MUSC Catalyst 5-22-2015

May 1, 22,2015 2015

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA

MUSC helps launch first Mother’s Milk Bank in state Staff Report MUSC, the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative (SCBOI), the South Carolina Neonatology Consortium and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control have teamed up to open South Carolina’s first Mother’s Milk Bank to improve the health of the state’s most vulnerable infants.

This milk bank will provide breast milk to very low birth-weight (VLBW) babies — infants weighing less than 3.3 pounds — in neonatal intensive care units in South Carolina.

When babies are born prematurely, many of their organs are not fully developed. This puts them at risk for a number of diseases within the first weeks of life. In particular, these infants are predisposed to a deadly condition called necrotizing entercolitis (NEC), an inflammation of the gut.

Two–thirds of babies who contract NEC die or develop debilitating conditions.

However, this disorder can be prevented by the antibodies and nutrients found in human milk. Often, though, mothers who deliver prematurely have trouble breastfeeding their own babies because they can’t produce enough milk. In VLBW babies, breast milk is essential to increasing the survival rate and improving the development of these infants.

Without a local milk bank, South Carolina President David J. Cole hospitals have to rely on other states for

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their breast milk supply, which can lead to shortages.

“MUSC and other hospitals in our state treat babies every day who, for different reasons, can’t have their mother’s own milk,” said Sarah Taylor, M.D., a neonatologist at MUSC and the new director of the Mother’s Milk Bank of South Carolina (MMBSC). “As a Baby–Friendly USA certified hospital that advocates breastfeeding, we are overjoyed to be able to help launch the state’s first milk bank and empower women to provide life — saving breast milk for sick babies in South Carolina.”

Physically located in North Charleston, the milk bank, accredited by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America as a developing milk bank, will be operated by MUSC. South Carolina mothers are able to donate breast milk already at 10 satellite milk bank depots around the state with seven more milk depots to open in the next few months. The average baby in the NICU needs 8 ounces of milk per day. MMBSC expects to process and distribute more than 5,000 ounces of milk each month. ”MMBSC is a key component in continuing our efforts to advocate the importance of breast milk in the health of babies in South Carolina,” said B.Z. (Melanie) Giese, director of the Birth Outcomes Initiative for the South Carolina

This wonderful partnership with Mr. Jenkins and his family will enable this vision to become a reality for our children.

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Wii Fitness Commencement

Study provesprepare video games get Six colleges the next results. generation of healers.

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$25 million: largest gift ever to MUSC Staff Report MUSC announced a $25 million gift from Charleston businessman Shawn Jenkins to help build the new MUSC Children’s Hospital and Women’s Pavilion in downtown Charleston.

Jenkins’ gift was made public during the MUSC Board of Trustees meeting May 14 and is the largest philanthropic contribution in the Medical University’s history.

During the meeting, the board of trustees voted to name the new facility the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. The university is working to raise at least $50 million in donations to help replace its current MUSC Children’s Hospital, which opened in 1987.

“We have a bold new vision for children’s health,” said MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS. “This wonderful new partnership with Mr. Jenkins and his family will enable this vision to become a reality for our children. We still have work to do, but with the generous support of donors like Mr. Jenkins, this facility will become a landmark for world-class children’s health care and will impact every family in our state. We are tremendously grateful and excited.”

Jenkins has lived in the Charleston area since 1989 and is the CEO Staff Report and co-founder of the Charleston-based software company, Benefitfocus. He said his gift was motivated by a desire to help care for the state’s vulnerable population: its children.

Approximately 600 most graduates will hear newly-appointed U.S. Surgeon “I was raised Vivek by a single mother,M.D., and while I was fortunate to General Vice Admiral H. Murthy, the speaker at MUSC’s be healthy, we did about money.

Something could have gone 186th Commencement onfret May 15, five months to the day he was wrong at any minute,” confirmed by the U.S. Senate. said Jenkins. “The children who come here are at the most point in place their lives in terms of health The commencementvulnerable ceremony will take at 9 a.m., weather and at finances.

TheyHorseshoe, need someone to standAvenue. in the gap with them. permitting, the MUSC 171 Ashley My 37, family is fortunate to be able toofdo that, descent. and we look Murthy, is the first surgeon general Indian As forward to working together with the community to bring theavailable best health care America’s doctor, he is responsible for providing the best possible to the to children of South Carolina our neighboring scientific information the public regarding ways and to improve health. states.”

He also supervises the U.S. Public Health Service Commission

U.S. Surgeon General Murthy to speak at May 15 Commencement

See Graduation onon page 10 11 See Gift page

See Bank on page 11

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Transplant Angels TEDx Charleston

MUSC thanksspeakers trooperswow for going Three MUSC the above and beyond. crowd.

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DAISY SurgeonAward General’s Speech

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Dental Meet VySculpture

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Meet Anna Teaching Excellence Awards

READ THE CATALYST ONLINE - http://www.musc.edu/catalyst Medical University of South Carolina — FOLLOW US @ Catalyst_MUSC

2 The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015

PeoPle

Around Campus

Prabhakar Baliga Prabhakar Baliga, M.D., was named as Chair of the Department of Surgery. Baliga joined MUSC in 1992 after completing his residency training at Tulane University and a transplant surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan. He previously served as director of the Liver/Intestinal Transplant Program, Kidney Transplant Program and currently as medical director of the Transplant Service Line.

He will assume his role effective July 1.

John Ikonomidis

John Ikonomidis, M.D., Ph.D., chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, will serve a two-year term as chairman of the Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study Section for the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review beginning July 1.

He previously served in the BTSS Study Section at the NIH where he participated in more than 150 reviews.

Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425.

