System News January 2014

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Penn Medicine CELEBRATING ea4J of HOP E &INNOVATION CEO's Cu 1 RALPH W. MULLER CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System In an age when more and mo re aspects of ou r lives cent er on t he web - paying bills, learn i ng, shopp ing , and searching for homes and apa rt me n ts - myPennMedicine and Well focused are two Penn -based on line opt ions f or he l ping to stay healthy. Our patient portal, myPennMedicine, was the very first of i ts ki nd in the Philadelphi a area . It has brought an expanded l evel of access and convenienc e by allowing pati ents to obt ain lab results, complete f orms, and request presc ription r efi lls and appo intments - all from a home computer or smart phone . More than 1 50,000 UPHS pati ents are using my PennMedicine, and the number is growing all the time. Password -prot ect ed , it is secure, confidenti al , and availab le around t he clock. Debuti ng in 2008, the porta l (which is tied to ou r Epic outpa ti ent electronic heal th record) continues to add new f eatu res . For examp le, patie nts can now li nk directly into ou r health information library. Simply clicking on a diagnosis or medicat ion leads to authori tati ve information on that topic. And we'll be add i ng access to radiology results shortly. We know that many patients wantto use onl i ne health care tools, but few have access to such services. For example, 65 percents of respondents in a recent nationa l survey said that havi ng online access to the ir med ical records is important or very important to th em, but only 17 percent reported having such access . Throug h myPennMedicine, we're addressing patients ' preferences and making the ir lives just a bi t easier . More important, we 're givi ng them t he knowledge and information they need to st ay healthy. Our staff benefit f rom myPennMedicine as well. It allows them to make referrals, report resul ts, and handle appoint ments more efficiently than phone or paper-based approaches . Pati ent care is enhanced , as staff can close the communic a tion loop with patients more directly. (continued on page 6) Il. to r.1 Leonard and Madlyn Abramson; Bert Vogalstein, MD; Chi Van Dang; and John Glick. Vogelstein, of The Johns Hopkins University, received the inaugural Abramson Award, which recognizes key achievements made by the world's most innovative contributors in the field of oncology. ABRAMSON CANCER CENTER: A LOOK BACK & TO THE FUTURE Two years after President Nixon officially declared "war" on cancer in 1971, Penn formally established its Cancer Center, with Peter Nowell, MD, as its first director. Several years earlier, Nowell and colleagues had discovered the Philadelphia chromosome, which was the first direct link between a chromosomal abnormality and cancer. Nearly four decades later, Carl June, MD, director of Translational Research Programs, and his team successfully developed a therapy using engineered T-ceJls for acute and chronic leukemias. Ch i Van Dang, MD, PhD, director of the Abramson Cancer Center, views these two transformational discoveries as bookends of progress. Ihe first "paved the way to discover the genetic underpinnings of cancer" while the second demonstrated where this knowledge could take us. Over the ensuing years, a new culture of interdisciplinary cancer research and care began to take shape at the Cancer Center. When John Glick, MD, became director in 1985, he created an infrastructure to attract the "best and brightest scientists and phYSicians" in cancer research and care. A major turning point occurred in 1997, when Leonard and Madlyn Abramson pledged $100 million to establish the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn. At the time, the Abramson gift represented the largest Single contribution for cancer research. "With the Abramson gift, we were not only able to Significantly build the strength of our research programs and shared resources, but also to improve the culture of service excellence;' said Glick, who is president of the AFCRI. Five years later, in recognition of their extraordinary generosity and support, the cancer center was renamed the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Between 1999 and 2004, the ACC recruited 90 "outstanding" faculty members. Collaborative research across the institution grew. "We had become what the NCI director called 'the role model for university-based cancer centers; " Glick said. Under Craig Thompson's directorship, translational research - bringing scientific discoveries to the bedside more quickly- became a reality. Penn's "Dream Team" played a major role in the Stand Up to Cancer initiative which changed how we treat pancreatic cancer patients. When Dang became director in 2011, he brought with him the concept of Translational Centers of Excellence, ie, bringing together teams of people - scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc. - to focus on specific diseases and solve prohlems. CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE Cancer diagnosis and treatment have clearly made some great strides over the years. "Breast cancer survival rates have improved dramatically in the last 10 years;' Dang said. "And patients with chronic myelitis leukemia can he put in remission with a single pill:' Although challenges remain, exciting possibilities exist on the horizon. Genetic cancer medicine will continue to expand. With the launching of Penn's Center for Personalized Diagnostics - a joint venture between Pathology and Lab Medicine and the ACC - special DNA sequencing will refine patient diagnoses with greater precision than standard imaging tests and blood work. This process, in turn, will help expand treatment options and improve their efficacy. (continued on page 2)

