4 THe CaTalysT, January 30, 2015
National Academy of Inventors chapter established Staff Reports The newly established chapter of the National Academy of Inventors at MUSC inducted 52 charter members, including MUSC President David Cole, M.D., FACS, at its inaugural reception Wednesday, Jan. 21. “The National Academy of Inventors will offer added support and inspiration to the talented group of innovators here at MUSC as they generate vital new technology and research,” said Michael Rusnak, executive director of MUSC’s Foundation for Research Development. In addition, the chapter recognized two MUSC NAI National Fellows: Bärbel Rohrer, Ph.D., professor of Ophthalmology, MUSC Storm Vournakis Eye Institute, and John Vournakis, Ph.D., professor of graduate studies and a member of the board of
2014 nAi nATiOnAL FeLLOw
Some of the 52 new charter members of the MUSC Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors gathered for a reception Jan. 21. directors of MUSC’s FRD. Rohrer was elected to the rank of NAI fellow by a 2014 selection committee and will be inducted in March with a ceremony at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. She is an academic and innovative leader in diseases of the retina. She holds three U.S. patents and five international patents, with an additional 23 applications pending. Her intellectual property provided the foundation with three startup companies, one of which
she co-founded. A major pharmaceutical company acquired one, and the other two companies are continuing clinical development of her therapies. Vournakis is a 2013 NAI National Fellow and serves as vice president for research and development of Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc., and Admune Therapeutics, LLC. Founded in 2010, NAI is a nonprofit organization with more than 200 chapters and 3,000 individual inventor members. NAI seeks to recognize and
Neuro PT program graduates first class By J. Ryne Danielson Public Relations The first graduation ceremony for the College of Health Professions’ new post professional residency program in neurological physical therapy was held Jan. 24. “This residency is the first of its kind in South Carolina,” said Mark Bowden, Ph.D., P.T., who directs the program. “There’s a huge need for it. The American Physical Therapy Association is encouraging physical therapists to move toward a residency model, but it’s a hard model to adopt because of the costs associated with it — relocation and tuition — especially when people already have large amounts of student loans coming out of school. Our program is set up on a blended model. Residents come here four times a year, we go to their clinics four times a year and we videoconference weekly for a virtual seminar.” The advantage of this model, he said, is that it allows
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New graduates Kalynne Ballares, front row from left, Jessica Jacobs and Tim Lesondak, are joined by program faculty and mentors, Dr. Mark Bowden, back row from left, Lindsay Perry, Dr. Sara Kraft, Izabella Polivchak, Doug Glenn and Matthew Steinmetz, front row right. Not pictured is graduate Megan Eckert. residents to continue their education without quitting their jobs and relocating. This opens the program to candidates who otherwise wouldn’t be able to apply. “Our biggest challenge,” said Sara Kraft, DPT, “was
Bärbel Rohrer, Ph.D., professor of Ophthalmology, MUSC Storm Eye Institute. She was elected as a 2014 Rohrer NAI Fellow and will be inducted in a March ceremony at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. encourage inventors with U.S. patents, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate its members’ inventions to benefit society.
finding clinical partners.” Kraft is the assistant director and curriculum coordinator of the residency program. “It’s a hard sell, financially, since it doesn’t fit into many rehab centers’ continuing education budgets,” Bowden said. “Fortunately, HealthSouth, a rehabilitation provider with facilities in Charleston and across the U.S., decided to fully support the program by funding the tuition costs of selected employees.” “Developing the distance learning technology was difficult,” Kraft said, “as well as refining the curriculum and discovering which mode of teaching works best with distance education. That was a learning curve for both Mark and me.” Pamela Duncan, Ph.D., a professor of neurology and senior policy advisor at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, spoke to the graduating residents about the importance of translational research and bringing evidence–driven practices into the clinical setting. “Historically, in physical therapy education, there has been a disconnect between what students learn in the classroom and what they learn in the field. In some ways, clinical instruction has carried a disproportionate weight. But, this program gives us the opportunity to be part of their clinical instruction as professionals.
See Graduates on page 8