843-792-4107 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Cindy Abole catalyst@musc.edu Catalyst staff: Mikie Hayes, hayesmi@musc.edu Dawn Brazell, brazell@musc.edu J. Ryne Danielson, daniejer@musc.edu Helen Adams, adamshel@musc.edu Sarah Pack, packsa@musc.edu Jeff Watkins, watkinsj@musc.edu

evenTs Youth Advocates 5K

photo by Ryne Danielson, Public Relations

To celebrate “opening day” of the countdown to MUSC’s Nursing Magnet site visit in July, Medical University Hospital CEO Dr. Patrick Cawley throws out the first pitch to Charleston River Dogs’ mascot, Charlie.

Jacqueline McGinty

Jacqueline F. McGinty, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Graduate Studies and professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, will become the director of the MUSC Neuroscience Institute. She replaces

The Catalyst is published once a week.

Paid adver tisements, which do not represent an endorsement by MUSC or the State of South Carolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc., Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or 843-958-7490. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.

Gary Aston-Jones, Ph.D.

Benjamin Saunders

Benjamin Saunders, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, was appointed to serve a four–year term on the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Scientific Advirosry Board.

Come join in the fun at the HugerWando Youth Advocates 5K Run/ Walk from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Cainhoy Elementary/Middle School.

Proceeds from this race will support the Summer Enrichment program in the Huger/Wando community.

Registration is $30 per entry and teams of four runners/walkers my register for $25 per entry. After May 6, runners and walkers will receive T-shirts and bibs while supplies last.

Participants should arrive no later than 7 a.m.. Buses will transport runners/ walkers to the starting line by 7:30 a.m.

The Huger-Wando Youth Advocates is a group of young adults and teens working to sustain and promote its summer program. Register online at http://youthadvocates 5k.eventbrite. com or call 614-1726.

Hurricane Awareness Day

University Risk Management will be hosting MUSC Hurricane Awareness Day at the Horsehoe on Thursday, May 28. Featured will be Lowcountry emergency management representatives from around the region including Charleston County Emergency Management Division, Community Emergency Response Team, American Red Cross and others. WCBD-TV’s Rob Fowler will lead a panel of experts to discuss plans. For information, call 7920757 or email taylorjr@musc.edu.

The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015 3

Medicine graduate fulfills a calling to serve others

By Jane Ma Public Relations

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hen you ask new College of Medicine graduate Layne Madden, M.D., about himself, his answers are quick and confident. If you ask him his favorite TV show, it’s Battlestar Galactica. He’s been married for 6 years and loves his wife, Katie Madden, dearly. He also loves skiing, surfing and playing the guitar and mandolin.

But when you ask him where he’s from, he laughs. “Better to start from the beginning, it’s not quite so simple,” he says.

He was born in Louisiana, and then moved to Madden North Carolina, which was followed by a move to South Carolina and then New York. He graduated from high school in upstate New York before moving back to Lexington where his parents live.

With such a widespread personal map, it should come as no surprise that his educational and professional background is equally diverse.

At Clemson University, he was an engineering major who enjoyed his work but always felt something was missing.

He completed a series of summer internships with Michelin, working on plant expansion, design projects and the like, but it wasn’t quite enough. He wanted to use technical knowledge to help people directly. “I realized that my passions lay elsewhere. I felt a strong connection with social issues in America rather than technical issues. The idea of going to medical school came about because I was searching for a way to use science in solving human problems,” explains Madden.

After some shadowing experiences and advice from professors, he decided that medicine was what he wanted to do.

It set his graduation back a semester, as he took the pre-requisite courses, and then during his senior year, his plans expanded again. A professor recommended that he consider volunteering for Teach for America (TFA), a national nonprofit whose stated mission is to “enlist, develop, and mobilize our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity.” TFA places professionals and high-achieving college graduates in low-income communities to teach for at least two years.

Madden applied for medical school and TFA simultaneously, and was accepted to both. He deferred his M.D. for two years, rolled up his sleeves, and did some graduate studies in education so he could volunteer as a TFA corps member.

He was placed in Denver, Colorado and soon was teaching math and science at a local middle school. “I was thrown into full-time teaching almost immediately, for sixth and eighth grade level science classes,” Madden recalls.

He didn’t miss a beat. He jumped into teaching a summer chemistry course for students who had failed the class the previous academic year. He learned very quickly how challenging his job would be. “I expected the students to be academically behind, but I could never have imagined the type of real dysfunction they faced on a daily basis.”

Many of the teachers struggled with discipline issues, as well as communicating and connecting with their students because of language and cultural barriers. The key to dealing with this, Madden says, is to humble yourself. “The most important lesson I learned was that you need to make sure the students know you care and communicate with them in ways that are accessible. No one is going to be impressed by how smart you are, how much you know. Students are not impressed by that. Just because you are an expert in your field doesn’t make you a good teacher. Once I learned that, I could work with them.”

Medical graduate Layne Madden, left, was among several medical students and studentmusicians who performed regularly on campus and at community events through MUSiC. photo by Anne Thompson, Digital Imaging

“I’m pretty anxious to begin practicing what I’ve learned, and I feel MUSC has prepared me well for the challenges ahead.”

Dr. Layne Madden He completely turned around one classroom that had lost a teacher and been bounced from substitute to substitute and was awarded Teacher of the Year.

His students inspired him in return.

One student, in particular, sticks out in Madden’s mind: “He had grown up in a single–parent household with a few siblings, and he had so many needs that he never vocalized and other teachers never saw. He often didn’t have money for the bus, or hadn’t had dinner the night before. Despite all that, his focus and curiosity astounded me every day.

He had such drive, much more than I ever had at his age — all while facing challenges that I and many of my peers could never imagine facing — and with more poise and resiliency than most adults exhibit under pressure.”

Madden has kept in touch with this student, who went on to a prestigious magnet school and eventually became the first in his family to attend college.

