DIG Meeting Recap, 3-30-09

We elected our new officers tonight!

2009-2010 Officers
Galveston Co-President: Jarad Levin
Austin Co-President: Alison Wiesenthal
Vice President: Lindsey Hunter
Secretary: Janese Laster
Community Outreach Chair: Rebecca Phillips
Miles for Melanoma Chairs: Doug Heiner and Janese Laster
Second Year Rep: Kristopher McGill

Thanks to Dr. Wagner for presenting such helpful information regarding the 2009 Match!

Remember, the Galveston County Health Fair is coming up on April 18th. We will be making paper plate sunvisors for the kids and handing out sun safety info to the community.

Miles for Melanoma and Skin Cancer Screening: May 16th. Don't forget to register by April 15th to get a free shirt!
To register visit: www.AimAtMelanoma.org
Click on: Aim for Action
Click on: Participate in a Fundraiser
Click on: Aim for a Cure Miles for Melanoma Walk
Click on: Galveston
Contact Tatiana Sousa for more details. tasousa@utmb.edu

2009 Dermatology Honors Research Award

Mara Dacso presented her dermatology honors research entitled, "Evaluation of Multi-Drug Therapy for Leprosy in the U.S.A. Using Daily Rifampin" this morning in the dermatology conference room and was awarded Magna Cum Laude graduation honors. Her thesis committee was composed of Drs. Simon Lewis, Erica Kelly (UTMB faculty advisor), Sharon Raimer and Richard Wagner. Congratulations to Mara for this outstanding accomplishment!

2010 Dermatopathology Fellows Announced

Dr. Ramon Sanchez, the Director of the UTMB Dermatopathology Fellowship Program, has announced the two dermatopathology fellows for July 2010. They are Drs. Ryan Matherne, a PGY-2 Dermatology Resident at UTMB and Dr. John Cangelosi, a senior Pathology Resident at UTMB. Dr. Matherne will complete his dermatology residency at UTMB prior to the dermatopathology fellowship, and Dr. Cangelosi will complete his general pathology residency and take an additional year of surgical pathology fellowship at MD Anderson before starting the dermatopathology fellowship at UTMB.

DIG meeting on March 30th

The next DIG meeting will be held on Monday, March 30, 2009 at 5PM in the Dermatology conference room (4.112 McCullough). We will be discussing the recent residency match, upcoming events (i.e. UTMB Skin Screening, Miles for Melanoma, Galveston County Health Fair), and we will be electing new officers for 2009-2010. Officer positions include President, Vice President, Secretary, Community Outreach Chairperson, Miles for Melanoma Chairperson, and Class Representatives. Teleconferencing will be available for those who are not in Galveston, but would like to participate. If you have any questions, please contact Mara (madacso@utmb.edu). We hope to see you there!

UTMB Proposes Increased House Staff Salaries

UTMB has proposed the following house staff salaries, starting in September 2009:

PGY-2: $45,550. (First year dermatology resident)

PGY-3: $47,179. (Second year dermatology resident)

PGY-4: $48,950. (Third year dermatology resident)

PGY-5: 50,636. (Dermatopathology fellow)

These proposed salary increases are subject to approval by the UT System Board of Regents.

Dermatology Honors Research Thesis Presentation

Mara Dacso will present her dermatology honors research topic ("Evaluation of Multi-Drug Therapy for Leprosy in the U.S.A. Using Daily Rifampin") on Monday, March 30, 2009 in the UTMB Dermatology Conference Room (4.112 McCullough) at 8am. All DIG members and others interested about this topic are invited to attend. Dr. Erica Kelly and Dr. David Scollard were Ms. Dacso's faculty advisors.

2009 NRMP Results Announced for UTMB Dermatology

UTMB Dermatology successfully matched with three applicants in the 2009 NRMP. They are, in alphabetical order:

Mara Dacso (UTMB)

Julie Martin, MD (LSU-NO, 3 years of General Surgery Residency at UTMB, Cutaneous Oncology Fellowship at Harvard)

Leslie Scroggins (UTMB)

The UTMB DIG offers its congratulations!

Dermatology Residents and Staff Congratulate Incoming Dermatology Residents at UTMB Match Party. (left to right: Dr. John Stephens, Leslie Scroggins, Kimberly Cooper, Mara Dacso, Dr. Mika Yamazki, Dr. David Raimer)

UTMB Dermatology Residency Fills in 2009 NRMP

UTMB Dermatology has matched for three PGY-2 dermatology residents who will start in July 2010. Our dermatology department will learn which applicants they matched with on Wednesday and the applicants will be notified on Thursday.

Austin DIG Members Reach out to 300 Students!

This past Friday, March 13th, DIG members and volunteers visited Travis Heights Elementary School in Austin to teach 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about sun safety. Students were also given UV bead bracelets to show them when they are being exposed to the sun's harmful rays. The response from the students was wonderful!

Thanks to Alison Wiesenthal, MSIII for her hard work in planning the visit and for getting the funding to teach kids about this important topic! She plans to reach out to more schools in the future.

Annual UTMB Deparment of Dermatology Cancer Screening

Following the Miles for Melanoma walk on May 16th at 8AM, the UTMB Department of Dermatology will have its annual cancer screening from 10AM-1PM. The screenings will be held at the Family Medicine Clinic on Stewart Road (6710 Stewart Rd.) and the South Shore Clinic in League City (6465 South Shore Blvd.). Student volunteers are needed to help register patients in both locations. Please email Tatiana (tasousa@utmb.edu) for more information.

Next DIG Meeting, 3/30

Our next DIG meeting will be held March 30, 5 pm in McCullough 4.112. Dr. Wagner will be presenting statistics and information regarding the 2009 Match. Also, we will be holding officer elections for next year.

If you would like to join the meeting but are not in Galveston, we are offering the opportunity to join via teleconference. More information on this to come!

UTMB DIG Miles for Melanoma Walk

Aim for a Cure Miles for Melanoma Walk
May 16, 2009
Walk begins at 8:30am
Registration and t-shirt distribution from 8:00am-8:30am
UTMB Field House Track
215 Holiday Drive
Galveston, TX 77550
If you have someone you would like to do the walk in honor of this year, please send me their name and we will include it on the Galveston online flyer/site for online registration.
More information to come with online registration instructions, etc.
Thank you!
Tatiana S. Sousa, MSIV
University of Texas Medical Branch
tasousa@utmb.edu