| Message
From The Dean
Focus
on Development
By
Cam E. Enarson,
M.D., M.B.A.,
Dean, Creighton School of Medicine
Vice President for Health Sciences
 Creighton’s
Willing to Lead campaign comes at a critical juncture
for the School of Medicine.
A Creighton medical degree has always been a degree of difference.
That difference is found in our steadfast adherence to the
Jesuit, Catholic mission we pursue daily in the education,
research and clinical care we provide.
To continue that legacy, we must be willing to grow, innovate,
excel and dream.
The School of Medicine is committed to expanding, upgrading
and maintaining our clinical and educational facilities to
acknowledge the realities of the health care environment in
which our students will practice.
A new skills and assessment center will allow our students
to hone their assessment, diagnostic and procedural skills.
Creighton is also committed to keeping medical school affordable.
The cost of a medical education has skyrocketed in recent
years; today’s graduate leaves school with an average
debt in excess of $170,000.
This cost and subsequent debt threaten to put the dream of
becoming a physician out of reach for some, particularly economically
disadvantaged students. It also impacts choice of specialty
and practice location as some students feel compelled to choose
more lucrative fields of practice to pay their debt.
Endowment for scholarships will decrease the School of Medicine’s
reliance on tuition and help ensure the school’s ability
to attract capable and committed students. It will also allow
the school to increase its enrollment to meet the world’s
growing and complex medical needs.
As scholarship endowment will help to ensure the quality and
diversity of our students, faculty endowment is also critical.
Endowed chairs and professorships allow the School of Medicine
to attract and retain talented teachers and researchers as
well as facilitate the receipt of additional extramural research
funding.
In conclusion, we have a future that is ripe with opportunity.
With the support of our alumni and friends, I am confident
we will achieve our vision for a bold tomorrow in the School
of Medicine.
If you would like to learn more about the Willing to Lead
campaign and the School of Medicine’s campaign priorities,
I encourage you to contact Matt Gerard, the school’s
director of development, at 280-5746. I want to thank Matt
for his work on behalf of the school, which is so critical
to our future.
Development
Into
the Future
By Matt Gerard
Director of Development
School of Medicine
 Echoing
Dr. Enarson’s comments, the School of Medicine is at
a critical but exciting time in Creighton’s Willing
to Lead campaign.
The school continues to receive generous support from alumni,
faculty, friends and grateful patients to support the school’s
vision for tomorrow.
In September, the School of Medicine hosted its annual reunion
weekend, bringing together 412 Creighton alumni from across
the country. Alumni viewed the premiere showing of “Seeking
a Bold Tomorrow,” a nine-minute video outlining the
campaign’s initiatives, and received copies of the school’s
case statement, which detailed these initiatives and the vision
for the School of Medicine.
A Grateful Patients and Families Program is also underway
with patients being asked to consider a gift to support the
department in which they were treated. The direct-mail program
will be a coordinated effort between the development office
and Creighton Medical Associates.
If you would like a copy of the case statement, a “Seeking
a Bold Tomorrow” DVD, or materials relating to the grateful
patient program, please contact the School of Medicine’s
development office at (402) 280-5745.
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Appointments
Kavan
Elected to AAMC Post
Michael Kavan, Ph.D., associate dean for student affairs at
Creighton University School of Medicine, has been elected
national vice chair of the Group on Student Affairs (GSA)
for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for
2007-2008.
Kavan will help lead the GSA a total of four years, beginning
in November, serving one year each as vice chair, chair-elect,
chair, and past chair.
Kavan joined Creighton in 1988 and has served as associate
dean for student affairs since 1996. In addition to his administrative
duties, he is an associate professor of family medicine and
associate professor of psychiatry.
At the AAMC, he has served as chair of the Central Group on
Student Affairs and as a member of the GSA Steering Committee.
In February 2007, he concluded three years as a member of
the Careers in Medicine Advisory Committee.
