the scope, volume ii, issue 1

Nine Schools, One Voice May 2013,

THE SCOPE is an independent publication authored by Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) students and edited and approved by the Rutgers Interprofessiomal Student Congress (RISC) at RBHS. Any views, opinions, and representations presented in THE SCOPE are solely those of its authors and do not necessarily represent those of the leadership,

faculty and staff of RBHS, nor reflect RBHS policy. RBHS does not control the content of THE SCOPE and is not responsible, and accepts no liability, for its content.

The Student Voice of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences – Volume II, Issue 1

Spotlight on the members of the Alpha

Epsilon Lambda,

Alpha Chi chapter, the

Inter-Professional

Honor Society of RBHS!

The Scope WhaT’S inSide?

• Senate & School SGA Leadership – Updated • Editor-in-Chief’s Foreword • Acting Chair’s Welcome • Executive Council Reports • The Scoop: Translational Health Science – What

You Should Know and Why You Should Care! • Hot Topics – RISC’s Pulse on RBHS: Students &

Merger Transitional Committees Poll Results, Rutgers University Senate Election Results!

• Student Spotlight: Community Activities at RBHS – Student Groups are Accomplishing the University’s Service Mission!!

• Student Spotlight: Alpha Epsilon Lambda (AEL) 2012-2013 Inductees!

• Scoping Out: AEL, the Interprofessional Honor Society of RBHS Conducts its First Induction Ceremony!

• Random Shots: Bittersweet Endings & New Beginnings! Going Up and Down Memory Lane in Piscataway!

• FYI: RISC General Meeting Minutes – March 3, 2013

• FYI: Dr. Rodgers/RISC Meeting Minutes, April 22, 2013

The mission of the Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC) is to serve as the official voice of the RBHS students on any and all issues of student concern, to serve as effective advocates for students and their student governments within central

RBHS administration, and to facilitate increased inter-school student activities and involvement.

Medical Science Building Courtyard: The Rutgers Health Sciences Campus at

Newark is a Green Urban Oasis!!

The UMDNJ Student Senate is

now known as the Rutgers

Interprofessional Student

Congress (RISC) as of July 1, 2013

THE SCOPE is an independent publication authored by Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) students and edited and approved by the Rutgers Interprofessiomal Student Congress (RISC) at RBHS. Any views, opinions, and representations presented in

THE SCOPE are solely those of its authors and do not necessarily represent those of the leadership, faculty and staff of RBHS, nor reflect RBHS policy. RBHS does not control the content of THE SCOPE and is not responsible, and accepts no liability, for its content.

Student Celebration of

Health Sciences

Education in NJ: Program and Thank

You’s for the Event Held at

Rutgers University on June 21, 2013!




2013-2014 RiSc congReSSpeRSonS & Sga execS

SGA Representatives – Feel free to contact them and anyone from the Student Senate!!

Legend: RISC COMMITTEES – AA (academic affairs), CS (community service), IA (internal affairs), UA/LA (university and legislative affairs) (see last p. for descriptions); LEADERSHIP ROLES – C (Chair), CC (Co-Chair), P (President), S (Secretary), T (Treasurer), VP (Vice President), PRO (Public Relations Officer), RUS (Rutgers University Student Senator); To contact student leaders, you can find their Rutgers emails at http://search.rutgers.edu.

Chair – Vacant (pending elections)

Acting Treasurer – Shelly Uppal, GSBS ’13, SOM ’17

Secretary – Ashley Silakoski, RWJMS ’14, [email protected], Co-Editor

Acting Chair & Vice Chair – Michael Hayoun, NJMS ’14, [email protected], Co-Editor

ExEcutivE

council

GSBS – Sheetal Verma ’16, Narendra Kuber ’16, Victoria DiBona (RUS)

RWJMS – Karan Shhabra ’16, Michael Dinizio ’16 (UA/LA), Ashley Silakoski ’15 (CS), Sharon Vaz (RUS)

NJMS – Michael Hayoun ’14 (IA), Kiauntee Murray ’15 (CS), Preeya Khandge ’15 (UA/LA), Jeremy Connors (RUS)

NJSDM – Shalom Fialkoff ’14 (UA/LA), Binni Patel ’14 (AA), Nancy Ahn ’16 (CS), Meha Sheth (RUS)

