon Ovanessian, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences
WHUD Radio -- 2/1/2016
Gary P. Wormser, M.D., professor of medicine, chief of Division of Infectious Diseases and vice chairman of Department of Medicine
Scarsdale News -- 1/29/2016
Mark Herceg, Ph.D.,
lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health
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| EVENTS |
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Tuesday, February 9
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Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds
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11:00 a.m.
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Graduate Medical Education Grand Rounds
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5:00 p.m.
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Wednesday, February 10
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Department of
Pediatrics Grand Rounds
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8:00 a.m.
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Department of Gastroenterology Seminar
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8:00 a.m.
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Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
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12:00 p.m.
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Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy Seminar
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2:00 p.m.
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Thursday, February 11
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Medical Student Research Forum
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10:00 a.m.
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