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News from the University of Pennsylvania Health System

Transcript of System News January 2014

~ Penn Medicine

Jd~~~ CELEBRATING

ea4J

of HOP E &INNOVATION

CEO's Cu ~ ~ 1

RALPH W. MULLER CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System

In an age when more and more aspects of ou r lives center on the web - paying bills, learning, shopping, and searching for homes and apartments ­myPennMedicine and Well focused are two Penn-based on line options for helping to stay healthy.

Our patient portal, myPennMedicine, was the very first of its kind in the Philadelphia area. It has brought an expanded level of access and convenienc e by allowing patients to obtain lab results, complete forms, and request prescription refills and appointments - all from a home computer or smart phone. More than 150,000 UPHS patients are using myPennMedicine, and the number is growing all the time. Password-protected, it is secure, confidential, and available around the clock.

Debuti ng in 2008, the porta l (which is tied to our Epic outpatient electronic health record) continues to add new features. For example, patients can now link directly into our health information library. Simply clicking on a diagnosis or medicat ion leads to authoritative information on that topic. And we'll be adding access to radiology results shortly.

We know that many patients wantto use online health care tools, but few have access to such services. For example, 65 percents of respondents in a recent national survey said that having online access to the ir med ical records is important or very important to them, but only 17 percent reported having such access. Through myPennMedicine, we're addressing patients' preferences and making the ir lives just a bit easier. More important, we 're giving them the knowledge and information they need to stay healthy.

Our staff benefit from myPennMedicine as well. It allows them to make referrals, report results, and handle appointments more efficiently than phone or paper-based approaches. Patient care is enhanced, as staff can close the communication loop with patients more directly.

(continued on page 6)

~ Il. to r.1 Leonard and Madlyn Abramson; Bert Vogalstein, MD; Chi Van Dang; and John Glick. Vogelstein, of The Johns Hopkins University, received the inaugural Abramson Award, which recognizes key achievements made by the world's most innovative contributors in the field of oncology.

ABRAMSON CANCER CENTER: A LOOK BACK & TO THE FUTURE Two years after President Nixon officially declared "war" on cancer in 1971, Penn formally established its Cancer Center, with Peter Nowell, MD, as its first director. Several years earlier, Nowell and colleagues had discovered the Philadelphia chromosome, which was the first direct link between a chromosomal abnormality and cancer. Nearly four decades later, Carl June, MD, director of Translational Research Programs, and his team successfully developed a therapy using engineered T-ceJls for acute and chronic leukemias.

Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, director of the Abramson Cancer Center, views these two transformational discoveries as bookends of progress. Ihe first "paved the way to discover the genetic underpinnings of cancer" while the second demonstrated where this knowledge could take us.

Over the ensuing years, a new culture of interdisciplinary cancer research and care began to take shape at the Cancer Center. When John Glick, MD, became director in 1985, he created an infrastructure to attract the "best and brightest scientists and phYSicians" in cancer research and care. A major turning point occurred in 1997, when Leonard and Madlyn Abramson pledged $100 million to establish the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn. At the time, the Abramson gift represented the largest Single contribution for cancer research.

"With the Abramson gift, we were not only able to Significantly build the strength of our research programs and shared resources, but also to improve the culture of service excellence;' said Glick, who is president of the AFCRI. Five years later, in recognition of their extraordinary generosity and support, the cancer center was renamed the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Between 1999 and 2004, the ACC recruited 90 "outstanding" faculty members. Collaborative research across the institution grew. "We had become what the NCI director called 'the role model for university-based cancer centers; " Glick said.

Under Craig Thompson's directorship, translational research - bringing scientific discoveries to the bedside more quickly- became a reality. Penn's "Dream Team" played a major role in the Stand Up to Cancer initiative which changed how we treat pancreatic cancer patients.

When Dang became director in 2011, he brought with him the concept of Translational Centers of Excellence, ie, bringing together teams of people - scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc. - to focus on specific diseases and solve prohlems.

CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE Cancer diagnosis and treatment have clearly made some great strides over the years. "Breast cancer survival rates have improved dramatically in the last 10 years;' Dang said. "And patients with chronic myeli tis leukemia can he put in remission with a single pill:'

Although challenges remain, exciting possibilities exist on the horizon. Genetic cancer medicine will continue to expand. With the launching of Penn's Center for Personalized Diagnostics - a joint venture between Pathology and Lab Medicine and the ACC - special DNA sequencing will refine patient diagnoses with greater precision than standard imaging tests and blood work. This process, in turn, will help expand treatment options and improve their efficacy.

(continued on page 2)

2

(continued from cover)

ABRAMSON CANCER CENTER: 40 YEARS OF HOPE & PROGRESS "As we continue to learn, we'll be able to tell that certain patients would benefit from a specific therapy while patients with other genetic aberrations would not:' Dang said. "This is where we should be innovating: give the right therapy to the right patient and avoid therapies that won't help:'

T-cell engineering holds great hope for cancer treatment as well, Dang said. "New targeted therapies will reduce the size of the tumor and then immunotherapy - a person's own immune system with engineered T cells - will eliminate the rest of the cancer, putting people in remission, hopefully forever.

"Penn currently has all the components to do this;' he continued. "We just have to learn how to line them up strategicallY:'

Looking at new ways to prevent cancer is another important challenge at the Abramson Cancer Center. The Basser Research Center focuses on the treatment and prevention of cancers associated with hereditary BRCA mutations. Looking ahead, "can we develop vaccines to teach the immwle system to look for and get rid of trouble before cancer emerges?" Dang asked. These vaccines "may transform the way we prevent cancers in the future:'

Expanding integrative oncology is another of Chi Dang's goals for the Abramson Cancer Center. "My belief is that all patients who come here should feel they are taken care of holistically, not just the medical side;' he said. "I want to Look at all the components that touch cancer patients, each step from the time they're assessed:'

Current integrative services for cancer patients at the ACC include reild, yoga, and acupuncture as well as survivorship programs. "If we integrate and take care of as much as we can, in addition to strong medicine, we will prolong survival. All factors affect outcome:'

Dang will also focus on the Cancer Center's social responsibility, sharing knowledge to help our local communities. For example, a pilot project by Carmen Guerra, MD, of General Internal Medicine, focused on getting patients to show up for a scheduled colonoscopy. Out of 200 screenings, three people had cancer and 25 percent had lesions that could become cancerous.

"In the early years, the cancer center was more of a concept than a reality. Then, in the 90s, we began a tremendous period of growth;' said Glick. "Today we are realizing the fruits of these efforts with outstanding clinical care and research:'

"We do cure some cancers but I want to increase that to 80 percent or more;' Dang said. BaSically, as he put it, "I want to put ourselves out of business."

NEW CONTENT FOR NEW BASIC AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH WEB PORTAL A new portal on the Penn Medicine News site (http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/research/index.btml), which launched earlier this year, brings together basic research findings and discoveries emerging from Penn Medicine's laboratories. These basic advances impact the treatment of a wide range of diseases and medical conditions, as well as provide the foundation on which many of medicine's next generation of cures will be developed. The website now contains new content - a tinleline ofFibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) research, a feature on the complement arm of the immune system, a feature on RNA research, and new basic science posts on the Penn Med News Blog, as well as the usual links to Penn research in the news, investigator profiles, and research timelines. Coming up will be new profiles and features on the aging brain and sleep, among others. Please visit the site and Jet us know what you think! Contact [email protected] with comments and suggestions.

We do cure some cancers but I

want to increase that to 80 percent

or more ... Basicallv, I want to put

ourselves out of business.

- Chi V. Dang, MD

THE "CROWN JEWEL" OF PENN MEDICINE The Abramson Cancer Center is one of the most prominent university-based cancer centers in the country. Its achievements include:

• Continual designation since 1973 as a Comprehensive Cancer Center of excellence by the National Cancer Institute, currently one of only 40 in the country.

• An "exceptional" rating from the NCI for its high quality of cancer research, state-of-the-art technology and patient­care facilities (eg, the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and the Roberts Proton Therapy Center), and the level of collaboration and translation of science to innovative care.

• The country's second highest recipient of cancer research funding from the National Institutes of Health and among the top five nationally from the NCI. In the past 30 years, the Center's grant portfolio has grown from $10 million to over $160 million a year.

• The creation of OncoLink, Penn's award-winning website which provides accurate cancer-related information to patients, families, and health-care professionals.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE AT PENN MEDICINE As part of a University-wide initiative last fall, Penn Medicine photographers turned their cameras on many different sites and many different people. The result is a pool of photographs that represents the diversity of daily experiences throughout the Health System. At left are a few scenes:

• Skilled occupational and physical therapists at the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, a part of Good Shepherd Penn Partners, help patients return to an independent life.