These lessons and experiences gave him the perspective and motivation

to finish medical school. Where engineering was intellectually challenging, teaching was emotionally challenging. For Madden, medicine has been about striking a balance between both and doing what he loves, using science to solve human problems. He believes the ability to draw a line in teaching will be valuable in emergency medicine — to be able to define and accept what can be fixed and what cannot. He chose emergency medicine because he loves the breadth of the work and the diversity of the people he gets to meet. He considers it a privilege to be able to help someone on what may be the worst day of their life.

Madden is excited to rejoin the workforce and officially leave behind studenthood. “I’m pretty anxious to begin practicing what I’ve learned, and I feel MUSC has prepared me well for the challenges ahead.”

He leaves behind a legacy at MUSC. In an effort to connect his love of educating children with his love of medicine, he founded edLINK, an MUSC organization that places volunteers and professionals in local classrooms. One of his professors, Debra Hazen-Martin, Ph.D., associate dean for curriculum in the basic sciences, said of Madden: “I am in awe of all he has accomplished as a student at MUSC and marvel at the impact and sustainability of his work.

Both have improved our university, its interaction with the community and the learning environment of many.”

4 The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015

Surgeon General to grads: Health equity is a civil right By helen adaMs Public Relations

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s more than 600 students graduated from MUSC, the U.S. Surgeon General had a message for them. “As the next generation of healers, we need all of you to have the courage to change the world,” said Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, M.D., who gave the commencement address.

It was a serious assignment for a group ready to celebrate completing degrees in everything from medicine to dentistry.

At the age of 37, the surgeon general is only a decade or so older than most of the MUSC students. He earned his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine in 2003, and in 2014, became the youngest appointed U.S. surgeon general.

Murthy told the MUSC students they’re joining the health care profession at a challenging time. “Today in America, who you are, where you come from and whom you love plays too big a role in determining your health.”

Murthy called for them to help change that. “Health equity is a civil rights issue,” he said. “Our culture needs you to help us overcome one of the biggest challenges of all: that of moving from a culture of treatment to one of prevention in every community across America.”

As MUSC presented Murthy with an honorary degree, Chief Diversity Officer Anton Gunn said, “We stand ready to work with [Murthy] to build a healthier America for years to come.”

The presence of the surgeon general wasn’t the only noteworthy aspect of the occasion. It marked the first

Class of 2015 graduates celebrate at MUSC’s 186th Commencement Ceremony held on campus at the Horseshoe on May 15. time David Cole, M.D., presided over commencement, and for the first time in a few years, it took place outside on the MUSC Horseshoe.

Graduate Carrie Wiersma, M.D., said it was more fun having it there than at The Citadel, where the ceremony was held in recent years. “I think being on the Horseshoe represents more about our class and just being where we spent so much of our time the past four years.”

The group of 628 MUSC graduates includes 74

in the College of Dental Medicine, 20 in Graduate Studies, 154 in Health Professions, 138 in Nursing, 162 in Medicine and 80 in Pharmacy. Medical graduate Samkon Gado, M.D. was a former NFL football player and will be starting a four-year Otolaryngology-Ear, Nose and Throat residency at St. Louis Hospital.

Murthy left them with a call to action, telling them to meet people where they are. “The humanity of our patients lies at the core of everything we do as healers.

It’s bigger and more important than everything else.”

Transcript of Adm. Murthy’s speech Editor’s Note: U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., was the speaker at MUSC’s 186th Commencement on May 15. Below is the full text of his speech.

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President Cole recognizes graduates.

ood morning everyone. This is a day of excitement.

I know there is a lot of energy here for all the great things that have happened in the last few years and the great things that are to come. I’m so honored to be here with you today.

I want to thank President Cole and Mr. Anton Gunn for that very kind introduction and the faculty, family and friends and most importantly, the graduates of the Class of 2015. I want to tell you just how honored I am to be here today as you join the sacred lineage of healers. Its an honor to be here because of MUSC’s proud 186-year old tradition of learning and because of your dedication to biomedical education and improving

the lives of South Carolinians.

As I was learning about the history of this institution, I was so impressed that MUSC has been a trailblazer since the very beginning. When it became the 10th medical school in the nation; first in the Deep South.

After the Civil War and the school had dwindled to only two students. It was faculty and students that kept this school going during these difficult times.

And today, thanks to their perseverance and the commitment of so many faculty, students and families in the state of South Carolina, MUSC is a thriving university that is graduating a whole new class of healers.

I also want to mention, particularly being Surgeon General, that I need to commend MUSC for its extraordinary efforts in an area that’s also a top priority for me: curbing tobacco-related illness. As many of you

See Speech on page 9

The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015 5

Meet Vy

Vy Nguyen, RN Department 9West Neurosciences

How long at MUSC 7 years Health care hero you admire at work and why The people I work with every day. Without each other we wouldn’t be able to care for our patients.

Characteristics of an effective nurse Empathetic, a critical thinker and good communicator How do you unwind Spending time with my family, friends and watching favorite TV shows Favorite quote “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside oursleves already: we have the power to imagine better.” — J.K. Rowling

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Visit www.EdHunnicutt.com

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How you are changing what’s possible at MUSC By pursuing my DNP-FNP at MUSC and looking to the literature to find the newest and most innovative evidence-based practices

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6 The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015

Researchers embrace chaos at TEDxCharleston By dawn Brazell Public Relations

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his should be no problem. Smile.

Stay on the red dot. Breathe.

These are some of the directions posted backstage that three researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina ponder before making their debut on the TEDxCharleston stage where this year’s theme is to “Embrace Chaos.”

Michael Schmidt, Ph.D., a microbiologist at MUSC, paces in the background. “I’m like a nervous parent pacing behind the scenes,” he jokes during a break.

Schmidt, who was the first MUSC faculty member to do a TEDxCharleston talk, knows what it’s like. “Ten minutes to convey a complex and life altering idea Dr. Schmidt is very challenging.

To do it with data and authority is next to impossible. The TED process makes the impossible, possible.”