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In
the News
Enarson
on Stem Cell Research
Cam Enarson, M.D., M.B.A, vice president for health sciences
and dean of the School of Medicine, wrote an opinion-editorial
on stem cell research that appeared in the Sept. 20, Sunday
edition of the Omaha World-Herald. The article ran in advance
of a Center for Health Policy & Ethics community forum
on stem cell research, designed to help educate the public
about the Catholic view on this subject.
“At Creighton, we believe the greater good is to advocate
for and support research involving adult stem cells. …Particularly
promising are adult stem cells found in umbilical cord blood,
which remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following
birth. Cord-blood stem cells show great promise in the treatment
of blood diseases, including leukemia and neurodegenerative
diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. They can be readily
obtained and are free from ethical controversy. Unfortunately,
cord-blood stem cells are generally discarded following birth,
despite their tremendous potential in research and treatment
of a wide variety of diseases,” Enarson wrote.
He urged Nebraskans “to become informed on the stem
cell issue and to participate in a dialogue that explores
the opportunities that adult stem cells and cord blood present.
That includes the possibility of establishing a cord-blood
bank in our state. We must challenge legislators, health care
officials and each other to advocate for research and support
in this area.”
Creighton
Hosts Forum about Catholic View on Stem-Cell Research
Two of the nation’s leading health ethicists spoke about
the Catholic Church’s perspective on stem cell research
during a September community forum sponsored by the Creighton
University Center for Health Policy & Ethics.
The forum featured the Rev. Kevin FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D.,
holder of the Dr. David Lauler Chair in Catholic Health Care
Ethics and a research associate professor in the Department
of Oncology at Georgetown University, and Ron Hamel, Ph.D.,
senior director of ethics at the Catholic Health Association
of the United States.
FitzGerald spoke on “Stem Cell Research: A Catholic
Response” and Hamel on “The Lure of Embryonic
Stem Cells: What Should Catholic Health Care Do?”
Dundee
Clinic to Relocate
 Creighton
Medical Associates (CMA) will relocate its Dundee medical
clinic to the former Dundee Hardware Plus at the corner of
50th and Underwood streets.
“Creighton has long been committed to serving the health
needs of the Dundee neighborhood,” said Creighton President
the Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J. “Our move to the highly
visible 50th and Underwood location is good for Creighton
and important for the continued renaissance and revitalization
of this beautiful and historical district.”
The new, leased site will provide more space, additional parking
and easier patient access than the current location at 119
N. 51 St. The move should be completed in Spring 2008.
“We like the new location because it is in the heart
of the vibrant Dundee neighborhood, and it offers 9,000 square
feet on one, main floor – nearly double the space of
our current location,” said Robert Glow, pictured
above, CMA chief executive officer.
Future
Inventors Meet
Creighton’s first conference on “From Inventor
to Entrepreneur: Bringing Your Ideas to Market” caught
the attention of editors at the Omaha World-Herald, which
ran two front-page stories on the event in its business section.
The two-day conference was held in September at Embassy Suites
in Omaha’s Old Market district. The event was designed
to show inventors how they could turn discoveries and ideas
into viable business ventures.
Creighton’s Office of Technology Transfer sponsored
the event. Organizers hope to make it an annual event.
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Research
Hanson
Finds Resistant Strain in Puerto Rico
 In
September, Bloomberg News Service reported on research conducted
by Nancy Hanson, Ph.D., and colleagues involving a dangerous
gene that allows bacteria to resist a powerful class of drugs.
Hanson, Creighton associate professor of medical microbiology
and immunology, found the gene, called KPC, in drug-resistant
strains of Pseudomonas isolated from people in San Juan, Puerto
Rico. This was the first report of such wide dissemination
of the gene in Pseudomonas and the first report of its spread
to Puerto Rico.
The gene allows bacteria to overcome a class of drugs called
carbapenems; they are sometimes a doctor’s last line
of defense against these infections, the article noted.