• Local high school students come to the oldest existing surgical amphitheatre in the US, located in the Pine Building at Pennsylvania Hospital, where patients in the early 1800's underwent procedures . . . before the advent of anesthesia.

• Patients come to Scheie Eye Institute with a wide range of eye problems and conditions.

To see the complete slide show, go to http;/Inews. pennmedicine.org/blogl20 13/121 a-day-in-tbe-Ufe-at­penn-medicine.btml.

THE PENN MEDICINE » INPATIENT EXPERIENCE

The award-winning Penn Medicine Experience program focuses on improving our outpatient practices. Now, it has been expanded in a new pilot that seeks to improve inpatient experiences as welL

Launched in CPUP in 2012, the original program addl'esses variations in the outpatient experience across Penn Medicine practices. It is aligned with several goals of the Penn Medicine Blueprint for Quality and Safety, including patient and family centered care, transitions of care/coordination of care, and reducing unnecessary variations in care. Since its inception, the Penn Medicine Experience training has had a positive impact on Press Ganey mean scores and rank, as well as scores for the 'Likelihood to Recommend Practice' metric throughout CPUP and CCA.

With these successes in the outpatient experience, UPHS is now turning an eye toward the inpatient experience. Units from across the Health System are participating in this pilot program, which has been customized to address the unique situations and challenges that face the inpatient population and the frontline staff providing their care. The participating units include Women's Health, Med-Surg, Neuroscience, Cardiovascular and Hospice Care from PPMC, PAH, HUP and Home Care and Hospice Services. The CNO council chose these units based on several factors, including room for improvement in their HCAHPS scores for Nurse Communication and a staff that is highly engaged. In all, approximately 510 employees who work across the continuum of patient care are participating in the pilot.

To develop the curriculum, an interprofessional team that included representatives from nursing, clinical nursing assistants, unit secretaries, and a patient advisor from the Patient and Family Advisory Council met with nurse educators, nurse managers, and Penn Medicine Academy staff. 1he course has several components, starting with classroom education on the AIDET patient and family communication model which serves as the basis for the Penn Medicine Experience. This model gives every staff member a franlework for how to interact with patients, without scripting their responses.

Another element of the training includes interactions with Standardized Patients (SP) who are trained to portray patient scenarios for the instruction of and practice by faculty and staff. These sessions address the collision of the interprofessional elements of care from the patient perspective. "I think just about everyone on Silver 8 has made a comment such as 'Transport is always late: 'The food is always terrible: 'I paged doctors but they never get back to me: said Jessica Lazzeri, nurse manager from the

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• Ann Mokris leads one of the classes In the Penn Medicine Experience program.

pilot unit on Silverstein 8. "I think that the class was really eye opening in how that can affect a patient's perception of the care they are receiving:'

One thing that makes this training unique is that it mixes staff from different diSCiplines and entities within the same learning environment - w1it secretaries are receiving the same training as the nurses and CNA's. "Staff often comment about how this training is 'different' from all the other trainings they have attended;' said Katherine Costantini, nurse manager on Silverstein 7, another pilot unit. "The instructors have been extremely engaging and the class gives staff tinle to learn new skills and practice them. It is nice to be in class with different disciplines from different hospitals, and to be able to share stories:'

The staff's initial response to the pilot program has been very positive. Since the progranl launched in October, several participating units have already seen a demonstrable jwnp in the Nurse Communication HCAHPS scores from JWle 2013 to November 2013. As the initial pilot units move into phase 2 of the program, which will focus on additional training with Standardized Patients on the units and rounding from the educators to facilitate feedback and improvements, new units at PPMC, PAH and HUP are gearing up to start the training in early 2014.

For more information on Penn Medicine Academy's Penn Medicine Experience program, contact Julie Perilstein at [email protected].

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Ill Research Suggests When is as Important as How Much You Eat in Dieting

Evidence is mounting that abnormally timed meals - those consumed in conflict with the normal three meals a day - may result in gaining fat. There is also evidence that upending the circadian patterns of eating in nocturnal mice can lead to obesity. An article from The Philadelphia Inquirer highlights a Nature Medicine paper originally published in 2012 from the lab of Garret FitzGerald, MD, FRS, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, which found that mice with broken clock genes - those that drive and suppress appetite in the hypothalamus - shifted about 20 percent of their caloric consumption into their rest period. Eating off their circadian schedules caused the mice to bulk up in weight. Calling the rodent findings "intriguing," FitzGerald said it's "too early to instruct people about when they should eat; we need to do the clinical studies, which are still few in number and essentially fragmentary." But "timing seems an important factor and the mouse data raises plenty of questions that we should address in clinical trials."