Part of that process is working with speech coaches, unfamiliar terrain for many scientists and clinicians. It’s something Schmidt hopes to change and one reason he volunteers to be a TEDxCharleston coach. He was instrumental in recruiting speakers for this year’s event. Of the 16 speakers, three came from MUSC. It’s no small undertaking. Schmidt estimates it takes about 200 hours worth of work to prepare for the short talks where experts have to crystallize their ideas into captivating sound bites.

This year’s speakers nail it.

The sCienCe of yogiC BreaThing Sundaravadivel Balasubramanian, Ph.D., a research assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, is the first of the three onto the stage.

He tells how he blends his modern biochemistry background with the ancient traditions he learned growing up in India, where he studied yoga with his

Photo by Fia Forever Photography Dr. Sundaravadivel Balasubramanian takes his place on the red dot as the first of the three MUSC faculty who made their debut at this year's TEDxCharleston talks.

The crowd laughs, and some father and other relatives. participants tweet the comment. This He has the crowd take a deep is one reason Balasubramanian and breath and hum, one of the simplest others take the time to do this. The techniques. The packed auditorium at the Charleston Music Hall fills with a TEDx platform, which posts videos of its chorus of oms. “Now, you’ve learned one speakers, offers an international platform to spread a message. yogic breathing technique, and you’re one step closer to your better health.”

If something so simple as yogic breathing can enhance health, he wants Balasubramanian knows this because he measures compounds found in saliva people to know about it. It’s why he makes time for community outreach of those who practice it and has seen programs, and he jumped at the chance how the breathing potentially increases to do the TEDx talk, he says. “These anti-inflammatory biomarkers. activities are as important as scientific “It is not just a digestive fluid. It has meetings and conferences.” proteins, hormones and growth factor Researchers can communicate their – and so on. One of them was nerve ideas and key messages to the general growth factor, which is a protein that public, not only for potential funding helps the nerve cells, neurons, to grow, support, but to raise health and scientific withstand stress and live longer.” literacy.

Yogic breathing has another benefit.

Minding the breath helps control the lighTning, Co2 and a MiCroBe mind. “We all want to control our That’s one reason that has Hal May, minds, but controlling the mind is not Ph.D., a professor of microbiology easy. As the Eastern philosophy puts it, and immunology at MUSC, who has a ‘Mind is a monkey.’ It’s not a normal laboratory at the Hollings Marine Lab, monkey. It’s crazy. It’s like a drunken walking onto stage with a monkey, stung by a scorpion.”

From left, Drs. Sundaravadivel Balasubramanian, Hal May and Peter Tuerk beer. His talk titled, “Lightning, CO2 and a microbe walk into a bar,” isn’t what he typically presents at a scientific conference, but it hit just the right note with the TEDxCharleston crowd.

May is investigating a new field of environmental research: How microbes use carbon dioxide and electricity to make fuels and chemicals. “Let’s talk about the crazy long shots in science,” May says, at the start of his talk. “Why they are not so crazy, and why they are actually so important.”

He gives the crowd a primer on microbes, which can make people sick or well. “And they can also make lots of different things - like the beer I brought out here for example. We can get those little tiny things to make beer, cheeses, wine. We can also get them to produce antibiotics and other drugs, energy.”

At one time all of those things were long shots, he says.

It turns out that in the process of bioprospecting for just the right microbes, local breweries proved to be a gold mine. “It’s not the yeast that makes the yummy stuff. No, this is going out back - the smelly, stinky stuff that comes out after everything else is done. You have to wash the tanks out and all the good leftover natural chemicals go out back into a cistern and the bacteria turns it into CO2 that bubbles out.”

May and other scientists fascinated by microbial physiology and ecology asked the question: Can you take electricity, add that as energy, push that CO2

See TEDx on page 7

The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015 7

Tedx Continued from Page Six reaction the other direction and make valuable chemicals and fuel? The answer is yes, he explains.

“You dip your electrode down into this mess, and you can pull the organisms out because the ones who can do this, they are attracted to this energy source. They are attracted to this electrode just like flies to the light.”

Researchers pull out the microorganisms and have managed to produce different chemicals, such as hydrogen, methane, formic acid and acetic acids. “We ordinarily make those chemicals from fossil fuels. They are valuable commodity chemicals. We’ve gone from science fiction to science fact.”

Researchers are studying what else can be made since bacteria are capable of millions of other reactions. They can produce many more things.

“We’ve now reached the point where this is potentially the ultimate recycling machine. If we consume whatever we’re using - that turns into CO2. We can feed it back to the microbes in the reactor and start to make different chemicals.”

May describes doing the TEDx talk as intense and eye-opening. One of his favorite parts is the discussion period during lunch where he gets to meet people from all walks of life. One of his goals is to stimulate discussion and curiosity about what is happening on the frontiers of science.

“I’m not asking that you become a geeky scientist and play around in smelly stuff,” he says as he ends his talk. “But I do ask that you pay attention to what is going on in science today - what is going on in science in the future, the value of pure scientific research, especially when it comes around to the long crazy long shots. And then find a way to open up your hearts and your minds to supporting such research.”

TreaTing PTsd Peter Tuerk, Ph.D., echoes that sentiment.

A director of the PTSD program at the Ralph Johnson VA Medical Center, Tuerk also is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at MUSC. His goal is to educate the audience about post-traumatic stress

Photo by Dawn Brazell, Public Relations Dr. Hal May enjoys a discussion period during a lunch break with TEDx Charleston participants. disorder, which is not well understood by the general public or by many in the medical professions.

He describes it as a blessing to be able to help veterans and others who may suffer from the disorder, which is marked by three main components.

“Typically people get re-experiencing symptoms in the form of vivid intrusive memories and nightmares of the traumatic event. This in turn leads to immediate physiological and emotional arousal, which leads to immediate avoidance.”

