Rick Vincent of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation speaks at a Nov. 16 community forum about the Vision 2020 grant.



Medical students answer questions during a panel discussion at the 2016 OMED event.


Announcements
Registration deadline for leadership summit fast approaching
Students and faculty are invited to join the Office of Rural and Underserved Programs for a day of interactive workshops during an interprofessional leadership summit Friday, Jan. 27. During the event, Andrew Morris-Singer, M.D., and his team from Primary Care Progress will lead sessions in Athens, Cleveland and Dublin aimed at strengthening participants' skills in relational leadership. Campus-specific break-out sessions facilitated by students and faculty members also will be offered on each campus.

The theme for the event, which is supported by multiple student organizations, is "Finding Your Voice as a Leader: Working in Interprofessional Teams." For more details, to register or to watch a short video of Dr. Morris-Singer - a nationally recognized speaker ­- click here.

Students, please note: You must register by Wednesday, Dec. 21, to be excused from your academic commitments for the day.
 
Family Navigator manager honored as Nurse of Year
On Dec. 9 the March of Dimes named Sue Meeks, B.S.S., manager of the 
Family Navigator Program for the Heritage College's Area Health Education  Center and Community Health Programs, a 2016 Nurse of the Year for Ohio in pediatrics.

In a release the charity, which works to reduce birth defects, infant mortality and premature births, cited Meeks' work with the Family Navigator program, including her role in developing the Pathways to a Healthy Pregnancy program. It noted that Meeks is "driven by her compassion for the Appalachian community and her commitment to doing what is right," and "impacts the lives of those around her every day." She was one of 18 nurses from around the state who were recognized by the March of Dimes.

College pitches in at event to help vetera ns
On. Oct. 7, the Heritage College joined a number of Athens County 
org anizations at the county fairgrounds 
Cameron Terrell, OMS II, right, examines veteran Paul Hi
to provide a day of free services to southeastern Ohio veterans who needed them. 

The Athens County "Stand Down" event connected local vets who might be facing rough times with agencies that could help them. 

The college provided free medical screenings at one of its mobile clinics. 

Other organizations that took part included the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services, the Chillicothe V.A. Medical Center, Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action, the Athens County Family and Children First Council, and Kroger's.



At left, the Diabetes Expo provided health services and information on diabetes to the public. Right, David M. Harlan, M.D., speaks at a research seminar during Diabetes Awareness Month.

Full schedule of events marks Diabetes Awareness Month
November was national Diabetes Awareness Month, and the Heritage College, the Diabetes Institute, and other university offices and community partners put together a full schedule of events in Athens to raise awareness and share information with the local community. These included a Diabetes Expo at the Athens Community Center; a diabetes free clinic at the Heritage Community Clinic; a diabetes research seminar with speaker David M. Harlan, M.D., of University of Massachusetts Medical School; and a "Bring Diabetes to Light" 5K run. Read more about these events here.




Video captures highlights of a momentous year
The Heritage College celebrated another year of achievements during its annual "Points of Pride" forum Oct. 5. If you missed the event, you can view a video of the year's highlights by clicking on the image above.


Komen Race for the Cure returns to Athens
On Oct. 23 the Susan G. Komen Athens Race for the Cure made its second
annual appearance in Athens. The event, which raises money for breast cancer prevention and the search for a cure, has raised close to $100,000 so far.

Timothy Law, D.O. ('94), M.B.A., and a team of volunteer students staffed medical aid stations along the race route, and the mobile clinic of the college's Community Health Programs was also on hand. The Heritage College also was a Gold Sponsor of the event. Komen has race results available here.


Faculty member addresses Statehouse policy forum
Dan Skinner, Ph.D., assistant professor in the
Department of Social Medicine at the Heritage College, Dublin, was one of the featured speakers at an Oct. 26 health policy forum at the Ohio Statehouse, sponsored by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.

Skinner spoke on "The Influence of Health Care in Modern American Politics," looking at what might be in store for the Affordable Care Act with a new president in the White House.  A number of Heritage College students attended.


CTRU shows off facilities; OMNI director honored
On Oct. 27, the Heritage College's Clinical & Translational Research Unit held a
Research Expo and self-guided tour, to introduce the university community to its facilities.  Visitors heard about the wide variety of studies done in the CTRU and saw its equipment in action. They also heard about the work of the Diabetes Institute and Primary Care Research Initiatives.

Following the Expo, a celebration on the
patio outside Irvine Hall recognized
Brian Clark, Ph.D., executive director of the Ohio Musculoskeletal and  Neurological Institute, as  the first Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Harold E. Clybourne, D.O., Endowed Research Chair in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Executive Dean Ken Johnson, D.O., presented Clark with a medal signifying the chairship. 