I I I Gene Therapy Scores Big Wins Against Blood Cancers

The latest results from a Penn Medicine clinical trial in which leukemia patients' own immune cells are reprogrammed to attack their cancer were reported during the American Society of Hematology's Annual Meeting. The research team, led by Carl June, MD, the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of Translational Research in the Abramson Cancer Center, announced results of 59 patients - both adults and children, treated atthe Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - who received this experimental therapy after exhausting all other treatment options. "This is absolutely one of the more exciting advances I've seen in cancer therapy in the last 20 years," said co­investigator David Porter, MD, the Jodi Fisher Horowitz Professor in Leukemia Care Excellence and director of Blood and Marrow Transplantation in the Abramson Cancer Center. "We've entered into a whole new realm of medicine." The findings were covered in a front-page story of The Phi/adelphia Inquirer and in national news outlets including the Associated Press, CNN, WHYY/ NPR, Bloomberg News and AI Jazeera America. The stories profile several adult and pediatric patients, including one ofthe firstthree adults who received the therapy in 2010 and remains in remission. The AP article about the findings ran in more than 20 top newspapers across the nation, including the Washington Post, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the Economist, in a segment on Wall Street Journal's "WSJ Live, "the Miami Herald, and the New York Post. TV stories about research aired on more than 100 FOX, NBC and ABC affiliates across the country, segments on the CBS Evening News and the NBC Nightly News and an ABC News Radio story aired on a dozen stations across the U.S.

I I I Moms May Pass Effects of Stress to Babies Via Out-of-Balance Vaginal Bacteria

Two animal studies by Tracy l. Bale, PhD, of Psychiatry and Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine, were covered by United Press International. Bale and colleagues found that pregnant women may transmit the damaging effects of stress to their unborn child by way of the bacteria in their vagina and through the placenta. Changes in the microbiome produced by stress in pregnant mice altered the microbe population in the newborn's gut, which correlated to changes in the developing brain. "This mechanism could help us better understand how it may predispose individuals to neurodevelopmental disorders," said Bale. In the second study, the team was looking for predictive biomarkers of maternal stress and found that a specific protein in the placenta, OGT, may also have implications for brain development in offspring.

I IIWhy Men and Women's Brains Work Differently: It's All About the Wiring

A front page story in The Phi/adelphia Inquirer reported on a new study published in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Science that revealed striking differences in the neural wiring of men and women. The study, led by Ragini Verma. PhD, of Radiology with co-authors Ruben C. Gur. PhD, and Raquel E. Gur, MD, PhD, of Psychiatry, is lending credence to some commonly-held beliefs about behavior differences between the sexes. The "connectome" study showed that women's brains were wired to better integrate emotion and reason, while the men's brains had stronger links between coordinated action and perception. reported TIME.com. "In the population, men have stronger front-back connectivity, and women have inter-hemispheric or left-right connectivity more than the men. It's not that one or the other gender lacks the connectivity altogether, it's just that one is stronger than the other," Verma told the LA Times. The study was also covered in several outlets in the United States and around the world several, including the New Scientist, Huffington Post, the Guardian, The Independent, Times of India, Irish Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Wired, Slate, Japan Times, Toronto Sun and Medical Daily, and Agence France Presse. Gur also appeared live on CNN International and AI Jazeera Tv, and in a segment on CBS 3.

IllHeavily Marketed Testosterone Products Linked with Heart Risks, Strokes, Deaths in Older Men

Testosterone treatments may increase risks for heart attacks, strokes and death in older men with low hormone levels and other health problems, a big Veterans Affairs study suggested. The Associated Press reported that an editorial in JAMA said it is uncertain if the study results apply to other groups of men, including younger men using the hormone for supposed anti-aging benefits. "There is only anecdotal evidence that testosterone is safe for these men," said editorial author Anne Cappola, MD. ScM, associate professor of Medicine in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. "In light of the high volume of prescriptions and aggressive marketing by testosterone manufacturers, prescribers and patients should be wary" and more research is needed, she wrote. In speaking with Reuters, Cappola said, "For the men who are healthier, my question would be, why are you taking this? And is there any risk that's acceptable for the benefits they are getting?" Among healthy men, "We just don't know what the benefits are." Coverage appeared in hundreds of outlets in the United States and around the world.