Humans have ‘a gravity to process’ emotional information, but when they can’t, their bodies don’t know what to do with the information and keep it on a loop. Memories are intentionally pushed away, he says.

“This avoidance is absolutely understandable, but it prevents the event from being processed and put away. It’s kind of like having a sock sticking out of a drawer. The memory remains easily accessible and queued up at times, when perhaps it shouldn’t be. Having this traumatic memory always in the queue makes it difficult for people to feel safe in almost any situation.”

PTSD involves an intense emotional event that can’t be processed and placed into a mental ‘file folder’ that helps to

make sense of the world.

“Like anti-matter touches matter and annihilates it, this little bit of unprocessed chaos bouncing around in us destroys or seriously undermines our natural and necessary assumptions about the way the world works and who we are in it.”

Luckily, PTSD is a highly treatable condition through prolonged exposure therapy. Tuerk is involved in running clinical trials and looking for ways to make the therapy accessible to more people suffering from PTSD, including using telehealth and mobile applications.

“Exposure therapy gives people the opportunity in a safe, supportive and expert environment to approach their traumatic memories and avoidance situations for a long enough period of time for the hot potato to cool. Once the potato cools, and it’s not associated with immediate and intense reactions, you can pick it up, examine it, make a folder and put it away.”

Traumatic memories will never be positive, but approaching them repeatedly until they lose their power gives people control over the memories or fear of certain situations that might trigger the memories.

Tuerk says researchers know it’s effective because they measure patients’

distress levels through objective, physiologic, wireless assessments. Having visual proof of getting better is wonderful positive re-enforcement for engaging in a treatment that’s difficult but highly effective, he says.

Prolonged exposure therapy is not new or experimental and works for a wide range of traumas and individuals, yet it’s still not being used as widely as it should. “We have a treatment that we know works and all major mental health guidelines suggest its use as a front-line treatment for PTSD, yet it is not widely available at all points of care so we have a lot of work to do, and we can’t do it alone.”

His call to action: “Help us spread the word that PTSD is a highly treatable condition and that prolonged exposure therapy can be the first stop on the road to recovery. Now knowledge impacts expectations, and my hope is you know enough to expect your life back.”

sCienCe aMBassadors Schmidt said all three speakers did an incredible job of getting their messages out, from May’s message of hope, encouraging the next generation to think big - for nothing is impossible when humans enlist the help of microbes - to Balasubramanian’s message that by simply paying attention to our breathing we can all feel better and potentially stave off all sorts of maladies that are plaguing modern humans.

“Tuerk had such a tremendous message - it is not only possible to treat PTSD, but there is overwhelming evidence that people with this lifealtering affliction can quickly become better.”

The intent of TED is to stimulate discussion, so any time scientists and clinicians can raise awareness of how they can help, it is time well spent, he said.

“They each had a wondrous story to tell, highlighting the wonder that their work offers to those in need. We often take for granted why we do what we do - it’s always good to be reminded that we work for everyone and what happens in our labs and clinics has far-reaching effects beyond the corridors of MUSC and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.”

8 The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015

Teaching Excellence awards recognize faculty F our faculty members will be honored for teaching excellence at MUSC’s annual faculty convocation at the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year, Aug. 18 in the Drug Discovery Building auditorium. The faculty members are: q  Shannon Drayton, Pharm.D., associate professor, S.C. College of Pharmacy, Educator-Lecturer q  Catherine O’Connor Durham, DNP-FNP, assistant professor, College of Nursing, Educator-Mentor: Clinical-Professional q  Carol A. Wagner, M.D., associate professor and director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program and the Clinical Translational Research Center q  Deborah C. Williamson, DHA, associate dean for practice

Shannon Drayton, PharmD., Educator-Lecturer

Shannon Drayton is an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy. According to students and colleagues, she has built an excellent

Matt Poole 843-830-0027

rapport with her students. Many pharmacy instructors ask students how they may improve their lectures, but Drayton goes above and beyond in this respect, devoting entire classes to course improvement and taking her students’ feedback into consideration.

She feels it is important to empower students by letting them know their feedback matters. “I respect my students and feel their voice makes me a better educator,� Drayton said. “Dr. Drayton actively encourages feedback in a way that allows students to see that she truly cares about improving our education and helping us develop into professionals,� said Lindsay Avery and Alyssa Rabon, College of Pharmacy students who nominated Drayton for the Teaching Excellence Award.

Marissa Beck, PharmD, one of Drayton’s former students, called her teaching style “absolutely riveting.� Taking her class, Beck said, “was one of the best decisions of my life. She was such a fantastic and passionate teacher with an infectious, positive attitude.�

Catherine O’Connor Durham, DNP

Catherine Durham is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing. She was the primary nurse practitioner involved in the creation of ECCO – East Cooper Community Outreach – a new NP-managed clinic designed to reach the underinsured and underserved Charleston community.

Durham has served as an active duty nurse practitioner for the United States Navy and is a recipient of the Navy Commendation Medal. Durham is an advocate for veteran-centric content in nursing curriculum and spoke to a national conference about the importance of including veteran content in nursing education. “Dr. Durham’s enthusiasm and passion for nursing makes her a stellar role model and notable educator,� said Gayenell S. Magwood, Ph.D., R.N., department chair and associate professor in the College of Nursing. “She is committed to contributing to student development and her deep sense of passion and

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know, tobacco-related disease will claim nearly half a million lives this year. And MUSC has joined colleges and universities around the country to be a tobacco-free campus.

The university here has done what all of us should do, which is to lead by example. I want to begin today by paying special respect to all the parents, family members and friends who made today possible for our graduates. I know your sacrifices have been great. But I hope that you have already seen, that you will see in the future, that the dividends from those sacrifices will be even greater.

Today, I also remember my own parents and my sister who sacrificed so much to provide me opportunities and enabled me to embrace the American dream. Our story, my family’s story, was a very unlikely one. My family was never supposed to have left our ancestral village in India.