SHRP – pending elections, Christina M. Tesoro (RUS)

SOM – Paul Boulos ’14 (IA, UA/LA, CS), Shelly Uppal ’17 (AA), Osman Abbasi ’14 (AA)

SPH – Myan Colatat ’14 (CS), John Cambridge ’15, Sairaman Nagarajan (RUS)

SN – pending elections, Rachel Robinson (RUS)

School

congrESS

PErSonS

GSBS – Newark: Stephanie Veerasammy (P); remainder pending notification from school GSBS – New Brunswick: remainder pending notification from school GSBS – Stratford: remainder pending notification from school NJSDM: Meha Sheth (P), Rachel Thomas (VP), Misato Fukuda (S), Martin Rabinovich (T) RWJMS: Elliot Sultanik (P); pending notification from school SOM: Kanad Mukherjee (P), Eric Goldwaser (VP), Tina Bijlani (VP), Lindsey Glaspey (S), Kat Toma (T), Smeet Bimani (PRO)

SN – Newark: Shaanaya Kipp (P), Felicia Ellerbe (VP), Marissa Sharenow (S), Pietro Somma (T) SN – Stratford: Stephanie Martinez (P), Harpreet Kaur (VP), Shweta Mehra (S), Lindsey Gagliano (T), Morenike Kuponiyi (PRO) NJMS: Kiruba Dharaneeswaran (P); remainder pending notification from school SHRP: remainder pending notification from school SPH – Piscataway: remainder pending notification from school SPH – Newark: Usman Khan (P), Jenny Lee (S), remainder pending notification from school SPH – Stratford: remainder pending notification from school

http://search.rutgers.edu/

mailto:[email protected]





acTing chaiR’S MeSSage

ediToR-in-chief’S foReWoRd

On to Business Dear RBHS community,

It is with mixed feelings that I write the Chair’s column in this issue of the scope. I wish to congratulate Yuri Jadotte, MD on his faculty appointment as assistant professor in the School of Nursing. Due to this recent turn of events, I have been asked to act as interim chair in this time of transition. The entire senate thanks Yuri for his service as chair. I am delighted to announce his continued involvement as the faculty liaison and editor-in-chief of THE SCOPE.

On to business for now. As you all are aware we have now officially joined the Rutgers family. The legacy UMDNJ Student Senate has been busy positioning ourselves in the Rutgers hierarchy of student government. Right now our future is uncertain, but in the discussions we have been having with the Rutgers University Senate, upper administration at both universities, as well as the majority of RBHS student councils we are optimistic of our future existence. As Rutgers has a university wide senate we have previously proposed a new name for ourselves. As of July 1st, 2013, the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate ceased to exist and in its place is the Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress also known as RISC. (continued on right)

By Yuri T. Jadotte, SN/NJIT/RU-Newark ’15, Faculty Liaison, 2013-2014, [email protected]

I too have mixed feelings about this piece that I am writing in this issue of THE SCOPE. Let me give you the bad news first, although it is only bad when seen from one angle. As of the June 9, 2013 quarterly meeting of the Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC), I am no longer the Chair, nor am I a student senator representing SN at RISC. I stepped down from these 2 roles as my new role as a faculty member at SN poses a potential conflict of interest with those leadership roles in RISC. Having said that, I am still involved with the activities of RISC, except now from the standpoint of the newly created ad hoc position of faculty liaison. I see this new role as a natural evolution of my role at RBHS and within RISC. The other potentially bad news is that in this new role, the scope and depth of my writings will have to be circumscribed to that which is consistent with a faculty member, i.e. no longer will I be able to write opinion articles such as “Anatomy of the NJ Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act: Dissecting the Fascia!” (see page 4 of THE SCOPE Volume I, Issue 2), which provided a student’s critical analysis of the law that authorized the UMDNJ/Rutgers/Rowan merger. I leave those for other RBHS students to write (especially those who are not serving in a dual faculty role), and we encourage you to do so freely and send them to us for publication in THE SCOPE!

