Melissa Osborn, CRNA, M.S.N.A., a 2008 graduate of the (Westbrook) College of Health Profession's School of Nurse Anesthesia, is the lead author on a recently published article on the pharmacology of the opioid antagonist nalmefene. The article, entitled "In vivo characterization of the opioid antagonist nalmefene in mice," was published in the journal Life Sciences. The work was conducted in the laboratory of Edward Bilsky,Ph.D., in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Osborn previously received the  American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Outstanding Student Researcher award in 2008 and will be featured in the AANA's June 2010 publication, "Discoveries of Distinction." Co-authors also included Denise Giuvelis, Alex Skorput and John Lowery, all three of whom are alumni of the College of Arts and Sciences. Osborn is currently a  CRNA Yakima, Washington. Lowery is the first candidate for a combined D.O./Ph.D. degree from UNECOM and the University of Maine.

Dr. Michael Wiles and Dr. Kashif Ahmad, both students in the MMEL program, along with a colleague at Northwestern Health Sciences University, recently published a textbook of dermatology for chiropractic students and chiropractors (Wiles M, Williams J, Ahmad K.  Essentials of Dermatology for Chiropractors.  Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2010).  This is a full-color reference with over 200 photos and illustrations. In addition to chapters on skin physiology, pathology, and common conditions, it includes chapters on skin wellness, and natural and complementary therapeutics. Chapters are supplements with case studies with discussion questions and self-assessment questions.

 

The March 2, 2010 Portland Press Herald reported that six of Maine's small colleges made the NCAA Division III basketball tournaments, including the UNE women's team, which was the focus of the opening of the story. The UNE women won The Commonwealth Coast Conference title. Coach Anthony Ewing and team members Katie Diggins and Margo Russell were interviewed. UNE plays Western Connecticut State in the first round at Bowdoin on Friday.

The March 1, 2010 edition of the Sun Journal (Lewiston) profiled Mustaf Shariff, a UNE medical biology major, whose family moved to Maine from a refugee camp in Kenya. Shariff graduted from Edward Little High School and plans to attend medical school after graduating from UNE. In between his studies, Shariff said he's working on a mentor program, U-Lead, to have Somali college graduates mentor younger students. “We can be the doctors walking at Central Maine Medical Center, the engineers building city halls, the lawyers.”

The Portland Press Herald interviewed women's basketball team player Katie Diggins and Coach Anthony Ewing following the team's victory over Salve Regina on Thursday, Feb. 25, when UNE's women were one game away from their 2010 The Commonwealh Coast Conference Championship, defeating Regis on Feb. 27th. "Just to have this as my senior year, for all of us, this is the coolest feeling ever," Diggins said. "I can't even describe it, it's so awesome."  The TCCC championship gave the women a berth in NCAA Division III tournament. In addition WMTW 8 Sports ran clips from the Salve Regina game.

This winter, many of the second year physical therapy students took advantage of an opportunity to volunteer within the community at Portland Ballet on Forest Avenue. Easter Seals of Maine has collaborated with Portland Ballet to offer classes to children with disabilities. The classes were attended by 8 girls ranging from 6-10 in age and took place on Saturday mornings for six weeks. During the classes, DPT students danced right along with the ballet students and provided assistance when appropriate.  Since the second year students were just starting their pediatrics coursework, this opportunity came at just the right time. All of the DPT students thoroughly enjoyed working with the ballerinas and look forward to volunteering again in the spring.

The Kennebunk Post on Feb. 18, 2010 ran an interview with Doug Spurling, an applied exercise science major, who recently signed a $1.43 million contract to play defensive outside linebacker for the Canadian Professional Football League. Although UNE does not have a football program, Spurling, who plans to graduate in December, explained that "out of high school I had offers for a couple of scholarships at some Division 1 programs but decided to go the semi-pro route because they paid you and I was young and money was a better option. Plus I like UNE."

The UNE College of Pharmacy APhA-ASP Chapter recently conducted the local Counseling Competition and I am pleased to announce that Jina Cha is the winner and Frank Jamison is the runner-up!!!  Jina will be the national representative from our College of Pharmacy at the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington DC.   

The goal of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA)-ASP National Patient Counseling Competition is to encourage student pharmacists in their efforts toward becoming better patient educators. The competition is designed to reflect changes that are occurring in practice, to promote and encourage further professional development of the student pharmacist and to reinforce the role of the pharmacist as a health care provider and educator.

 

Amina Sadik PhD, a student in the Master’s in Medical Education Leadership cohort two, submitted an abstract that was selected for the annual Innovations in Medical Education (IME) conference March 13-14, 2010, sponsored by The Division of Medical Education at the University of Southern California. The oral presentation is titled The Basic Sciences and the Practice of Medicine -Biochemical Bases of Medicine.  Dr. Sadik, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, teaches at Touro University Nevada, College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Michael Wiles, a graduating student in the Master of Science in Medical Education Leadership and Provost of Northwestern Health Science University in Minnesota, will present a poster entitled “Development and early experiences of a unique model for multidisciplinary collaborative care in a student-run clinic for the underserved” for the Western Group on Educational Affairs (WGEA) Regional Conference, April 25-27, 2010 at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California.  The WGEA is one of four regional groups of the AAMC's Group on Educational Affairs (GEA).