My father is the son of a farmer in rural India and he was supposed to be a farmer, as was I. But if not for my grandfather’s insistence that his son get an education — even if that meant going into debt — we never might have left that village and gone into the world. We also were not supposed to become Americans.

My parents stopped in three other countries, including one under a brutal dictatorship, on the way to get here.

They saved up money and scrounged for information about job opportunities — always knowing that America was their destination.

Growing up in Miami, my father practiced medicine. And my mother, despite not having a medical degree, was an equal and important partner in helping to build and run that clinic. I remember a particular night when I was young. When my parents woke me up in the middle of the night, hurried me into the car with my sister, and drove us all to a trailer park.

What I learned on the journey there, was that my father’s patient, Gordon, who had struggled for years battling cancer, had just passed away. And my parents were worried that his widow, Ruth, would be grieving alone. I will never forget seeing my mother in her traditional Indian sari, holding Ruth on the steps of her home as she cried about the loss of her husband, Gordon.

For Ruth and my mother, their life paths could never have been more different. Yet in that moment, they were

photo by Anne Thompson, Digital Imaging

U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy was the commencement speaker at MUSC’s 186th Commencement Ceremony on May 15. family. Not the kind of family that is chosen for you, but the kind that you choose for yourself.

From my parents I learned that being a healer isn’t just about diagnoses and treatments, it’s also about building relationships based on trust – it’s about meeting people where they are. That was the moment that I decided to become a physician.

For Ruth, and the thousands of patients I’ve been blessed to take care of since then, continue to teach me that the humanity of patients lies in the core of everything we do as healers. It is bigger and more important than everything else.

Today I’d like to talk to you about one of the most important qualities that are required of a healer: standing up for what you believe in. You have now joined a long legacy of healers who stood up for what they believed in when it counted the most and who changed the world around them as a result. Doctors like Elizabeth Blackwell, who believed that women had the same right as men to become physicians. And overcame opposition and ridicule to become the first woman to earn a medical degree in America. Nurses like Lillian Wald, who saw the poor living conditions of the New York City tenements and founded the Visiting Nursing Service to provide them with care. And doctors like my predecessor, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who spoke the truth about HIV prevention despite fierce political opposition because he believed that

science and public health should not be compromised by politics.

As health professionals, we share a singular core value that binds all of us together. And that is an unflinching commitment to improve the lives of patients. This is our true North. And how do values actually reflected in your work, your actual unique vision, this will be particular to you. Your vision may include providing the best possible care to individual patients. It may include pioneering research, advancing medical education, shaping health policy or creating new health care technology.

Your vision may change over time and that’s OK too. It’s also OK if you don’t have clarity in what exactly you want to do today because figuring this out can take time. It will require exploring new ideas throughout your career. And it will require never settling for someone else’s path just because it’s easier.

You might ask why this is so important. Because when you are working toward a vision that is firmly grounded in your values, when you are truly passionate about what you do, you will be capable of outstanding creativity and massive impact. Staying true to your vision and your values is how you can change the world. But to do this is not easy because it risks discipline and then, failure. To translate your vision to a reality takes real courage. As Maya Angelou once said, “Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.” We cannot be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest.”

I believe that that courage lies within each of us. But it can be buried in fear and self-doubt. You may not realize that it’s there until you are tested. This, in fact, was the case for me.

One of my first tests was nearly 20 years ago when my sister and I were building our first non-profit organization, Visions. We had trained one summer a team of college students from around the country to travel abroad to conduct HIV education programs in schools and colleges. But just five days before our departure, we found out that we lost all of our funding. Our choice was to return home — to send all of our recruits home and get jobs for the summer, or we had a choice to find a way to raise $15,000 in five days, which to college kids with shallow pockets, was a real fortune. But we believed in our vision, and we believed in each other. So we took the plunge and started calling every person we knew for support and even people that we didn’t know. We worked day and night, we held events, we wrote letters, we talked to local media and amazingly people started giving. Just a few dollars at a time and then a little bit more. And ultimately together, we were able to raise the $15,000 just in time to make our trip and conduct our programs. That summer, we reached thousands of students through our workshops. We lay the groundwork for an organization that would expand these efforts over the coming years.

This experience taught me that we are capable of far more than we imagine, especially if we are fighting for a cause that we deeply believe in. I drew on that moment many times in my life, when fear and the noise of day-to-day life made me doubt myself and wonder if I should settle for safer paths even if they weren’t about what I was really passionate about.

When I first became an attending physician and finishing residency, I decided to set aside time between weeks of patient care to work on new ideas for new technologies that would improve patient’s lives. And it was my experience and visions that made me keep trying even as my pile of failed ideas continued to grow. Eventually, one of my ideas took root. That of using social networking and information technology to improve collabotion of research in clinical trials. That became the basis for

See Speech on page 10

10 The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015

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commitment permeate everything she does.”

In her role as interim director of the of the MSN/ DNP program, Durham works as an advocate for students to ensure the highest educational standards are met.

“Durham demonstrates leadership, professionalism and collegiality in her interactions with students and colleagues,” said Whitney Smith, R.N., an instructor in the College of Nursing. “She demonstrates her commitment to the college and its students by tirelessly going above and beyond what is expected.”

“She is a natural leader and an invaluable asset to the nursing program at MUSC,” said Erin Whittington, R.N., one of Durham’s former students.

Jameela Goudarzi, R.N., another of Durham’s students, said: “I have witnessed the support, compassion, patience, and high quality care she offers to a diverse patient population. She instills these same values and practices in her students. She maintains a positive, caring, and enthusiastic attitude and truly embraces the role of teacher.”

Carol L. Wagner, M.D.