Now, on to other better news. This issue of THE SCOPE, like all others before it, is packed full of things you ought to be aware of as a student at RBHS, especially as we integrate into Rutgers and become Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS). From a close look at the meaning, scope and impact of translation health science on your education and practice now or in the future, to the announcement of the early steps in the creation of the New Jersey Health Sciences Caucus, and to the university-wide recognition of the 2012-2013 inducted members of Alpha Epsilon Lambda, the interprofessional honor society of RBHS, you’ll find that this publication continues to be the place to go to uncover what is happening not only with RBHS students, but also with health sciences education in NJ and indeed issues relevant to healthcare nationally and internationally. And as the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate transforms into RISC, we are hoping to receive formal financial support from Rutgers, and perhaps then we can further transform this newsletter into an even more reputable publication that we all can continue to be proud of, i.e. THE SCOPE Magazine. The role of editor-in-chief of THE SCOPE newsletter has been created and will likely be formalized into RISC’s bylaws, in anticipation of this potential evolution of the newsletter. For those of us who are interested in future editorial roles in professional peer-reviewed journals, this could be your opportunity to practice as a student! I especially encourage you to check out the News You Can Use section for how to download the Rutgers and Rowan iPhone/Android apps!! Last but not least, we extend our congratulations to the 2 RBHS students and the faculty member who became part of the Executive Committee of the Rutgers University Senate (see insert after page 5). We hope you enjoy this latest issue!

On to Business (continued from left) RISC will serve as the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate has

done in the past, representing all health and biomedical professional students at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS). We welcome representation from all RBHS schools and look forward to meeting our colleagues at the Rutgers College of Nursing and Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. While we welcome our new Rutgers constituents, we will not forget our friends at the Stratford campus who will be joining Rowan University.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate for all their hard work up until this point. I would also like to ask that the students of RBHS be patient while we transition to our new home at Rutgers. Please feel free to contact your school’s congresspersons or a member of the executive council with questions, problems or concerns. Thanks and I look forward to a great year, Michael Hayoun, NJMS ’14 Acting Chair & Vice Chair, 2013-2014 Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC)


http://www.umdnj.edu/acadweb/studentsenate/links/newsletter.htm




hoT TopicS – RiSc’S pulSe on RBhS:

Poll Results: On Lack of Legacy UMDNJ Student Participation in Merger Activities

Anonymous Student Quotes

“It never ceases to amaze me how little UMDNJ cares about student input. Hopefully the merger will lead to a new precedent”.

“This survey seems rather biased, but I support the cause of getting student representation on the merger proceedings”.

(continued on page 5)




execuTive council RepoRTS

Recount from the Treasurer

By Shelly Uppal, GSBS ’13, SOM’17 Being the Treasurer for the legacy

UMDNJ Student Senate has led to a rather amazing year. The board was able to properly allocate our funds toward an eventful affair. In honor of the legacy UMDNJ institution, we initiated a New Jersey Health Sciences Caucus idea allowing for graduate health science students to network with others around New Jersey.

Our first event took place this month so thank you to those who came to check it out, and stay tuned for future NJ Health Sciences Caucus meetings. A special shout-out to Yuri Jadotte: thank you for all your dedication and hard work that has made this all possible.

A Minute Word from the Secretary

By Ashley Silakoski, RWJMS ’14

Congratulations to the final classes to graduate from legacy UMDNJ schools! For the rest of us, there are exciting times ahead as we begin the transition into our respective institutions. While it appears that we are becoming more divided, it is my hope that the relationships we have built through the interactions of the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate will continue to flourish. Although divided by name and location, we remain united in our goals, passions, and aspirations to further all health care fields throughout New Jersey. The legacy UMDNJ Student Senate (now called the Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress or RISC) will continue to act as a forum and outlet for these common goals and interests, and we encourage your continued participation and suggestions for improvement.

As always, feel free to reach out to me at any time if you have questions about the RISC meeting minutes or materials on our website. Additionally, I encourage you to contact me if there is anything that you think should be added to the meeting agenda for RISC congresspersons and members to discuss in the near future. Remember, RISC is here to represent the RBHS student body, and the best way for us to do that is to hear your opinions and discuss matters relevant to you!

Anonymous Student Quotes (finished from page 4)

“Student input into the merger transition activities does not seem to matter at all, since students have not been invited to partake in any of them. However, I wonder if this is due to the legislation itself, or an oversight by the UMDNJ and Rutgers administrations. Either way, perhaps the latter two are the bigger issues: i.e. lack of student

political voice at the state and institutional level, respectively.” “Students represent a large proportion of people affected by the merger. Why hasn't the schools given us a voice?”

