APSA Newsletter - Phi Psi, 2009 Fall, Volume 4, No. 1

Letter from the Editors

Hung Doan, Shane Stecklein, and Dan Matson, Newsletter Editors

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Welcome to the fall 2009 APSA Newsletter.  We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as this year’s APSA Newsletter editors.  Since its inception, the newsletter has served as an important link through which readers have learned about happenings within both APSA and the physician-scientist community as a whole.  It has also provided an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of our members and promote future APSA meetings and events.  In this fall issue we touch on all of these areas and cover almost nine months worth of APSA happenings, starting with a letter from APSA President David Braun.  We also hear from APSA Membership Committee Chair Marcus Gonclaves, who writes in with an excellent piece detailing some recent transitions and membership plans for the coming year.  Later in the issue, Mercedes Szpunar and Meagan Campol detail APSA’s promising new partnership with the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA).  Also be sure to catch the excellent synopsis of last spring’s annual meeting in Chicago, contributed by June Yowtak.  In addition, we include two articles written by two of our new newsletter editors.  Hung Doan writes on what the near future may have in store for physician-scientists, and Dan Matson reviews When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales From Neurosurgery by Frank Vertosick Jr., MD.  Finally, be on the lookout for the advertisement for the upcoming (and highly anticipated) regional meeting in New York.

We are sure that you’ll enjoy these great articles from your peers.  With help from APSA members and other distinguished contributors, we look forward to building upon the hard work of previous editors as we continue to deliver exciting newsletters!

Sincerely,

Hung Doan, University of Texas Medical BranchShane Stecklein, University of Kansas Medical CenterDan Matson, University of Virginia School of Medicine

From the President

David Braun, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, APSA President

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Hello Everyone,

I am sure this is a very busy time of the year for everyone, but often we find that we are able to do something very positive even during such hectic periods. As you know, APSA has been growing, and is a dynamic organization thanks to the commitment of its members. As a rather new organization, this success is particularly welcome, and it tells us about the enormous potential of both the across-the-disciplines approach that physician-scientists advocate, and that of our own organization to contribute. I have written before about our major conferences, which succeeded beyond even our best expectations. For example, only two years ago, students at Mount Sinai worked with members of the APSA Executive Council to organize the APSA New York Physician-scientists Symposium. Two years ago, over 130 participants from 25 institutions attended the event. As well, world-renowned physician-scientists came to give keynote addresses and lead seminars. In the fall of 2008, at the next symposium that he co-organized, over 250 students from more than 45 institutions, including all the leading medical schools in the Northeast, attended. The event has been able to attract many notable speakers, including Nobel laureate Harold Varmus, Charles Sawyers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Leon Rosenberg from Princeton. These annual symposia at MSSM are not only growing in national prominence and attracting top physician-scientists and ever growing numbers of MD/PhD students, but they are also making a seminal contribution to fulfilling the mission of APSA throughout the United States.

A Defining Year

Marcus Goncalves, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, APSA Membership Committee Chair

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This year will be the most exciting and innovative APSA has ever had.  Last year we made some substantial changes to our association.  The most dramatic was our new membership structure and the start of membership dues.  These dues were enacted so we, as an organization, could gain financial stability and independence.  As expected, we now have a small pool of funds to support travel awards and to pilot some really great projects.  The financial benefit did not come without cost, however.  For the first time in the history of APSA, our membership declined roughly 60%.  Ouch. This year our main priority is to rebuild our membership.  Our plan is very simple: provide the best product.

Healthcare System Reform: Issues and Perspectives

Hung Q. Doan, University of Texas Medical Branch, APSA Newsletter Co-Editor

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As future physician-scientists, the current debate about healthcare system reform may seem distant and at times not applicable to trainees. Regardless of political affiliation and with present legislation still yet to be voted upon, reform will happen. Informed citizens, policy makers, and caregivers alike all recognize this pivotal moment in our nation's history which will shape how current physicians trainees will provide care in the future.

A View from the North: Clinician Scientist Trainees in Canada

Suze Berkhout, President, Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada/Association des Cliniciens-Chercheurs en Formation du Canada

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“So, you mean you can do an MD and a PhD at the same time? [pause] Why would anyone want to do that?”