"People are dying from these infections," Hanson
told Bloomberg. "For some patients, there are no treatments
available.” Hanson and colleagues reported their findings
at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and
Chemotherapy in Chicago.
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Noteworthy
Moments
$40,000
Raised for Clinic
Golf clubs were swinging as 56 players from Creighton University
and the Omaha community participated in the third annual Magis
Clinic Golf Classic, helping to raise more than $40,000.
All tournament proceeds will support the School of Medicine’s
Magis Free Clinic. The clinic, organized in 2004 by Creighton
medical students, offers free health services on Saturdays
to Omaha’s homeless, uninsured and underinsured.
Omaha architectural firm RDG Planning & Design was presenting
sponsor; tournament co-sponsors were consulting/engineering
firms Thompson, Dreesen & Dorner and Farris Engineering.
The Hawks Foundation contributed a matching donation of $15,000.
School
Recognizes Three
Creighton University School of Medicine has recognized three
faculty members for their contributions to the University.
The annual awards were presented at the school’s Fall
Faculty Meeting. Receiving awards were:
 •
Patricia M. Sullivan, Ph.D., (right) professor of
psychiatry, Distinguished Service Research Career Award for
her contributions to behavioral research. Sullivan’s
work focuses on the effects of violence exposure on children,
neglectful parenting, domestic and community violence, and
transgenerational family violence.
• Lee Morrow, M.D., (right) assistant professor
of medicine, Young Investigator Award for his work to improve
the quality of care and reduce complications in hospital intensive
care units. In 2005, the American College of Chest Physicians
selected him as one of the organization’s top 10 young
investigators.
• Bruce Houghton, M.D., associate professor of medicine,
Distinguished Continuing Medical Education (CME) Faculty Award.
The award is given to a faculty member who is actively involved
in CME activities, including the development of conferences
that reflect the University’s Jesuit, Catholic mission.
Sonnino
Photos Featured
 Photographs
taken by Roberta E. Sonnino, M.D., associate dean for academic
and faculty affairs and professor of surgery and pediatrics
at the School of Medicine, are featured in a special traveling
exhibit, titled “Fragile Beginnings. Assembled by the
March of Dimes, Nebraska Chapter, the photographs capture
the pain, suffering, joy and resilience of children who are
born prematurely.
The exhibit is traveling to Omaha and Lincoln businesses through
November, which is National Prematurity Awareness Month.
Foundation
Honors Hanson
Nancy D. Hanson, Ph.D., Creighton University associate professor
of medical microbiology and immunology, was recognized for
her contributions to the fight against cystic fibrosis during
the Nebraska Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s annual “Nebraska’s
Finest” event in October.
Hanson’s laboratory is involved in determining optimal
drug treatments for bacterial lung infections, which cystic
fibrosis patients suffer most of their lives and which can
eventually become resistant to many antibiotics. In addition,
Hanson and her colleagues are investigating mechanisms of
resistance that could lead to the identification of new targets
for the design of novel antibiotics that are more efficient
in killing bacteria causing these infections.
Student is AAMC Scholar
 Creighton
medical student Danielle K. Potter has been awarded the prestigious
Herbert Nickens Scholarship by the American Association of
Medical Colleges.
Potter, of Waimea, Hawaii, is one of five, third-year medical
students nationwide to receive the $5,000 scholarship in 2007
for their efforts to address the educational, societal and
health care needs of minorities.
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Donor
Corner
1974
Class Creates Scholarship
A
Class of 1974 Endowed Scholarship for the School of Medicine
has been established with an initial gift just in excess of
$25,000. Contributions from other class members are being
encouraged.
The scholarship will provide financial support to students
of high academic merit. In selecting scholarship recipients,
preference will be given to underrepresented ethnic minorities
(African American; Mexican American; Puerto Rican; or Native
American, including native Hawaiian and native Alaskan) or
those designated by the Association of American Medical Colleges
(AAMC) as underrepresented ethnic minorities.
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