Educator-Mentor/Academic-Scholarship Carol Wagner is the associate director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship program and the Clinical and Translational Research Center. She is a highly respected pediatrician, neonatologist and leader in MUSC’s Department of Pediatrics. Clinical and Translational Research Center. She is a highly respected pediatrician, neonatologist and leader in MUSC’s Department of Pediatrics. She leads the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, providing continuity of care for a nationally ranked neonatal and pediatric emergency services program. In addition, she personally championed the opening of South Carolina’s first

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building our company, Trial Networks, years later. My experience and visions in Trial Networks also gave me the courage to build Doctors for America a few years later. When I was inspired at that time, it was by very simple beliefs, that doctors should be leaders and partners in helping to fix what ails our health care system. I didn’t know much about policy.

I didn’t know much about organizing.

I certainly didn’t know much about politics. I was often warned by veterans that doctors are frankly too busy, too cautious, too cynical to get involved in helping their health care system. But I also knew that many of my colleages take the medicine that you and I do because

breast milk bank at MUSC, which greatly improves the survival rates of premature babies.

Wagner goes out of her way to meet with her students, offering encouragement and challenging them to push the boundaries of their knowledge. Her students say her open-door policy fosters an environment of openness and transparency.

“Her singular leadership is helping to address and reduce infant mortality and health care disparities in South Carolina while boosting the value of MUSC in the community and the state,” said Harry Blanke, Col., USAF (ret.), a member of the College of Medicine’s class of 2017.

Sarah N. Taylor, M.D., said: “As a neonatal fellow, I did not plan to stay in academia. However my plans were altered after experiencing Dr. Wagner’s passion for science, her intelligence in study design, and her respect for every member of her research team is empowering for junior scientists.”

“Teaching is a privilege,” Wagner said. “I am keenly aware of this gift that is bestowed upon me every day.”

Deborah Willliamson, DHA Educator-Mentor: Clinical/Professional Deborah Williamson is associate dean for practice in the College of Nursing and teaches an honors clinical group in population-focused nursing in the accelerated BSN program. She also mentors undergraduate students in honors research and in a guided independent study. She serves as faculty in the global health certificate program and is a community liaison for a Presidential Scholars group focusing on health

they were inspired by high ideals, and they were inspired by patients that touched their lives. They wanted to practice in a system that served those ideals and so did I. And that’s why when we eventually started Doctors for America, we found thousands of doctors in all 50 states across specialties and ages who were hungry to have a voice in creating a better health care system that could better serve our patients.

As the next generation of healers, we need all of you to have the courage to change the world. Because you are entering the profession at a time of great challenge. We face a rising tide of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Forty–two million Americans struggle with mental illness. And heroin and

disparities.

Williamson teaching philosophy is fundamentally inclusive. “I believe that community members need to be included as partners and mentors in the learning mission along with faculty and students,” she said. “This partnership creates a community of learners where students can gain insight on what skills, services and policies are needed to improve health outcomes.”

“Dr. Williamson’s teaching knowledge is vast,” said Gigi Smith, Ph.D., associate dean of academics and associate professor in the College of Nursing. “Her students are captivated by her ability to convey not only her knowledge but also her excitement.”

Williamson is the principal investigator of Partners in Healthcare, an interprofessional model of chronic disease management, which provides MUSC students important interprofessional experiences in the clinical setting. She also leads a collaborative program with the Charleston County School District.

“Dr. Williamson expects nothing but the best,” said Lauren Pennartz, R.N., one of Williamson’s former students. “She helped us meet her high standards and was always available any time we needed her. She is truly a unique individual. I cannot express in words how deeply her generosity of spirit, time and experience has impacted not only my career but my view of the world.”

“I am lucky to have had Dr. Williamson as a mentor,” said Katie McDevitt, R.N., who graduated from MUSC’s College of Nursing Bachelor of Science program in May 2014. “As I continue on my career path as a nurse and my education pursuits as a midwife, I know that I can reach out to her for advice and support.

She models the type of provider that I hope to become.

She maintains a beautiful balance in her life – she is active in the community, attentive to her patients, a respected colleague, an amazing teacher and a loving mother and wife.”

prescription drug abuse are ravaging small and large towns across America.

Even vaccine–preventable illnesses — that

we thought we had contained — have

See Speech on page 11

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He and his wife, Jocelyn, and children, Alex, Olivia, The $25 million pledge from Jenkins puts the and Ryleigh, are excited to celebrate the positive impact donation total just above $40 million, said Jim Fisher, the hospital will bring to the community and the Furniture MUSC’s director of development. MUSC needs to raise opportunity it provides to continue making a difference at least $50 million in private donations to cover part New Queen Plush 15 inch in the community throughout the years. of the cost of the hospital. “His passion for children’s Mattress set. Will take $225 “We made this commitment as a family, and it has health is both deep and genuine, and he has indicated Please call 843-270-4283 already enriched our lives and inspired us to show our that his gift, incredibly generous as it is, is only the King Size Euro Pillow Top Set support in other ways as time goes on. It’s a beautiful New, will sacrifice for $275 first step in what he envisions as a long-term, working thing,” said Jenkins. “I feel so blessed to be able to be 843-270-4283 partnership with the Children’s Hospital. I know I a part of the new Children’s Hospital. With this major speak for us all when I say we find that tremendously milestone, I feel like we’re just at the beginning of a Furniture Share Rental SHARE RENTAL exciting,” Fisher said. journey that will bring this community together and 3br/2ba Home on large lot in an Old Chas.

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Please call 843-270-4283 month. Utilities Neg. (843)870-2499 a lot of money to raise. And he shared with me his on James Island. $650/month MUSC expects to break ground in 2016 and open King Size Euro Pillow Top Set personal commitment to help get this job done and get includes internet New, willutilities sacrificeand for $275 the doors to the new hospital in 2019 on the corner of this provided hospital built. And for that, I’d like to thank him photos 843-270-4283 Call (843)534-3890 Calhoun Street and Courtenay Drive. It will replace the for all he has done and will do in the future on behalf 28-year-old Children’s Hospital currently located on of the for MUSC Shawn Jenkins Hospital.”

