January 2005 Table of Contents
Human Identity Testing Lab finds answers A fond farewell - Dr. Moore retires December brings time of sharing Milestones of 2004: A look back New Employees

 

Human Identity Testing Lab finds answers
Robert Allen, Ph.D., doesn’t need a copy of “Who’s Who” to identify you, a molecule of your DNA can tell him.

As director of the newly opened Human Identity
Testing Lab, Allen finds answers about questioned identities for insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, transplant programs, U.S. immigration and others. Finding out “who” is just one reason for DNA testing. It also can check the efficacy
of a bone marrow transplant. It can double-check
biopsy results. More commonly, it can establish paternity, or identify victims of crimes and accidents.

As a geneticist, Allen could have spent his career searching for cures for diseases but when he
identified an offender and helped solve a crime with
DNA analysis, “Justice was served and the family
was given closure,” he recalls. And Allen found his passion.

DNA analysis can pinpoint illnesses, find matches for transplants, and can even mean big money. Allen
says the lab, formerly located at the H.A. Chapman Institute of Medical Genetics, conducts numerous
tests each year for an Indian tribe in another state
that distributes proceeds from gambling to tribal members.

Allen says future areas of lab research may include identification of micro organisms, and identifications in other species. He hopes to develop the technology to conduct environmental monitoring of bacteria in wastewater, and to develop applications to help thwart bioterrorism. Marijuana has DNA and he believes typing can trace it back to a field and supplier. “That would be of interest to drug enforcement,” he says.

Finding answers is rewarding, but teaching is his focus as an associate professor of forensic science in the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. “The testing we provide helps support the graduate programs in forensic science, and it’s the best way to teach genetics. Having actual stories to go with the numbers makes it very effective.” Stories that are told by DNA.

 

A fond farewell Gary Watson, Ph.D., (right) displays a quilt crafted by Teri Bycroft and presented to him at a reception honoring him for two decades of service to OSU. Watson becomes associate dean for basic sciences at the Georgia campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Suwanee, Ga., in February.   Dr. Moore retires Joan Stewart, D.O. and Jenny Alexopulos, D.O., reminisce with William E. Moore, D.O., at a recent reception marking his retirement.

 

 

December brings time of sharing

Joyous voices December was a time of sharing for CHS. This group of enthusiastic second graders from Eugene Field visited campus, belting out season’s greetings, and gladdening hearts. Books for kids               Ebony Brown and Sandra Hale sort books to be delivered to the pediatrics department at OSU Physicians – Houston Parke. The books were donated by Volunteers of America through the efforts of the Student Senate and Kris Martin, MS II. Each well-child checkup patient will receive a book. The project is aimed at encouraging parents to read to their child.

Gifts on the move Steve Phillips, Mary Williams, Elizabeth Nokes, Ryan Miller, Monica Browne-Hagens, Shannon Goswick-Soltow and Krys Hatfield do the heavy lifting as they cart Angel Tree packages to the van for delivery to Eugene Field. The holiday wishes of 68 students were fulfilled by CHS “angels.” In addition, 30 Reaching Hands clients received gifts from the Staff Advisory Council Angel Tree. Packing up Steve Phillips maneuvers a CHS Angel Tree gift for Eugene Field into the van while Elizabeth Nokes, project organizer, assists. Festive Founders Hall CHS personnel enjoyed food and friends at a holiday party in Founders Hall. Party-goers brought boxes of cereal to be delivered to Eugene Field to help stock its pantry.

 

Milestones of 2004: A look back The year 2004 was marked by achievements for OSU-CHS. Here are just a few: Oklahoma voters passed an increase in the state’s tobacco tax that will soon change the landscape of OSU Medicine. The campus will receive approximately $7 million dollars per year to care for Tulsa’s sick poor, build a multi-purpose health care facility and expand telemedicine services throughout Oklahoma. For the fourth consecutive year, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best medical schools in the nation. The “2005 Best Graduate Schools Guide” ranks OSU 13 th in rural medicine and 17 th in family medicine. The annual review compares the country’s 144 medical schools in areas such as peer review, retention rates and tuition. OSU medical students can now add something extra to their doctor’s bag with a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree. The one-year, 36-hour accelerated program for medical students was launched this fall through the College of Business Administration. The DO/MBA includes 30 hours of core course work and six elective hours. It is designed to foster managerial, financial and administrative excellence for health-care professionals. OSU telemedicine teamed with the Akdar Shriners in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City to provide immediate help for injured children. OSU installed two telemedicine suites so that pediatric patients and their families would no longer have to drive long distances to children’s hospitals in other states. The telemedicine partnership is being used as a nation-wide medical model for burned and crippled children around the country. OSU medical students scored a 100% pass rate on their national medical board exams last spring. Medical students currently in their third year of study scored the highest pass rate in the nation on Part One of the Comprehensive Osteopathic Licensing Examination. The national failure rate for medical students is one to five percent. OSU Telemedicine is the winner of a statewide Champions of Health Care in Rural Oklahoma Award, presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Oklahoma. The award was presented this fall at a special ceremony in Oklahoma City. Nine health care champions were selected from among more than 350 applications. The medical school unveiled a new marketing campaign called “OSU Medicine: Unheard of Medical Excellence.” The image campaign was featured in statewide television spots, newspaper ads and billboards. The multi-media campaign won first place in the 2004 American Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine communication’s awards competition.