Ecuadoran delegation tours Athens campus
A delegation from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) made a
visit to Ohio University recently, which included a tour of the Heritage College, Athens, Nov. 3. 

Ohio University has been working with PUCE and other partners in Ecuador since 2000. In June, a senior delegation from the university, including Heritage College representatives, took part in the grand opening of the new Center for Research on Health in Latin America at PUCE. 

That facility grew out of the work of Mario Grijalva, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and director of the Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute. Grijalva is also director of the center in Ecuador. 

The PUCE delegation had a full schedule while in Ohio, including a meet-and-greet forum in Baker Center and field trips to southeastern Ohio communities.  
 
Faculty mentor student research projects
Four Heritage College faculty were among the mentors of students who received funding for their research, scholarship and creative projects from the Ohio University Provost's Undergraduate Research Fund for 2016-17.
  • John Kopchick, Ph.D., Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of molecular biology, is mentoring students Nathan Arnett and Stephen Bell. Arnett, who studies chemical and biomolecular engineering, received $1,500 to study the effect of reduced growth hormone action on mouse melanoma cell line growth. Bell, who majors in biological sciences and political science, received $1,500 to investigate motor activation assessment in adult onset growth hormone receptor knockout mice. Both are working with the Edison Biotechnology Institute.
  • Darlene Berryman, Ph.D., R.D., executive director of the Diabetes Institute and professor of biomedical sciences, is mentoring Cody Wilson from biological sciences and the Edison Biotechnology Institute. Wilson received $1,350 for analysis of white adipose tissue fibrosis using growth hormone deficient mice.
  • Nancy Stevens, Ph.D., professor of functional morphology and vertebrate paleontology, is mentoring Michael McTernan from Honors Tutorial College environmental studies and biological sciences. McTernan received $1,500 for Kaweri Coffee Plantation Biodiversity Assessment.
  • Karen Coschigano, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular/cellular biology, is mentoring Rosemary Oaks from Honors Tutorial College biological sciences. Oaks received $1,500 for examining the relationship between coxsackievirus infection and coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor expression in NOD mouse kidneys.
For more information on the awards, click  here.
Events
Interprofessional workshops
Friday, Jan. 27
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
Athens - Irvine 194
Dublin - MEB1-331
Cleveland - SPS-110
Join Andrew Morris-Singer, M.D., and his team from Primary Care Progress as they lead participants through interactive workshops. For details, click here

In the news
Fox 8 News Cleveland
Dec. 7
The Post
Dec. 1
Repertoire magazine
November
Inside OME
November
Citizen Science Radio podcast
Nov. 30
The Post
Nov. 17
The Post
Nov. 17
(This letter from Executive Dean Ken Johnson, D.O., was in response to the news article directly below.)
The Post
Nov. 16
AthenaInsight
Nov. 2
Athens NEWS
Nov. 2
Heritage Daily (Virginia Tech) 
Oct. 30
All Things Considered (NPR)
Oct. 27
(This discovery generated stories in multiple media outlets.)
Columbus Dispatch
Oct. 16
BBC News
Oct. 12
Nature
Oct. 12
Anatomy Now
October
Alums in the news
Simon Fraser, D.O. ('15)
Columbus Dispatch Buckeye Extra
Oct. 27
Daquesha Chever, D.O. ('09)
Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune
Nov. 21

COCA approves new
curricula 
Marking a major step forward in the Heritage College's efforts to transform how it trains physicians, the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation on Dec. 4 approved both the new overall curriculum, and Cleveland's transformative care curriculum, a competency-based demonstration project that integrates primary care delivery and medical education. A college team had been working toward this milestone for more than two years.

Both the overall curriculum - the Pathways to Health and Wellness Curriculum - and the Cleveland campus demonstration project, will be rolled out in the fall of 2018.
 
In a statement to the college community, Executive Dean Ken Johnson, D.O.; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Nicole Wadsworth, D.O. ('97); and PHWC steering committee co-leads Jody Gerome, D.O. ('05), and Peter Coschigano, Ph.D., said they were "grateful for the immense support and teamwork that went into preparing and presenting to the COCA."
 
They went on to say: "The transformation of our curriculum is intended to prepare our students to succeed in a rapidly changing health care delivery system. Also driving our need to change are the growth of class size, the addition of our two new campuses, and ever-changing advances in technology and pedagogy. We aim to free up more time for faculty and students to allow for wellness and reflection, to open more opportunities for mentoring and one-on-one learning, and to create a more flexible curricular structure. The Commission publicly expressed how impressed they were with the work, offering many positive comments, such as, 'You are to be commended for a really excellent presentation,' and, 'What you are doing here is really amazing.'"


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