2010 Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting

DIG would like to congratulate DIG members Audra Clos (MS4), Lindsey Hunter (MS3), and Michaela Marek (MS3) for having their abstracts accepted to the 70th SID Annual Meeting! Links to their published abstracts can be found below. This year's meeting will be held at the Hilton Atlanta Hotel, May 5-8, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. More information can be found at sidnet.org.

Audra Clos:
Coauthors: C. Lasagna-Reeves, R. Wagner, M. Pettit, B. Kelly, M. Wilkerson, G. Jackson, R. Kayed
Title: Therapeutic removal of amyloid deposits by anti amyloid antibodies

Lindsey Hunter:
Coauthors: S. Wang, J. Wickliffe, M. Wilkerson
Title: Photoactivated Rose Bengal, a possible mutagen in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Michaela Marek:
Coauthors: S. Wang, L. Hunter, J. Laster, M. Wilkerson, J. Wickliffe
Title: Chronic exposure to nanosized titanium dioxide negatively effects DNA replication

The NSRF Best Poster Presentation in Dermatology goes to...

The Best Poster Presentation in Dermatology, sponsored by the UTMB Department of Dermatology, was awarded to Ashley Antony from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her poster title was: TRACKING ACNE LESIONS LEADING TO SCAR FORMATION WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED ALIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS. The UTMB DIG would like to congratulate Ashley Antony, all of the NSRF award recipients, and all of the NSRF participants for this year's impressive poster and oral presentations. Keep up the good work!

How I Earned Graduation Credits and Learned Dermatology During UTMB Vacation Periods

One of the best kept secrets at UTMB is that our medical students are often able to earn credits toward graduation during vacation periods. At UTMB our academic year never really ends, because academic credit is available during all Periods, even Period 13 (Winter Break). Many first year medical students earn research credits during the summer break between the first and second year of medical school through participation in the MSSRP. Other first year medical students gain exposure to clinical dermatology early and earn credit by taking DERU-1050 during Periods 1 and 2 between their first and second years of medical school.

MS3 and MS4 students may take a variety of interesting dermatology courses over the Period 13 Winter Break, like Dr. Wagner’s DERU-4007 elective film course that permits teleconferencing from any off-campus location, or a dermatology literature elective (DERU-4011), or the History of Dermatology course (DERU-4008). The DERU-4007 film course now permits registration of 15 medical students each Period.

UTMB DIG Members Present at NSRF on Thursday, April 22 from 1 - 3 PM

Several UTMB DIG members (MS4s Audra Clos and Doug Heiner, MS3s Lindsey Hunter and Michaela Marek, and MS2 Donnie Warren) are presenting their research tomorrow at the 51st Annual National Student Research Forum (NSRF) in Galveston. Please stop by Levin Hall from 1-3 PM and see what they have been working on!

Dr. Richard Wagner quoted in the Los Angeles Times!

UTMB DIG's faculty advisor, Dr. Richard Wagner, was quoted in the April 20, 2010 Los Angeles Times article, "Indoor Tanning May Be Addictive," which was also mentioned in the UTMB News Highlights today!

"Evidence that tanning is addictive could explain why people ignore well-known health admonitions to avoid excess UV light, said Dr. Richard Wagner Jr., a dermatology professor at UTMB and the lead author of a 2005 study published in the Archives of Dermatology that found similar rates of tanning addiction among beachgoers. 'A lot of times, these people don’t really want to hear that tanning may be a problem,' he said. 'I hear this a lot from my skin-cancer patients. They are sort of in denial.'"

To read the full story, click on the following link: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-0420-tanning-20100420,0,1033508.story.

Majority of Dermatology Residency Positions go to US MS4s

According to statistics published by Skin & Allergy News (April 2010, page 2), U.S. MS4s filled 82% of available PGY2 dermatology residency slots in 2010. This trend has been increasing since 2006.

Present Your Student Research At UTMB’s Cancer Center Day

The abstract deadline for Cancer Center Day poster presentations has been extended to next Friday, April 30^th. Please contact Laura Koppe (lakoppe@utmb.edu) for additional information. The program is scheduled for Tuesday, May 18^th, from 9 am to 3 pm in the Levin Hall Foyer. The best posters will be awarded travel awards of $750 for 1^st place and $500 for 2^nd place.

AIM for a Cure Melanoma Walk a success!

This past Saturday, April 17th, DIG held the annual Galveston AIM for a Cure Melanoma Walk at the UTMB Alumni Field House track. Over $1400 was raised for melanoma research and awareness! Special thanks to the melanoma survivor who participated in the walk with her family, and shared her courageous and inspirational story with us.

Thanks to everyone for making this a successful event!

Alison Wiesenthal Published in Spring 2010 Pharos AOA Journal

Check out the Spring 2010 edition of The Pharos of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society for Alison Wiesenthal's article, "Death on Call." Congratulations, Alison!

Dr. Julie Fridlington Debuts Mohs Surgery Film

Congratulations to dermatology co-chief resident, Dr. Julie Fridlington, for her film debut about Mohs surgery this week at the weekly dermatology journal club meeting. This presentation fulfilled her dermatology program requirement for a scholarly project. The film is intended as an educational aid for patients considering Mohs surgery for the treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Her dermatology co-resident, Dr. Mika Yamazaki, provided the musical sound track (and the red carpet) for this production.