III Obesity Surgery Bolsters Women's Sex Lives As Hormones Stabilize

Women who undergo weight loss surgery have healthier hormone levels and report marked improvement in sexual function as they shed unwanted pounds, Bloomberg Business Week reported. The first study to track sexual satisfaction following bariatric surgery found the area often ignored by doctors, said David Sarwer, PhD, the lead researcher and a professor of Psychology in Psychiatry and Surgery. Improvements in sexual health, and perhaps fertility, may be an added benefit of weight-loss surgery for women, the researchers said. "When we think about extreme obesity and sexual behavior, it's one ofthese 'don't ask, don'ttell' issues," Sarwer said. "Whatthis study really shows us is that women experience clinically significant changes within the first year, and sexual behavior is clearly one of these areas." Coverage also appeared in US News and World Report, Philly.com, Health.com (via HealthDay News), International Business Times, Medpage Today, Ivanhoe, Renal and Urology News, Medical Dai/yand Medical News Today.

I I I Depression Risk May Fall After Women's Periods End

A new study from researchers at Penn Medicine suggested that some women who are depressed as they move toward menopause may notice their symptoms fading after a few years. Reuters Health reported that the study found the proportion of women who reported having depression symptoms dropped consistently, starting 10 years before they had their final menstrual period until eight years after. "If this is a condition that seems to appear in conjunction with approaching menopause, it may be time limited and the risk may really diminish to low levels once they pass menopause," said Ellen Freeman, PhD, research professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and lead author on the study. The study followed 203 women between the ages of 35 and 48 who had not gone through menopause in 1996. Researchers followed the women through 2010. "On average, for two years after the final menstrual period the risk is still high but after that the risk goes down pretty low," Freeman said. Prevention.com also covered the story.

I IILargest Alzheimer's Study Ever Finds New Genes Associated with the Disease

A massive genetic analysis of Alzheimer's disease has yielded 11 new genes associated with the condition, doubling the number of possible genetics-based therapeutic targets for examination. Published in Nature Genetics, the results expand researchers' understanding ofthe disease to incorporate new areas, including the immune system. "Human genetic studies are being used with increased frequency to validate new drug targets in many diseases," said co-senior author Gerard Schellenberg, PhD, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. "Here we greatly increased the list of possible drug target candidates for Alzheimer's disease, finding as many new significant genes in this one study as have been found in the last 15 years combined." Schellenberg was interviewed by AI Jazeera America television, CBS Radio and CBSNews.com, Nature World News, and Huffington Post.

I I I Penn Team Develops Blood Test To Signal Long-Term Damage From Concussion

There is no drug that can fix the damage done by a concussion, local NPR affiliate WHYYRadio reported. About 20 percent of concussions lead to lasting problems but, until now, there hasn't been a way of predicting that. Penn researchers have developed a blood testto identify when concussions will lead to long-term problems. Results are preliminary but promising. Douglas Smith, MD, professor of Neurosurgery, said the team, including Robert Siman, PhD, research professor of Neurosurgery, has found a protein present in the blood of individuals who had concussions and suffer from long-term cognitive problems. "We think that with more extensive damage, there might be a release of this protein from the brain into the blood," Smith said. "That will tell us those individuals who might have had more damage and therefore have more cognitive dysfunction." The Los Angeles Times also covered the new study.

To reach the Penn Medicine news website, go to www.PennMedicine.org/news

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• Penn medical students involved in helping female refugee patients at the Penn Center for Primary Care include (back, I. to r.) Annie Duckles, Emily Kossow, Sara Rendell. Elaine Zhou, and Shikha Saxena and (fron!.1. to r.1 Amaka Onwuzurike, Esha Khurana, Ann Prybylowski, and Neha lim aye.

ELIMINATING A BARRIER TO CARE The Penn Center for Primary Care is one of Philadelphia's eight health clinics serving MAKE IT COUNT the city's refugee population. For many of tlle female refugees who come there -most of whom do not speak or understand English - it's their first exposure to a mammogram or pelviC exam. Not surprisingly, "it can be a traumatic experience for them;' said Chiamaka Onwuzurike, a third-year medical student in the Perelman School of Medicine who volunteers at the Center.

Recently, the Center started holding a monthly clinic dedicated specifically to women's refugee health. Now, thanks to a Penn Medicine CAREs grant, the clinic will have interpreters at these clinics to help the clinical staff explain what to expect during the exam and educate the women about why pelvic exams and pap smears are important. 'We hope to help decrease the anxiety and trauma surrounding these exams;' Onwuzurike said.