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE Results of 2013-14 Election

Chairperson* (Elect One) Ann Gould, SEBS (F) * Serves ex officio as Representative to the Board of Governors.

Vice Chairperson (Elect One)

Martha Cotter, GS-NB (F) Executive Committee Full-Time Faculty, Camden (Elect One) Sherry Burrell, At-Large Camden Executive Committee Full-Time Faculty, Newark (Elect One) Robert Puhak, FAS-N (F) Executive Committee Full-Time Faculty, New Brunswick (Elect One) Robert Boikess, SAS-NB (F) Executive Committee Full-Time Faculty, At-Large (Elect Two) Peter Gillett, RBS:N/NB (F) Mark Vodak, SEBS (F) Executive Committee Student - Camden (Elect One) [Will be elected in the fall.] Executive Committee Student - Newark (Elect One) Meha Sheth, NJDS (S) Executive Committee Student - New Brunswick (Elect One) Samuel Berman, SAS-NB (S) Executive Committee Alumnus (Elect One) Robert Barraco, Alumni Association Executive Committee Part-Time Lecturer/Annual Appointee Faculty (Elect One) Karen Thompson, PTL–NB (F) Executive Committee Staff Representative (Elect One)

Yuri T. Jadotte

Jon Oliver, New Brunswick Staff

Board of Governors Faculty Representative (Elect One) Samuel Rabinowitz, SB-C (F) Board of Governors Student Representative (Elect One) Joseph Cashin, SAS-NB (S) Board of Trustees Faculty Representative (Elect Two) Asha Samant, NJ Dental School (F) Menahem Spiegel, RBS-N/NB (F) Board of Trustees Undergraduate Student Representative (Elect One) [Sophomore, Junior or Senior elected Senator] Kristine Baffo, SAS-NB (S) Board of Trustees Graduate Student Representative (Elect One) Sharon Vaz, RWJMS (S)

Yuri T. Jadotte

Yuri T. Jadotte

Nine Schools, One Voice May 2013, Page 6



The Scoop: From the Bench to the Bedroom – What You Should Know About Translational Health

Science & Why You Should Care!

By Yuri T. Jadotte, SN/NJIT/RU-Newark ’15 Editor-in-Chief

In my last SCOOP article in THE SCOPE, I left you all with a bit of a cliffhanger regarding translational health science. My goal, if you don’t realize it yet, is to keep you, my peers, abreast of all pertinent issues that the biomedical and health sciences professions face, whether now or in the near future, at UMDNJ or beyond. Now that you have a relatively good understanding of evidence-based healthcare, I would like to delve into this new yet related realm. What is translational research, or translational health science? What should you know? Why should you care about it?

I will begin by philosophizing a tiny bit. Throughout the ages, science (or the scientific inquiry) has gained tremendous credence as one of the ways of knowing, of understanding the world and predicting its behaviors (whether at the subatomic, elemental/chemical, molecular, biological, physical, sociological, or environmental level). Another major way of knowing the world is religion. We obviously won’t go into that: I simply wanted to give you an example of another way of knowing. In any case, even within themselves, science and scientists have disagreements on what are the best, most important ways of knowing the world. The most well-known debate among scientists in this regard has long been about whether qualitative or quantitative research should take precedence in how we study the world. We will also not delve into this debate and its significance for the health sciences at this time: that will be for yet another article in THE SCOPE!

Having said all this, my point is that from the inception of the scientific inquiry as a school of thought to this very day, different societies, cultures and people the world over have assigned (and continue to assign) different values to different ways of knowing the truth about the world. In the health sciences, what this has led to is a fundamental elevation of certain types of “science” onto a pedestal, and the relegation of other types of “science” to the back burner (and sometimes even the denigration of these types of “science” and their proponents). Most of us are well aware of this from the quantitative vs. qualitative dilemma: the former is still on a pedestal while the latter is just now finally climbing out from the shadows. (continued on right)

(continued from left) The unequal valuation of the different types of research

specifically in the health sciences is no different. But first, let’s define the 3 broad categories of health sciences research. Basic research is dedicated to “fundamental theoretical or experimental investigative research to advance knowledge without a specifically envisaged or immediately practical application”.1 In short, it is research conducted without the specific aim to test whether its insights will improve human health. Clinical research, on the other hand, “involves people […] [who] volunteer to participate in carefully conducted investigations that ultimately uncover better ways to treat, prevent, diagnose, and understand human disease”.2 Lastly, translational research “applies discoveries generated in the laboratory to studies in humans (bench to bedside), or […] speeds the adoption of best practices into community settings (bedside to practice)”.2 Table 1 (on page 15) illustrates the components and phases of translational research.

