April 7, 2005
Health Sciences News Briefs
“Coping and Comforting” is a public forum for cancer patients and their loved ones from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, in room 402 of the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Several experts from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will speak. The program is free, but participants are asked to register at the Web site fhcrc.org/events/public or call 206-667-5521.
“Embracing Fitness: A Beginner’s Guide to Training for the Seattle Half Marathon” is the topic for a Healthy Lifestyles presentation at 7 p.m., Monday, April 18, at the Downtown Seattle REI store. Alysun Deckert, registered dietitian and the coach and founder of UW Medical Center’s Team Transplant, will speak. Registration is not required and the talk is free.
Dr. Richard Page, professor and head of the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine, has been named a voting member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Circulatory System Devices Panel for a three-year term. The panel is part of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee, which evaluates the safety and effectiveness of marketed and investigational devices and makes recommendations for their regulation. Page holds the Robert A. Bruce endowed chair in cardiovascular research.
Dr. F. Bruder Stapleton, professor and chair of pediatrics, has been elected to a two-year term as president of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs. The association represents 148 academic pediatric departments in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and coordinates pediatric education for medical students, pediatric residents, and postdoctoral fellows. It also is the academic coordinating group for issues in pediatric health care, research, and advocacy.
Dr. Don Downing, clinical associate professor of pharmacy, has received a Distinguished Achievement Award for Specialized Pharmacy Services. The award, given by the Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management, part of the American Pharmacists Association, recognized his work on pharcaceutical care initiatives including emergency contraception, immunizations, tobacco cessation and diabetes management. Downing maintained a clinical practice for many years as pharmacy director with the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority. In 1996 he became pharmaceutical care coordinator for the UW School of Pharmacy and the Washington State College of Pharmacy. He is involved in pharmacy legislation at the state level and is a resource on health-care policy issues.
Kidney specialist Dr. Bessie Young, clinical instructor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, has been honored for her work on kidney disease in the African-American community. Young was one of two recipients of the inaugural Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Community Action Award. Kidney failure disproportionately affects African-Americans, with a prevalence rate among blacks four times higher than among whites. Young, a nephrologist for Northwest Kidney Centers and a researcher at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, studies racial and ethnic differences in diabetic nephropathy and other diabetes complications. She organizes kidney disease screenings at African-American churches and health fairs, as well as the annual African-American Kidney Health Conference at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle. She also is a member of the Washington State Department of Health Kidney Screening Task Force.