Regardless of whether you live in Minneapolis or Montreal, it can sometimes seem as though we are perpetually being asked to explain ourselves, and the purpose of our work as clinician scientists and scholars in training.  In Canada, there are approximately 150 MD/PhD trainees in various stages of dual programs; while the relatively small numbers often mean less general awareness of opportunities for academic medicine (and more explaining on the part of trainees), the quality and impact of the research being conducted is world-class.  Across Canada, this work spans the breadth of basic and biomedical sciences, health systems research, population and public health, and the medical humanities. The wideness in the scope of research is activities is matched by that of the geographical distance between trainees—making for challenges in coordinating mentorship, career development and advocacy efforts.

2009 APSA Annual Meeting Recap

June Yowtak, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch, APSA Vice-President

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APSA held its Fifth Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois at the Fairmont Hotel on April 24 – 26, 2009. The meeting was held in conjunction with the American Society for Clinical Investigation/Association of American Physicians Joint Annual Meeting and with the Annual Meeting of the Central Society for Clinical Research and the Midwestern Section of the American Federation for Medical Research. Participants included 245 students from MD/PhD, DO/PhD, DO, MD, and PhD programs from 85 institutions around the nation and 13 students who trekked the globe from Kuwait, France, Canada and Great Britain.

A Promising Collaboration: APSA and AMWA

Meagan Campol and Mercedes Szpunar, AMWA External Relations Co-Chair and APSA Policy Committee Vice-Chair

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We are the student liaisons designated by APSA and the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) to spearhead the fledging relationship between the two organizations for the 2009-2010 academic year.  APSA and AMWA share similar goals and objectives pertaining to women pursuing physician-scientist training and careers.  Both organizations are actively pursuing a collaboration that will strengthen each organization individually while simultaneously creating a reservoir of shared resources and ideas to empower future female physician-scientists and hence improve the scientific and medical communities for all.

Exciting CTSciNet Partnership

Shane Stecklein, University of Kansas School of Medicine, APSA Newsletter Co-Editor

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As aspiring physician-scientists, we should be cognizant of opportunities we encounter in our research, clinical activities, and other endeavors that will enhance our ability to conduct translational research. Accordingly, a network of individuals and a repository of resources that can help chart career paths would be a valuable asset for the physician-scientist in training. Since the primary objective of APSA is to foster the professional development of future physician-scientists, we have recently partnered with Science Careers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to launch the Clinical and Translational Science Network (CTSciNet). CTSciNet is a web-based networking site that hosts a generous body of information for research-minded clinicians, M.D./Ph.D. candidates, and basic scientists who want to learn the ins and outs of translational research. Though in the early stages of development, CTSciNet will

New York Regional Meeting

Jedd Sereysky, Michael Green, Jennifer Miller, David Braun, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, APSA New York Regional Meeting Organizing Committee

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This year, APSA, AMWA, and the Doris Duke CRF program are all helping to sponsor the 3rd annual APSA New York Physician Scientists Symposium, taking place on November 21, 2009, from 10am to 8pm, hosted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This one day symposium is for graduate, MD, and MD/PhD students interested in learning about navigating the physician-scientist career path. Early registration ends on November 9, 2009. Last year's symposium was attended by more than 250 students, and this year's will be even bigger, so register early! Registration is FREE for Doris Duke Fellows, APSA members, and AMWA members. Learn more about this year's keynote speakers, small group topics, and registration at http://nymeeting.physicianscientists.org/

The Newly formed French Association for Fundamental Research Programs in Medicine and Pharmacy offers New Perspectives for French Health Degree Courses

Damien Pastor, AfMPfS Secretary

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PARIS, France - October 5th, 2009 – For the first time in France, students and trainees in medicine and pharmacy have launched the AfMPfS – Association française des Médecins et Pharmaciens de formation Scientifique, an association aimed at promoting research training programs starting at year 2 of medical and pharmacy studies in all French universities.

Book Review of "When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales From Neurosurgery" by Frank Vertosick Jr., MD

Dan Matson, University of Virginia School of Medicine, APSA Institutional Representative, APSA Newsletter Co-Editor

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When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales From Neurosurgery is the story of Frank Vertosick’s entertaining journey from medical school to attending neurosurgeon. Because the book is written as an amusing (and slightly embellished) narrative, and not as an outright autobiography, it’s bound to keep you interested and will rarely bore you. The author has a simple but descriptive writing style and he works to fill his paragraphs with jokes and humorous situations. At the same time, Vertosick does his best to portray the multitude of serious circumstances encountered in the neurosurgery ward.