The need for translational research is clear, and has emerged in parallel with the need for evidence-based research (which is but one component of translational science). For example, the multitude of treatment options that are derived from clinical research trials are not always ready to be applied to the general population for a variety of reasons. Often, this relates to the fact that these studies are not conducted in sufficiently representative samples of the general population or did not (and some may say “cannot”) take into consideration the social context in which different patients live. The burgeoning field of translational research seeks to specifically address these challenges, partly by ensuring the conduct of primary research studies that take these factors into account (i.e. this is the feedback loop illustrated in figure 1 below), and partly by deriving methodological mechanisms with which to analyze the results of existing research studies such that they are made applicable to specific subgroups of patients and their needs (i.e. evidence-based research).3 (continued on p. 7)

Figure 1. Biomedical and health sciences research spectrum. Public domain image, obtained from http://www.ncats.nih.gov/research/cts/cts.html)

http://www.ncats.nih.gov/research/cts/cts.html




hoT TopicS – RiSc’S pulSe on RBhS:

Upcoming Topics (for August 2013 issue):

Is there is a student-related issue you want to write about? Do you want more lounge space in your school? Are the cafeteria hours on your campus too short? What is your opinion of the UMDNJ/Rutgers/Rowan merger? Are you having difficulty accessing a student service office? Email us and voice your opinion. That’s what “Hot Topics” is all about. Contact us at [email protected].

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!! Hot Topic: Updates on Student Health Insurance Policy; Hot Topic: Updates on RBHS Merger Issues; Hot Topic: The National Association of Graduate and Professional Students & More Student Advocacy

Translational Health Science (continued from page 6) You probably realize by now that these 3 types of health research are highly interconnected (see figure 1 again). In essence, basic research uncovers biochemical/molecular insights and pathways/mechanisms, clinical research determines their applicability, efficacy and safety for humans, and translational research enhances their effective application to patients. You might be tempted to think that each of these components of the health research spectrum are equally valued (in the eyes of scientists, healthcare providers and/or policymakers) as far as the goal of improving the human health condition is concerned. Yet this is clearly not the case. For example, basic science research has a long history of being highly celebrated and comparatively well-funded. Case in point: more than 50% of the annual research budget of the National Institute of Health (NIH) goes to this type of research, which amounts to more than $15 billion! Clinical/applied science comes a close second at about $14 billion (45%), followed by translational science at $650 million (< 2.5%) and other research activities.4 Evidently, the numbers speak for themselves in terms of the types of research that we value as a society. The NIH, the largest and oldest funding body for health research in the US (and really in the world) has only begun to recognize the true value of translational research. In fact, only in 2010 did the NIH create the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS),4 while the various NIH centers for basic and clinical research have been in existence for several decades. It seems, however, that translational science is finally gaining momentum as a legitimate and valued contributor to how we study and how we come to know and understand the world we live in.

Still, many obstacles remain if translational research is to take its rightful place in the world of science. The main source of difficulty, in my opinion, relates to the conduct of translational health science research: there is simply too little funding for this type of research to have the kind of impact that it could (and should) have on improving human health. This matter of poor funding is especially severe for T2 translational research studies (bedside-to-practice), which if you recall is the step after T1 (bench-to-bedside). T2 translational research asks questions such as: whose bedside? Who is implementing the intervention and are they the most appropriate to do so? How can we effectively move the treatment from the bedside to the bedroom (i.e. families & communities) of the patients, where most of the care is (and perhaps should be) actually delivered? While it is more commonly referred to as “bedside-to-practice” research, I prefer to call it “bedside-to-bedroom” research, as this has stronger connotations of in-depth study, and clearer implications for patient engagement, political participation and social equity. Moreover, the reality is that in many ways, translational research encompasses many subtypes of research that have become relatively popular in academic circles (and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future), such as health services research, health disparities research, and yes, evidence-based research. Table 1 (on page 15) illustrates this fact.

