Posts filed under ‘Alumni’
Over 45 years of research addresses the science of ‘wasting away’
Dr. Leonard “Jim” Jefferson in the forefront with Dr. Scot Kimball.
By Heidi Lynn Russell
What happens in the research laboratories at Penn State College of Medicine doesn’t stay in the laboratories.
It reaches to outer space, as adventurers blast off in rockets. It affects American war fighters in oven-like desert heat. It touches cancer patients and aging Baby Boomers too weak to rise from their beds. And it even affects the average “gym rat” in the weight room.
In short, anyone who cares about loss of muscle mass has benefited from the painstaking work of Dr. Leonard “Jim” Jefferson and Dr. Scot Kimball. The research of these scientists has delved into the mysteries of skeletal muscle for over 45 years. Recently, the National Institutes of Health renewed a grant of $392,000 to continue their work – one of the longest continuously funded such grants in the country. (more…)
The case for innovation in healthcare through data
When Dr. Marco D. Huesch joined the faculty of Penn State College of Medicine’s Department of Radiology last July, he brought with him a passion for transforming data into innovations. Having spent a decade in the data-driven business of management consulting after leaving clinical practice, he knew first-hand the power of analytics to improve performance.
As head of CORVA, the newly established Center for Optimizing Radiology Value, the vice chair of radiology research leads a small team of data scientists tasked with streamlining operations and improving patient care within the department and throughout Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. (more…)
Dr. Nancy Olsen works to advance understanding of lupus
Dr. Nancy Olsen in her lab with clinical trial nurse Jamie Carter.
By Ashley Davidson
Over the last decade, a major question has interested Dr. Nancy Olsen: How can we stage an intervention for people who are at risk of developing lupus?
Now thanks to a five-year grant, with funding of $1.4 million the first year, from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Dr. Olsen and a team of researchers from across the United States are hoping to find out. (more…)
Honey entered into Farm Show contest
For centuries, people have suspected that honey could help with medical problems ranging from wound care to cough suppression. More recently, studies have proven some of those claims to be true. (more…)
January 13, 2017 at 4:47 pm pennstatemedicine Leave a comment
Penn State College of Medicine students provide assistance to refugees
By Carolyn Kimmel
In the produce aisles at Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market, six Penn State College of Medicine students in a “Food As Medicine” group are finding that an initiative to help recently resettled refugee families from Syria eat healthy is about a lot more than which vegetables they choose.
“They tell me things I will never forget: bombings nearby; random people breaking glass to get inside their homes. They say they needed to save their children; they had to leave,” said Houda Bouhmam, a first-year medical student from Morocco who speaks Arabic and is helping serve as a translator between the students and the families, none of whom speak English. (more…)
New class eases anxiety through yoga
By Jennifer Vogelsong
Kelly Thoman has a high stress job and bouts with anxiety. Dan Coma had just the idea to help: a special program at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center using yoga to ease anxiety. It’s part of the emerging field of yoga therapy which Coma, a registered yoga instructor, is completing his training in after teaching group classes at the Medical Center’s University Fitness Center for nine years. He found there was a need for such an evidence-based integrative program after talking with a family medicine doctor at the Medical Center and Deb Tregea, program coordinator at the fitness center.
“We were told that one of the most common conditions people talk with their doctors about is generalized anxiety disorder,” Coma said. Using gentle postures and breathing, Yoga helps balance the autonomic nervous system and increases levels of feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain – both good for dealing with anxiety. The program is evidence-based, meaning it is based on research that shows a benefit of using yoga for anxiety. (more…)
December 21, 2016 at 1:15 pm pennstatemedicine Leave a comment
Scholarships help medical students achieve their goals
Match program doubles donations to student scholarships
By Jade Kelly Solovey
Steven Ma is a first-generation Asian American with a strong interest in global health. A native of Westminster, Calif., he joined Penn State College of Medicine Class of 2020 because of the school’s global health opportunities and its welcoming feel.
His undergraduate degree is from University of California, Irvine, where he volunteered in both Nicaragua and Panama as part of that school’s Global Medical Training organization.
Steven Ma
“I really got exposed to the medical field and more and more I started falling in love with what medicine involved,” he said.
The cost of medical school is a reality that was a potential barrier to pursuing his interest in medicine. (more…)
