Eight-three new osteopathic physicians receive their degrees from OSU Medicine at commencement at 7 p.m. Friday, May 15.

Featured speaker is Chad Chamberlain, (photo) president of the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2009.  The event is at Spirit Bank Event Center, 10441 S. Regal Blvd. (106th and Memorial) in Tulsa. The OSU Center for Health Sciences will confer graduate degrees in biological and forensic sciences. A graduation banquet is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at the Doubletree at Warren Place, 6110 S. Yale Ave. A social hour begins at 6:30 p.m. and a military commissioning ceremony takes place at 5:30 p.m. 

The first osteopathic medicine class graduated from the Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in 1977. OSU-CHS now offers nine graduate level degrees (masters and doctoral) including osteopathic medicine, forensic sciences, biomedical sciences, and natural and applied sciences- health care administration.

OSU mentors help Eugene Field third-graders explore science

Biomedical sciences graduate students, OSU-CHS professors and staff are helping Eugene Field Elementary School third graders learn more about science and how it works.

OSU biomedical sciences graduate student LeighAnn Riemer is chair of the OSU Biomedical Sciences Graduate Student Association’s science fair at the elementary school. She says the association and OSU-CHS mentors have provided expertise to help the young learners set up experiments, make a science fair board and learn how to present their work to judges.

The mentors, who include professors, physicians, staff, and students, have assisted 51 third-graders in preparing and conducting science experiments. “We wanted to make science a rewarding and competitive experience, much like sports are for most children. We also wanted them to understand the scientific process and be able to apply it to everyday questions they may have about the world they live in,” Riemer says.

After readying experiments, the third-graders prepared summaries and science fair boards then learned how to present their experiments to judges. Professors from OSU-CHS judge the fair entries Wednesday, April 22. Alexander J. Rouch, Ph.D., an OSU-CHS associate professor of Physiology and director of the biomedical sciences graduate program, says the new graduate student association is making a positive impact.

“Each group mentor worked hard to prepare the best possible experience for these young students. LeighAnn Riemer and all the participants deserve high praise and a round of applause from OSU-CHS,” Rouch says. Rouch and Kathleen Curtis, Ph.D., are BSGSA advisors.

The project may owe its existence to Riemer’s own childhood exposure to science fairs. “After the formation of the association, we were trying to figure out ways to get involved with the community. I remembered how much I loved the science fair when I was in elementary school in Oklahoma City, and I found out that Eugene Field did not have one. Through my previous volunteer experiences at Eugene Field, I knew who to contact to ask about the possibility of starting an annual science fair at the school,” Riemer says. She worked with Eugene Field staff member Kristin Granstaff to coordinate the project.

Graduate students Neda Saffarian-Toussi and Rashmi Singh are the co-chairs for the science fair committee and helped plan the event. Other participants include Rashmi Kaul, Ph.D., Brian Diener, D.O., Karen Muse, Daniel Buck, Nevin White, Latrisha Rice, Keyaria Grey, Kerri Elliot, Sara Toofan, Shamier Moore, Sarah Kauble, Steven Gearhardt, Rachael Pattison, Desra Kiely, Thalia Douglas, Michael McClain, Emily Kollmann, Jewels Duffey, Danielle Armstrong and Brittany Bolt.

LeighAnn Riemer (left) helps two third-grade students assemble their science fair presentation boards.

OSU hosts osteopathic education council

OSU-CHS hosts members of the Educational Council on Osteopathic Principles April 23-25.

“Among topics for this meeting are the update of the third edition of Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine textbook, case studies in clinical perspectives, curriculum standardization, structural exam, clinical years curriculum, and osteopathic medical terminology in electronic medical records,” said council member Harriet Shaw, D.O.

The ECOP is part of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Council members meet twice each year at college sites to discuss osteopathic medical education. There are currently 28 colleges of osteopathic medicine offering the doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree.

Professors named to science honor society

Richard Wansley, Ph.D., (left) associate professor of behavioral sciences, and David Wallace, Ph.D., assistant dean for research and professor of pharmacology and have been inducted into full membership of Sigma Xi, an international science honor society. 

Membership in Sigma Xi Society is by nomination only and is conferred upon individuals who have demonstrated noteworthy achievements in science or engineering as well as other scholarly pursuits that aim to improve the human condition.

Sigma Xi is an international, multidisciplinary research society whose programs and activities promote the health of the scientific enterprise and honor scientific achievement. The Society endeavors to encourage support of original work across the spectrum of science and technology and to promote an appreciation within society at large for the role research has played in human progress.