Another major obstacle for translational science is in defining its own identity. For example, while the methods of conducting basic science and clinical research are well established and scientific circles well indoctrinated in them, there is clearly a lack of standardized methodologies for translational research, as well as a paucity of training mechanisms and opportunities for aspiring scientists. This is especially true for T2 translational research (which incidentally receives the least amount funding). (continued on page 18)





HIPHOP at Robert Wood Johnson Medical

School

The Homeless and Indigent Population Health Outreach Project (HIPHOP) at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) is a program that gives medical students an opportunity to provide community outreach, health education and clinical services to the underserved population of New Brunswick and Middlesex County. One of the major HIPHOP programs is the Promise Clinic, a student-run volunteer-based clinic in New Brunswick. The purpose of the Promise Clinic is to provide free primary care services to the uninsured clients of Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen. Clients are able to receive basic health maintenance, screenings, medications and laboratory work. RWJMS students aim to see the same few patients throughout their four years of medical school in order to adhere to a continuity of care model. Aside from participating in Promise Clinic, medical students also recently traveled to Randolphville Elementary School for Teddy Bear Checkups. The students brought doctors’ play kits to explain to kindergarten students what a checkup is like and what the different tools are used for. The kindergarten students then pretended to check their own teddy bears’ health. The goal of the visit was to teach the children about checkups and to make them feel more comfortable when visiting their own doctors. Another community site that RWJMS students recently visited was Piscataway High School, where medical students taught students about HIV and AIDS through a series of interactive games. Through HIPHOP, medical students presented educational health workshops to the Spanish speaking population of New Brunswick, guests at homeless shelters and rehabilitation centers, as well as to other students in the community. (continued on page 10)

STudenT SpoTlighT

VOICES, HIPHOP & SHARE: Profile of Three Student Groups Actively

Accomplishing the RBHS Community Service Mission!

VOICES at the School of Public Health

V.O.I.C.E.S. (Volunteer Opportunities in Community Engaged Service), the student volunteer group at the RBHS School of Public Health, had a very productive year! One of the most exciting accomplishments was the establishment of the V.O.I.C.E.S.-Newark Chapter. They hit the ground running with fall projects which included participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, celebrating Food Day with Halloween Healthy Goody Bags that were distributed to pediatric in/outpatients at University Hospital, a campus potluck and a healthy pizza demonstration for the RBHS community –all to help raise awareness and facilitate discussion about sustainable food options in addition to a fall food drive. They developed a strong partnership with Wynona’s House and raised over $500 throughout the fall and spring semesters to help support their efforts including their annual Christmas party which provides clothing and toys to children and the collection of over 1000 books to celebrate Read Across America! Other spring projects included a Fairmount Garden Project Clean-Up and a Habitat for Humanity Build Project in Newark.

V.O.I.C.E.S.-Piscataway kicked off the fall 2012 semester by participating in a back to school welcome for SPH students with a healthy snack bar. The healthy snack bar was also provided for clients at Elijah’s Promise Food Pantry in New Brunswick. Food Day was celebrated by a week of activities including a seed sale fundraiser for New Brunswick Community Gardens, a nutrition education workshop for the Woodrow Wilson football team in Camden, a screening of SuperSize Me with a healthy pizza demonstration and a fall food drive. V.O.I.C.E.S. sponsored two blood drives in conjunction with the American Red Cross and raised almost $700.00 for Superstorm Sandy Relief efforts from a samosa sale! The AIDS Memorial Quilt graced the SPH foyer for 3 days in commemoration of World AIDS Day. Additional fall fundraisers provided support for Operation Smile and a Holiday Wish Drive for presents for several needy families. Spring projects included a Foot Health Education and Sock Drive for Cathedral Kitchen on Martin Luther King Day, a cervical cancer awareness education event and a screening of Soundtrack for a Revolution in commemoration of Black History Month. In April V.O.I.C.E.S. organized a Beach Clean-Up in Sea Isle, NJ and participated in a Habitat for Humanity build with Coastal Habitat to help with the Sandy aftermath. Work also continued on the second edition of The VOICES Healthy Helpings Cookbook due out for the holidays. (finished on page 9)