Share Rental Above photo: MUSC employees sport their colors National DonateChildren’s Life Month and Blue and Green Day on April 19.

Above right photo: Other related activities included 3br/2ba Home on large lot in an Old Chas. nbrhd w/dock access. 7 mi. to Dwntn the planting of an apple tree as the MUSC Transplant Tree— of Life aside by kidney transplant casting the unacceptable stigma off Maybank hwy. Close Terrace Thtr,groc, lives and dollars. But we can’t do this shops. Looking to share with med.prof.$1400 patient Everett German, from left, and Dr. Prabhakar Baliga, Division of Transplant month. Utilities Neg. (843)870-2499 that still today prevents so many people simply by building more hospitals and sPeeCh Continued from Page Ten Surgery director, near the Colbert Education Center/Library oncoming Aprilforward 10. from and getting the clinics. Instead, we need to work with help that they need. come back with a vengeance because of employers and schools, with faith–based The Great American Community is fear and misinformation. organizations, civic and local government also where we are called to speak up and But just as concerning, today in to change our environment in ways to speak out against violence especially the America, who you are, where you come make healthy choices easier. As I traveled scourge of physical and sexual violence from and who you love plays too big a across America, I’ve met people who against women that plagues too many of role in determining your health. Being are doing just this. I’ve encountered our communities.

We must build this poor, which affects one out of every schools that are teaching children to Great American Community not just five children, is too great a factor in like fruits and vegetables again. I’ve because we want America to succeed, but determining who is healthy and who visited churches that are transforming because we want the world to succeed. is not. In a nation as big as ours, a their houses of worship into places Graduates, this is your charge. nation that my parents crossed oceans where community members can get Dr. King once said “Everyone can be and borders to reach, that is simply screened for high blood pressure. And great because anyone can serve.” He was unacceptable. These realities and these I’ve met local government leaders who right.

Vice Admiral Murthy and inequalities hurt all of us. They threaten are taking new approaches to designing On my listening tour, my first stop President David Cole during the our economy, our education system, the their neighborhoods in ways to promote was in Birmingham, Alabama and one Commencement Procession. productivity of our workers and even activity and access to nutritious foods. of the first people I met was Ms. Amelia build the Great American Community. our national security. They bend the arc But we know structure alone is not Boykin.

She was the brains behind the The Great American Community is a of the moral universe away from justice. enough. We must also change the social 1965 March for Voting Rights from place where every man, woman and child To put it simply, health equity is a civil and cultural influences on our health Selma to Montgomery.

She helped can go for a walk, ride a bike, play sports, rights issue. choices. There was a time not too long convince Dr. King and other civil rights and move in places that are safe.

It’s a I hear about these challenges ago when it was completely normal to leaders to make their stand at Selma. place where our institutions of higher everywhere I go as Surgeon General. smoke in a plane, in a restaurant or And she was the one person who had a education are models for healthy living From Alabama to Kansas to the in your office. But this is no longer great idea and figured out how to make — giving our young people a foundation Carolinas. And as you take your oaths acceptable in most parts of America. that idea run or in her case, march.

I for learning and a foundation for living. today, I want you to know that our Fifty years ago, car seats and seat belts thanked Amelia Boykin on the plane for It’s a place where the ability to buy country needs you to help us overcome were not a health care priority. Today, training a new generation of organizers nutritious food for your children is not one of the biggest challenges of all — that they are the norm. That tells us that to redeem the promise of America. the privilege for a few, but accessible to of moving from a culture of treatment to culture change is possible. But it takes And I thanked her for inspiring me to all parents regardless of where they live. one of prevention in every community collective action. do this work that is grounded in the It’s a place where we treat mental health across America. To build a country firmly Building a culture of health that is as part and parcel of our overall health See Speech on page 12 grounded in prevention would save rooted in prevention is how we are to

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12 The CaTalysT, May 22, 2015

Celebration of Life Kimberly S. Draughn April 12, 1963 to May 16, 2015 (former editor, The Catalyst)

Saturday, May 23rd at 11 a.m.

East Cooper Baptist Church 361 Egypt Road Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, 86 Jonathan Lucas Street, Charleston, SC 29425

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fundamental issues of freedom, equality and justice. She looked at me for a moment, sized me up and replied with a smile, “Honey, I’m not done yet.” Amelia Boykin is now 103 years old, and she’s not done yet. Truth is, we’re not done yet either.

Class of 2015, as you go forth to begin your lives as healers, as you ponder the great challenges that loom over our patients across this country, consider how you will respond to these calls of action. Remember this, the world needs dreamers and doers. It needs healers who can imagine the world as it should be and have the courage to step forward with open minds, clear eyes and full hearts to transform those dreams into reality. More than ever, the world needs you. So I challenge you to seek out a vision that inspires you: One that helps us create a healthier and stronger America. Standing up for your vision and what you believe in means you have to remain standing even in the face of great hardship. It won’t be easy. But if you build a life on your values and your unique vision then you will change the

world and you will inspire others to do the same. Here is my prediction, 30 years from now, people will speak of this time and this day as an era of historic uncertainty and opportunity into which you’ve stepped as a generation of healers.

They will describe how your courage and conviction overcame your fear and doubts as you built a foundation of health for a nation that is badly in need of healing. They will observe that at a time of great division and polarization that you built partnerships with people in the institutions around you and restore faith in what we can do as a people when we came together. And they will declare that when our country needed help, you the healers of America, stepped up and delivered – leading our nation from a place of peril to a place of promise.

Class of 2015, this is your generation.

This is your moment. This is the future that you will create. All around you are loved ones and teachers who have believed in you. All that is left is for you to believe in yourself. I wish all of you a lifetime of inspiration, deep fulfillment and much, much happiness.

Congratulations graduates!

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