After the clinic's initial group session in which women can talk among tllemselves and female med students are available to answer questions, the translator can go into the exam room, if patients request it. "The women form a relationship with the interpreter:'

The women's group provides a forum for these patients to openly discuss women's issues anlong themselves, Onwuzurike said. It also provide staff with the opportunity to educate patients on such topics as female anatomy, prenatal care, cervical and breast cancer screening, family planning, and contraception. "Most important we hope to give these women the opportunity to voice their health concerns and any barriers to their care:'

TIle program resulted from a joint effort among many members of the Penn Medicine community, including med students Onwuzurike, Esha Khurana, Neha Limaye, and Anastasia Vishnevetsky; Aba Barden-Maja, MD, of General Internal Medicine at PPMC; Joseph Garland, MD, ofInfectious Diseases; and Internal Medicine resident Marisa Mizus, MD.

To learn more about the Penn Center for Primary Care, go to philarefugeehealth.org and dick on the Penn clinic link.

BUILDING OUR TOMORROW

The PPMC Cornerstone project is well underway as the constructions on both corners of 38th street are building onward and upward.

PAVILION FOR ADVANCED CARE (formerly the Advanced Care Hospital Pavilion); Construction of the 6-story building is on time for its scheduled November 2014 completion, with move-in and patient occupancy slated for early 2015. The new acute care building will feature overall upgrades and enhanced capacity for emergency, surgical, trauma and critical care patients at PPMC. This will be coupled with

The Inaugural Membership of The Academy of Master Clinicians are: Louis Bell, MD Pediatrics

Susan Brozena, MD Medicine

E. Cabrina Campbell, MD Psychiatry

Emily Conant, MD Radiology

Edward Dickinson, MD Emergency Medicine

Jack Ende, MD Medicine

Jody Foster, MD Psychiatry

Gary Freedman, MD Radiation Oncology

Ellen Kim, MD Dermatology

Najjia Mahmoud, MD Surgery

Natasha Mirza, MD Otorhinolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery

Mark Morgan, MD Obstetrics and Gynecology

Amy Pruitt, MD Neurology

Patrick Reilly, MD Surgery

Anthony Rostain, MD Psychiatry

Joseph Savino, MD Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Gregory Tino, MD Medicine

Brian Sennett, MD Orthopaedic Surgery

Donald Siegel, MD, PhD Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

John Stern, MD CCA/Pennsylvania Hospital

Matthew Stern, MD Neurology

David Vaughn, MD Medicine

an expansion of the PennSTAR flight program with an additional helipad ensuring rapid access to state-of- the-art resources for all critically ill patients. For more information on the PAC, including a new graphiC detailing the floor-by­floor plan for the building, and trauma's move to PPMC, please visit http://www.uphs.upenn. edu/shaping-our-future/trauma.html.

PENN MEDICINE UNIVERSITY CITY (formerly the Penn Center for Specialty Care); TIle 13-story building located on the corner of 38th and Market will house eight floors of Presby's newest space for anlbulatory care and will feature new clinical practices for the Musculoskeletal Center, Surgery, Neurosciences, Allergy & Immunology, and Otorhinolaryngology, along with a six-OR Ambulatory Surgery Facility and Outpatient Lab & Radiology. PMUC will offiCially open this summer with patient care for these areas beginning in August. In addition to the patient space, the building will also feature an outpatient pharmacy on the ground floor and new patient parking adjacent to the building.

ENDE APPOINTED ASSISTANT VP AND ASSISTANT DEAN Jack Ende, MD, has been appointed assistant V P of the Health System and assistant dean for Advanced Medical Practice in the Perelman School of Medicine. He will also serve as executive medical director for Patient Signature Programs. Ende previously served as PPMC's chief of Medicine, overseeing the department's expansion and transition to a CPUP department.

In his new roles, Ende will work with Penn Medicine leadership to provide clinical guidance and leadership to increase membership enrollment for specific programs, and expand relevant international patient-care initiatives.

CUNNINGHAM NAMED CHIEF NURSE FOR HUP Regina Cunningham, PhD, RN, ADCN, has been named chief nursing executive and associate executive director at HUP. A longtime leader in the cancer nursing field, Cunningham came to Penn in 2011 as associate CNO of Cancer Services at the Abramson Cancer Center and became chief administrative officer of the ACC cancer service line in 2013. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Penn's School of Nursing. Prior to coming to Penn, Cunningham held nursing leadership posts at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Broadly published in nursing and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journals, she is currently an NIH-funded investigator and has conSistently maintained peer-review funding throughout her career.