Dr. John Stephens Recognized

PGY3 dermatology resident Dr. John Stephens was recognized by the UTMB Graduate Medical Education Committee for his excellent work during the 2009-2010 academic year. Nominees for the annual UTMB Outstanding Overall Resident/Fellow Award are selected based on evaluation of three categories: Performance in Residency (six clinical competencies, teaching and research), Service to the University (University Committees, Departmental Committees and House Staff Associations) and Service to the Community (volunteer clinical work, local or county medical society, and state or national medical organizations). The UTMB DIG congratulates Dr. Stephens for this well deserved recognition!

Dr. Matt Petitt Selected

Congratulations to Dr. Matt Petitt, one of the PGY3 UTMB dermatology residents! Dr. Petitt was selected to attend the Resident Retreat for Future Academicians at the Annual Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) 2010 Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia this May. According to the SID, this program was started in 2001 “…in an attempt to attract and retain young physicians in physician-scientist, physician/health services research careers and dermatology education.”

DIG Meeting Recap - 4/12

Congratulations to the new 2010-2011 DIG Officers!

2010-2011 Officers:
Galveston President: Lindsey Hunter
Austin President: Melissa Efron
Vice President: Rebecca Philips
Fundraising Chairs: Janese Laster & Erica Snook
Community Outreach Chairs: Michaela Marek & Kristopher McCall
Miles for Melanoma Chairs: Auris Huen & Kenne Ogunmakin

Saturday, April 17th:
DIG is hosting the AIM for a Cure Melanoma Walk at the UTMB Alumni Fieldhouse Track. Registration begins at 9 AM. There's still time to join in on the fun! To sign up, visit: http://www.aimatmelanoma.org/aim-for-action/1158/1159/1167.html, and then click on the "Registration" tab. Questions? Contact Janese Laster (jslaster@utmb.edu) or Douglas Heiner (djheiner@utmb.edu).

Saturday, May 15th:
DIG will be volunteering at the skin cancer screening at the new Bay Colony clinic from 10-1 PM and at the Stewart Road Family Health clinic from 10 - 12 PM.

Directions:
Bay Colony
2785 Gulf Freeway South, Suite 165
(next to 24 Hour Fitness at I-45 and FM 646)

Stewart Road Family Health
6710 Stewart Road, Galveston, TX

We also discussed holding a suturing workshop, fundraising ideas, and voted on faculty and resident awards (results to follow).

To sign up for any of the above events, please contact Lindsey Hunter at lihunter@utmb.edu.

Dr. Maria Colome Returns to UTMB Dermatopathology Review Course

Attendees at the 11th Annual UTMB Dermatopathology Review Course on Saturday were treated to a lecture by Maria Colome, MD, an internationally recognized dermatopathologist and expert on the diagnosis of pigmented lesions. Dr. Colome initiated this board review course course while she was on the UTMB Dermatology Department faculty eleven years ago. She is currently on the UT Houston Dermatology faculty, and it is always a pleasure to have her return to Galveston. Here she is photographed with Dr. Brent Kelly, Dermatopathology Chief in the Department of Dermatology at UTMB. Dr. Kelly is also an excellent teacher who has won numerous teaching awards from UTMB medical students and dermatology residents.

UTMB Financially Successful

Galveston Daily News reporter Laura Elder wrote that UTMB was $12.2 in the black for the current fiscal year. More details are available from the article http://www.galvestondailynews.com/story/154654. This is a big improvement since Hurricane Ike damage to the campus in 2008.

Congratulations to Dr. Tatiana Sousa!

Dr. Sousa, a UTMB SOM graduate in 2009 and current UTMB PGY1 Internal Medicine Resident, has accepted the Dermatology Clinical Research Fellowship at Columbia University, starting in July 2010. Congratulations on this wonderful achievement!

Next DIG Meeting on 4/12

Our next DIG meeting will be on Monday, April 12, 2010 in the Dermatology Conference Room, McCullough 4.112, at 5:00 PM. We will be voting on awards for residents and faculty, discussing upcoming DIG events, and we will also be holding DIG officer elections for next year.


If you would like to join the meeting but are not in Galveston, please contact Lindsey Hunter at lihunter@utmb.edu.


See you next week!

Congratulations to new Austin DIG President

Congratulations to rising MSIV Melissa Efron, our new Austin DIG President.

Have a great year!

Former UTMB Students Return to UTMB Dermatology for Grand Rounds

At our weekly Friday Dermatology Grand Rounds, Dr. Dayna Diven (Top photo - far right, teleconferencing from Austin) and Dr. Conner Chan (Bottom photo - sitting next to his former UTMB classmate, Dr. Ashley Group, in the UTMB Galveston Dermatology Conference Room) participated. UT Southwestern-Austin Dermatology residents, where Dr. Diven is the Program Director, presented dermatology patients for group discussion. Dr. Chan is currently a PGY2 dermatology resident at LSU. The first UTMB medical student to match at the new UT Southwestern Dermatology Residency Program, Mike Rains, will join them as a PGY2 resident in 2011.