claSSifiedS & newS You can uSe

VOICES at SPH (continued from page 8) The mission of V.O.I.C.E.S. is to provide a forum for public health students to reach out to their community by organizing and participating in volunteer community service projects with a public health focus. V.O.I.C.E.S. strives to allow students to gain practical public health experiences, interact with other students of similar interests, and incorporate social responsibility into their academic experience. V.O.I.C.E.S. enables the students of the School of Public Health to have a positive impact on the community in which they live, both locally and globally. (see page 10 for lots of pics of their activities for the year!!) 2012-2013 Student Directors: Piscataway: Alexandra Apostolica, Mike Cestare, Christie Lyn Costanza, Amanda Ismail Newark: Pinar Erdogdu, Kristina Laguerre, Noelle Ortiz Faculty Advisors: Bernadette West (Piscataway) and Teri Lassiter (Newark)

Guess what? Rutgers University has created its own iPhone/Android app!! It is packed with lots of goodies, includes campus maps, links to the live shuttle routes for RU Newark and New Brunswick Campuses, places to eat, and even a way to access your RU student portal! The app is compatible with iPads as well! Enjoy! Download available here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rutgers-university/id494594693?mt=8 Application user image credited to Apple iTunes.

SHARE at the New Jersey Medical School

Student Health Advocacy for Resources and Education, also known as SHARE, is an organization at New Jersey Medical School formed to facilitate student initiatives in service learning through community health and educational outreach programs to the inner-city population of Newark. SHARE supports seven different service groups that provide community service in several aspects. SHARE also runs a non-credit elective course to NJMS students through Voices of SHARE.

This past year, 2012-2013, SHARE organized SHARE Cares day, an orientation event in which incoming first year medical students painted at a house for the homeless youth at Covenant House, played board games and spent time with HIV patients at Broadway House, and read to children at the pediatric ICU unit at University Hospital. In November of 2012, SHARE hosted the 2nd annual “No Shave November ‘Stache Bash” in which students grew out their beards in order to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. SHARE also held two health fairs at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Newark, where medical students took vital signs and referred people in need of medical care to the free student-run clinic at NJMS. Finally, SHARE organized the annual “Club Summit” a networking event for the clubs of NJMS to coordinate their activities and community service events.

Guess what? Rowan University has created its own iPhone/Android app!! It includes campus maps and panoramic shots! Note that it is primarily aimed at prospective students, so it is not that functional for legacy UMDNJ students going to Rowan, but still! The app is compatible with iPads as well! Enjoy! Download available here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rowan-u/id611203553?mt=8 Application user image credited to Apple iTunes.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rutgers-university/id494594693?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rowan-u/id611203553?mt=8




HIPHOP at RWJMS (continued from page 8) In addition to providing community

service opportunities for medical students, HIPHOP organized several events at RWJMS that raised awareness about issues prevalent in the local New Brunswick community. HIPHOP brought in several guest lecturers from community non-profits to speak about the issues their clients face, their programs, and how students can get involved. HIPHOP also organized the first annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® event in which male medical students walked a mile in high heels to raise awareness about domestic and sexualized violence. The walk concluded with an ice cream social and panel discussion with Women Aware, the Middlesex County Rape Crisis Center, and Rutgers’ Office of Violence Prevention. HIPHOP also sponsored a film screening of The Soloist, which was followed by a panel discussion with previously homeless individuals. Overall, HIPHOP has provided inspiration and an outlet for RWJMS students to reach out to members of the New Brunswick community and give them educational materials and clinical services that they may not have access to otherwise. (see page 11 for a visual collage of their activities this past year!)

HIPHOP Leadership for 2012-2013:

Faculty Program Coordinator: Susan Giordano Student Director: Ashley Silakoski General Manager: Jeneba Abass-Shereef Clinic Project Coordinator: Sana Ahmad Health Workshop Coordinators: Liz Kalb, Angel Lee Community Outreach Coordinators: Mike Serzan, Abdullah Rasheed Elective Coordinators: Saurabh Sinha, Na Eun Kim, Alice Min, Leonard Maxwell




Scoping ouT: Alpha Epsilon Lambda, the Interprofessional Honor Society of RBHS Conducts its First Induction Ceremony!