CME review June 12-14

OSU Office of Continuing Medical Education 12th Annual Emergency Medicine Review is June 12-14 at the DoubleTree Hotel-Tulsa Downtown. The conference features lectures and hands-on activities with emphasis on situations encountered daily by the primary care physician.  The full conference is approved by the AOA and the AAFP for 20.50 hours of AOA Category 1A CME credit. Deadline for early registration price of $400 is May 22. There is no registration fee for full-time OSU-COM faculty. For more information, or to register for the conference, contact Cyndi Canning, program specialist, (918) 586-4615, Rob Robinson, program coordinator, (918) 586-4617 or toll-free (800) 274-1972.

Round of Applause

D.O. Day at the Capitol
Twenty-two OSU medical students, along with OSU faculty and staff, attended D.O. Day at the Capitol in Oklahoma City.  This is the 35th year that the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association sponsored the program during the month of March.  The students provided service to the capitol’s first aid station during the legislation session. The program gives the students the opportunity to bring osteopathic medicine to the legislators, as well as to see state leaders at work. 

Presenter
Will Hanner, MS-III, presented two 40-minute osteopathic manipulative medicine demonstrations at the Southeastern Association of Advisors for the Health Profession in Birmingham, Ala. in March. The demonstrations were attended by more than 60 pre-medical advisors.

Mentor
Selected for IDeA (Institutional Development Award) Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Summer Research Program to be research mentor for an undergraduate student-Kathleen Curtis, Ph.D.

Symposium
Organized and co-chaired symposium, “Pharmacology and Physiology in the 21st Century,” at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, Southwestern and Rocky Mountain region Annual Conference at University of Tulsa - Craig Stevens, Ph.D.

Presentations
“Quantitation and Characterization of DNA in Forensic Samples Using the Q-TAT Assay” and “AFLP Analysis as a Molecular Tool for the Attribution of DNA Isolated from Pathogenic Organisms” presented at the Forensic DNA Analysis Workshop at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation central laboratory in Edmond - Robert Allen, Ph.D.

“Relationship between extracellular polysaccharide expression and propensity to form biofilms in clinical isolates of Burkholderia multivorans,” presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology Missouri Valley Branch in Lawrence, Kan. - Frank Champlin, Ph.D. and Gerald Köhler, Ph.D. and Sallie Ruskoski, graduate student.

“Salt, Sex and (Neuro)Science,” presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, Southwestern and Rocky Mountain region Annual Conference at University of Tulsa - Kathleen Curtis, Ph.D.

“Evolution of Opioid Receptors” presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, Southwestern and Rocky Mountain region Annual Conference at University of Tulsa;  also  “Evolution of Opioid Receptors: Why the Mu Opioid Receptor Would Make Darwin Proud” presented at the Veterinary Biomedical Sciences Seminar Series, OSU Center for Veterinary Medical Sciences in Stillwater - Craig Stevens, Ph.D.

“Concentration- and Tim-Dependent Alterations in [3H] Dopamine Uptake Following Exposure to Manganese Chloride” poster presentation at the 2009 American Society for Neurochemistry in Charleston, SC ; also “Impact of Environmental Factors on Pharmacology and Toxicology,” presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, Southwestern and Rocky Mountain region AAAS-SWARM Annual Conference at the University of Tulsa - David Wallace, Ph.D.

“Medical Mission to Afghanistan” to OSU-COM Pediatric Club; “Childhood Asthma” and  “Immunization Up Date”, KCOM CME, Honolulu - Stanley E. Grogg, D.O.

Publications
"Transcendence of Geopolitical Borders: How osteopathic education developed in the United Kingdom" from the 2008 AOA History Essay Contest, 2nd place - The DO magazine - April. Dustin Colegrove, OMS-IV,

“Estrogen and the central control of body fluid balance,” Physiol. Behav. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.027 ; “Sex differences in physiology and behavior: focus on central actions of ovarian hormones,” Editorial. Physiol. Behav. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.026. Kathleen Curtis, Ph.D.  and other.

“Community Physicians… I Thank You,” Oklahoma D.O., February 2009 - Kevin Pargeter, MS/DO graduate student, Bill Meek, Ph.D. advisor.

Reviews
Reviewed papers for:
American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology; Physiology and Behavior; Life Sciences - Kathleen Curtis, Ph.D.

Canadian Journal of Microbiology and FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology - Gerwald Köhler, Ph.D.

International Journal of Comparative Psychology and The Canadian Journal of Zoology and The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutic - Craig Stevens, Ph.D.

Reviewed a paper for Toxicolog - David Wallace, Ph.D.

Reviewed a paper for the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontolog -  Anne Weil, Ph.D.

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