Centering Pregnancy Program at USA Center for Women's Health Featured in Press-Register

The Centering Pregnancy program at the University of South Alabama's Center for Women's Health was featured in Monday's Press-Register. Centering Pregnancy, led by Cynthia Messer, a licensed nurse and midwife, is a program where pregnant women can meet together for two hours once a month and share issues related to their pregnancy. Messer received a grant from the March of Dimes to fund the program. To view the full article, visit http://blog.al.com/living-press-register/2010/09/centering_pregnancy_new_progra.html

USA College of Medicine Researcher Presents at National Institutes of Health Workshop

Dr. Jonathan G. Scammell, professor and chair of the department of comparative medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, was recently invited to present his research on glucocorticoid resistance at a workshop at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

Dr. Scammell’s research, supported by the National Center for Research Resources - a component of the National Institutes of Health - examines various molecular mechanisms involved in endocrine system regulation. His work seeks to better understand steroid hormone resistance in humans by using a laboratory model that has a naturally occurring form of glucocorticoid resistance.

Glucocorticoid resistance is reduced sensitivity toward corticosteroids and is observed in inflammatory diseases, cancer and depression. A more complete understanding of the causes of glucocorticoid resistance can improve the efficacy of corticosteroid therapy.

Dr. Scammell has been a member of the USA College of Medicine faculty since 1986. He earned his doctorate in physiology from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., after receiving his biology degree from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He completed his post doctoral fellowship in pharmacology at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.

USA Biomedical Library Kicks Off National Medical Librarians Month with Special Events

The University of South Alabama’s Biomedical Library will be celebrating National Medical Librarians Month during October with librarian-mediated exhibits, resource demonstrations and technology tips at all campus and hospital locations.

To start off National Medical Librarians Month, the Baugh Biomedical Library on USA’s main campus will display the National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibit, “Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine.”

The exhibit will be held during library hours Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. A Harry Potter trivia contest with door prizes will be held both at the library and on the library’s website at http://biomedicallibrary.southalabama.edu/.

Throughout the month, medical librarians will raise awareness about the library's services by taking the Biomedical Library to its users at the two USA hospitals and to the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health.

Librarians will demonstrate the library's databases, electronic journals and books, and new mobile technologies. They will also feature consumer health information accessible through the MedlinePlus.gov website, which features over 750 health topics and multiple language capabilities.

The Medical Library Association created the National Medical Librarians Month observance to raise awareness of the important role of the health information professional. Patients and those in the health care community need the specialized services that medical librarians provide now more than ever before.

Please contact the library at medlib@bbl.usouthal.edu or (251) 460-7044 for more information.

Schedule for National Medical Librarians Month 2010
Librarians will be at the following locations:

Oct. 4 - Baldwin Col of Nursing 11 AM - 1:30 PM
Oct. 5 - C&W Cafeteria Lobby 11 AM - 2 PM
Oct. 6 - College of Medicine Lobby noon - 1 PM
Oct. 7 - UMC Cafeteria Lobby 11 AM - 2 PM
Oct. 11 - HAHN Lobby Nursing and AH 1 - 4 PM
Oct. 11 - Baldwin Col of Nursing - 3:30 - 5:00 PM
Oct. 13 - College of Medicine Lobby noon - 1 PM
Oct. 18 - HAHN Lobby Nursing and AH 1 - 4 PM
Oct. 19 - UMC Cafeteria Lobby 11 AM - 2 PM
Oct. 20 - College of Medicine Lobby noon - 1 PM
Oct. 25 - HAHN Lobby Nursing and AH 1 - 4 PM
Oct. 27 - College of Medicine Lobby noon - 1 PM

Next Week's DSS - Dr. Michael Jay

The next Distinguished Scientist Seminar at the USA College of Medicine will be presented by Dr. Michael Jay, the Fred N. Eshelman Distinguished Professor in molecular pharmaceutics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His seminar, titled "Commercialization of University-Based Research: One Professor’s Sojourn," will take place Oct. 7, 2010, at 4 p.m. in the Medical Sciences Building auditorium.

Dr. Jay’s research is centered on the interface between the pharmaceutical and nuclear sciences. They involve the application of pharmaceutical approaches to solve problems related to nuclear imaging and therapy, as well as the use of radioanalytical approaches to solve problems encountered in the development of novel formulations and drug delivery systems.

In addition, Dr. Jay is involved in patent and entrepreneurial activities and is the co-founder of two start-up companies, Cherry Orchard Products LLC and Capture Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Dr. Jay received his bachelor of science degree in pharmacy at the State University of New York at Buffalo and completed his doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Kentucky.

For more information on Dr. Jay’s research, visit http://pharmacy.unc.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/michaeljay.