Cunningham is a member of the American Nurses Association, New Jersey State Nurses Association, and the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer and is a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellow. Cunninghanl succeeds Victoria 1. Rich, PhD, RN, FAAN, who retired from HUP last month.

Aaron T. Beck, MO, an emeritus professor in Psychiatry, became the first recipient of the Kennedy Community Mental Health Award from the Kennedy Forum, which focuses on improving the lives of people with mental illness, while at the same time recognizing the enormous strides made in patient care and research over the last 50 years. Beck was honored as the 'father of cognitive therapy' and as one of the most influential individuals within the community of menta l health.

Brendan Carr, MO, of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology, was named director of the Emergency Care Coordination Center. The ECCC's mission is to lead the US government's efforts to create an emergency care system that is patient- and community-centered, high quality and prepared to respond in times of public health emergencies.

Beverly Coleman, MO, associate chair of Radiology, was chosen as Radiologist of the Year by the Pennsylvania Radiological Society. The Society strives to improve radiology services to patients and the medical community, and establish and maintain high medical and ethical standards in the practice of radiology.

Emily Conant. MO, chief of Breast Imaging, received this year's FOCUS Award for the Advancement of Women in Medicine for her advocacy on behalf of women faculty and trainees as well as for her exemplary, compassionate and comprehensive care in Breast Imaging.

Michael A. Golden, MO, chief of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at PPMC, has been named president of the Eastern Vascular Society. EVS is the largest regional vascular society in the U.S.

William Lipshutz, MD, chief of Gastroenterology at PAH, received the Outstanding Volunteer Clinical Teacher Award by the American College of Physicians. The award is for a Fellow of the College who has consistently demonstrated outstanding teaching prowess, displayed exemplary characteristics of care and concern for patients and served as a role model and mentor.

Peter Reese, MO, of Internal medicine, was named a 2013 Greenwall Faculty Scholar in Bioethics by the Greenwall Foundation. The Scholar Program supports research that goes beyond current work in bioethics to help resolve pressing ethical issues in clinical care, biomedical research, and public policy.

CEO's corner

Our commitment to improving health via the web extends to our own staff members as well. Well focused Healthy Rewards offers tools and resources for becoming more aware of your current health status and making the necessary lifestyle changes to improve your health - and have fun while doing so. The challenges and activities in the program are designed for everyone, regardless of your health orfitness level.

For example, you can earn rewards (points, raffles, and gifts) for such healthy behaviors as exercising, eating more fruits and vegetables, and reducing salt and sugar intake. Every quarter there are new and exciting challenges in which all staff members can participate. You can even create your

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own challenges for reaching your personal health goals­and still earn points. The program also encourages you to become better aware of key biometric screening results, e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar. To learn more - and participate - please visit the HR and you website (www.uphshrandyou.com) and log in by clicking on Healthy Rewards.

New technology options such as myPennMedicine and Wellfocusedwiden the channel of choices our patients and staff members have fortaking better care of themselves. By bringing health-care services and information to you through electronic devices, we continue to show our commitmentto improving everyone's health and well-being.

~ Alan Harman (Ieftl from the PAH PeriOperative Materials Management team helping Jim Harrison (right) from Mission Relief load donated equipment.

DONATED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AIDS PATIENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE Penn Medicine is known for its state-of-the-art equipment and cutting edge technologies. So what is to be done with medical equipment that is still fWlCtional, but no longer considered at the top of its game? Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Hospital opened the doors of its off-site storage space to Mission Relief Services where currently idle - but still useful - medical equipment can be put to good use in hospitals and health clinics around the world.

"We often no longer have use for this equipment. It's great to be able to donate it to others who are in dire need;' said Feargal Roche, director, Value Analysis in PeriOp Materials and Clinical Engineering at PAH.

Partnering with several institutions, Mission Relief Services has donated thousands of useful medical supply items, furnishings and equipment around the world. Donations from PAH will be shipped out to missions teams across the US first and will tllen make their way to children's hospitals and clinics from Siberia and Moldova to birthing clinics in Central America and clinics in Haiti.

"We remain focused on recycling donations to the areas of greatest need. We are so grateful for Pennsylvania Hospital's contributions;' said Jim Harrison from Mission Relief Services.

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