LMP News, October 8

Hogquist awarded NIAID R01 grant

NIH’S National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded Kristin Hogquist a 5-year $2.34 million R01 grant to study “The role of thymic type I interferon in tolerance.”

Tsai receives NIH-NICHD research contracts

NIH’s NICHD has awarded Mike Tsai a 2-year $1.82 million contract for “Measurement of opioids, dietary factors and genetics in the FAZST-IDEAL studies.”  NICHD also has awarded Tsai a 2-year  $315,000 contract for “Measurement of leptin in the FAZST-IDEAL studies.”

Saenger is PI of major ARDL study

Amy Saenger is laboratory PI of a $1.38 million ancillary study entitled "Changes in FGF-23 from mid- to late-life: patterns, predictors, and consequences" as part of the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) cohort. This is the first high-volume study that will utilize ARDL’s mass spec instruments. ARDL will test 7,000 samples for 25-OH-vitamin D using LC-MS/MS (as well as chemistry and ELISA testing).

New medical directors named

Congratulations are in order to the following faculty for their recent appointments as medical directors:

• Elizabeth Courville - Medical Director of Flow Cytometry.
• Pawel Mroz - Medical Director of Core Hematology Labs (UMMC East, West, and CSC).
• Sarah Williams - Medical Director of Clinical Labs, MHealth, Maple Grove Clinic.
  
  

M Health Fairview definitive agreement approved

A definitive clinical partnership agreement was approved Sept. 28 by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents and the boards of University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP) and Fairview Health Services.  The agreement defines the way forward to co-create a nationally-renowned academic health system. It will combine academic and community capabilities to provide the best clinical care while supporting research and education across the shared care delivery system. “Together, we will advance our shared mission to heal, discover new treatments and cures and to educate healthcare professionals to help people lead longer, healthier lives,” according to the announcement. Click here for more information.

Skubitz gives talk on advances in ovarian cancer detection

Amy Skubitz gave a lecture at the 12th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium presented by the Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer and the American Association for Cancer Research.  The symposium was held at the University of Washington in Seattle last month.  The title of her lecture was “Development of a multi-protein classifier for ovarian cancer detection by simultaneous measurement of 92 serum proteins on Proseek Multiplex Oncology II plates.”  Skubitz also gave a talk "Ovarian cancer early detection using biomarkers" at Boston Scientific headquarters in Maple Grove as part of the company’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness Symposium in September.

Khalifa to give talk at Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference

Mahmoud Khalifa is an education speaker at the annual Global Conference of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), February 11–15, 2019 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.  HIMSS is the leading health information and technology conference, bringing together 45,000 professionals from more than 90 countries.  The title of Khalifa’s talk is “Postanalytic risk reduction in pathology results reporting.”

Linden to present at CAP19

Mike Linden's peer-reviewed course, "Flow Cytometry-Based on the Revised WHO Classification: Key Diagnoses That You Never Want to Miss" has been accepted for presentation at the CAP19 Annual Meeting at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, Florida.   Linden will be presenting with Bill Karlon (Director of Flow Cytometry, UCSF) and David Dorfman (Director of Flow Cytometry, Brigham and Women's/Dana Farber).  This course will also be presented at subsequent CAP meetings in 2020 and 2021.

43rd E.T. Bell Pathology Symposium slated for Oct. 26

The 43rd E. T. Bell Pathology Symposium will be held Oct. 26 at the McNamara Alumni Center.  This year’s theme is Dermatopathology and Pathology of Superficial Soft Tissue Lesions.  The symposium is jointly sponsored bythe E. T. Bell Institute of Pathology, LMP, and Innovative Continuing Education, LLC.

Residency Video is updated

Check out our new video on the residency and fellowship programs.  The video gives a brief look at our programs, the department and the Twin Cities.  It is posted on our residency site.  Thanks to Amy Karger, Meghan Hupp, Cade Arries and Victor Santiago for helping in the video production.

Step up to interview residents

Resident interview season is here.  Please volunteer to spend some time interviewing candidates.  Your experience with your own training and as a faculty member in our department are important “selling” points for candidates looking at the University of Minnesota.  Upcoming interview days are scheduled for: October 29, November 2, 5, 9, 12, 19, 30 and December 3.  Please email Michelle Dolan, dolan009@umn.edu, and Maggie McGough, truax031@umn.edu, and let them know you’d be happy to interview. 

Get Your Wellbeing Points at Boynton

Participating the UPlan's Wellbeing Program is a great way to improve your health and lower the cost of your health insurance. Whether you need to earn 500 points to save $500, or 750 points to save $750, you can earn all your Wellbeing Points at Boynton!  Click this link for more information.

Faculty publish

Saenger AK, Berkwits M, Carley S, Haymond S, Ennis-O'Connor M, Sherbino J, Smith SW.  The power of social media in medicine and medical education: Opportunities, risks, and rewards. Clin Chem. 2018 Sep;64(9):1284-1290. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2018.288225. 

Block DR, Ouverson LJ, Wittwer CA, Saenger AK, Baumann NA.  An approach to analytical validation and testing of body fluid assays for the automated clinical laboratory.  Clin Biochem. 2018 Aug;58:44-52. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2018.05.002.

Selvin E, Warren B, He X, Sacks DB, Saenger AK.  Establishment of community-based reference intervals for fructosamine, glycated albumin, and 1,5-anhydroglucitol.  Clin Chem. 2018 May;64(5):843-850. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2017.285742.

Danni Li, Fangying Huang, Yingchun Zhao, Peter W. Villata, Timothy J. Griffin, Lin Zhang, Ling Li and Fang Yu.  Plasma lipoproteome in Alzheimer’s disease: a proof-of-concept study.  Clinical Proteomics2018; 15:31  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12014-018-9207-z.

Upcoming events of interest or things to do

The annual MPG Symposium will be held October 11 at Coffman Memorial Union with keynote speaker Muneesh Tewari from the University of Michigan.  His keynote talk is at 2 pm.  Tewari will discuss the integration of cell free DNA with wearable sensors for early cancer diagnosis. 

The 8th Great Lakes Nuclear Receptors Conference will be held Oct. 18-19 in the Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Building (CCRB).  The regional meeting brings together senior investigators and their trainees whose research is focused on nuclear receptor biology.

Grand Rounds are back on Wednesday’s at 8:00 am in 450 MCRB (Masonic Cancer Research Building)

LMP’s Research Forum resumes Thursday, Oct 18, 5 pm. in the Dale Shephard Room of the Campus Club in Coffman Union.

Send news to Bill

Please send publications, achievement and event information and announcements you think appropriate for the LMP Newsletter to Bill Hoffman at hoffm003@umn.edu.  Also, Bill has an ongoing interest in photographs, images, and story ideas you may have for the LMP website.