USU Celebrates Excellence in Research

Newswise — The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' (USU) will hold its annual Research Week May 12-14. The mission of Research Week is to promote research initiatives of faculty, staff and students providing opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and communication among USU graduate students and faculty.

Several symposia will cover a broad range of topics to include traumatic brain injury, technological advances and research, and education research. The keynote address titled: Opportunities and Challenges for Translating Basic Research Into Clinical Practice, will be given by John I. Gallin, M.D., director, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Wednesday, May 14.

Other lecturers include: Bullard Lecture: Ca2+/Calmodulin Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase 2 (CaMMK2), the Hypothalamic Regulation of Energy Balance and the Metabolic Syndrome, presented by Anthony Means, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Henry Wu Symposium: Nipah and Hendra virus; from receptor discovery to therapeutic modalities, presented by Christopher C. Broder, Ph.D., professor and director, Emerging Infectious Diseases Graduate Program, USU's Department of Microbiology and Immunology; James Leonard Symposium: Treatment of Campylobacter Infections, presented by David Tribble, M.D., DRPH., associate professor, Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program, USU's Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics.

This year's event, Celebrating Excellence in Research, reflects the complementary roles that nursing, public health, behavioral science, basic science, and medicine play in health promotion and disease prevention. There will be poster presentations, distinguished guests speakers, and panels to demonstrate USU's special role in civilian, public health, and military research initiatives across the health sciences.

This annual three-day event incorporates Graduate School of Nursing and Graduate School of Medicine Student Colloquia highlighting research interests and accomplishments of graduate students in both fields. The Faculty Senate Research Day including poster presentations, invited speakers and panel discussions, draws the entire USU community to share research achievements, foster collaborations, and stimulate intellectual exchange.

The week culminates as the students from the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Graduate Education programs and Graduate School of Nursing receive their degrees during USU's 29th Commencement ceremony May 17 at the Daughters of the American Revolution, Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. This year's commencement speaker is Elias Zerhouni, M.D., director, NIH.

Located on the grounds of Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center and across from the National Institutes of Health, USU is the nation's federal school of medicine and graduate school of nursing. The university educates health care professionals dedicated to career service in the Department of Defense and the U.S. Public Health Service. Students are active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service, who are being educated to deal with wartime casualties, national disasters, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies. Of the university's more than 4,000 physician alumni, the vast majority serve on active duty and are supporting operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, offering their leadership and expertise.

Information for the week can be obtained at http://www.usuhs.mil.