By Yuri Jadotte, SN/NJIT/RU ’15 The legacy UMDNJ Student Senate (now

know as RISC), under the auspices of the National Board of Alpha Epsilon Lambda (the Graduate and Professional Honor Society), hosted the founding induction ceremony for this honor society on Saturday April 20th, 2013, at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway campus. The Office of the legacy UMDNJ Vice President for Academic Affairs and the School of Public Health Student Government Association also sponsored this event.

The Alpha Chi chapter of AEL at RBHS is already a nationally recognized success story. According to Founding President Yuri T. Jadotte, MD, Urban Systems PhD student, SN/NJIT/RU-Newark ’15, it is the first interprofessional honor society in the nation, and had the largest number of founding members and the highest initial membership approval rate of any chapter in the organization’s 23-year history! 66 students were inducted into the honor society this year, with members hailing from all legacy UMDNJ schools! SN Professor D. Anthony Forrester Ph.D., R.N., ANEF received the AEL Medallion of Honor as the guest speaker for the ceremony. A complete listing of the 2012-2013 members of the AEL chapter at RBHS can be found in the insert after page 14 in this issue of THE SCOPE newsletter!

Above. Yuri Jadotte (right) thanks guest speaker Professor Anthony Forrester (left). Below, James Rankin (NJMS ’13) is greeted as a new inductee.




Random ShoTS!

Medical Science Building Courtyard Expose The MSB Courtyard is the green urban oasis for RBHS students on the Newark campus! These beautiful shots were taken from the center of this little mini haven. Starting from the center then clockwise: - The “crop circles”, where students can be found studying or eating lunch on regular basis! - Looking North: Delta Dental Educational Conference Center - Looking West: School of Dental Medicine - Looking East: George F. Smith Library of the Health Sciences - Looking South: NJ Medical School Medical Science Building




Above. Last Executive Council of the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate, before its transformation into the Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC). From left to right: Christine White (2012-2013 Chair, NJMS), Shelly Uppal (2013-2014 Acting Treasurer, GSBS/SOM), Yuri Jadotte (2013-2014 Faculty Liaison, SN/NJIT/RU-Newark), Michael Hayoun (2013-2014 Vice Chair and Acting Chair, NJMS), Ashley Silakoski (2013-2014 Secretary, RWJMS), and William Cole (Member-at-Large, SHRP). Below. “Rutgers Medical School” has been etched in stone at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway since 1966, as that was the original name of that legacy UMDNJ school. It may feel like a return home for the few who can remember.

Alpha Epsilon Lambda

The National Graduate and Professional Honor Society

Alpha Chi Chapter, The Interprofessional Honor Society University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

The Induction Ceremony on April 20th, 2013 was Sponsored by the UMDNJ Student Senate, the School of Public Health Student Government Association,

and the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs

Fall 2012/Founding Inductees

Yuri T. Jadotte (SN) Sharon Chin (SPH) P. Ben Brown III (SOM)

Robin A. Craig (SOM) Regina Yu (SOM) Ryan D. Stephenson (SOM)

Nirmal B. Shah (SOM) Maria Olender (SOM) Adil Manzoor (SOM)

Joseph R. Geissler (GSBS) Raul A. Garcia (SOM) Geoffrey Dreher (SOM)

Andrea DiMaio (SOM) David DiCaprio (SOM) Laura Boulos (SOM)

Justin L. Berkowitz (SOM) Nidhi Sondhi (SOM) Noelle C. Ortiz (SPH)

Tracy Persily (SOM) Patrick M. Zito (SOM) Lauren H. Parkes (SOM)

Sharese N. Porter (SN) Anahid M. Pahlawanian (SOM) Dhaval Naik (SOM)

Jordan M. Kirsch (SOM) Tian W. He (NJDS) Cassandra Dorvil (SOM)

Jimmarck P. C. Cuenta (SOM) Alexandra Amaducci (SOM) Jesse S. Abesh (SOM)

Michael F. D’Ecclessis (GSBS) James S. Rankin (NJMS)

Spring 2013 Inductees

Mark Andrawis (NJDS) John J. Campbell (SOM) Mario Caruso (SOM)

Caren Chapinski (SOM) Bryan T. Ciccarelli (GSBS) Alicia Coyne (SHRP)

Mark Darocki (SOM) Jigar Desai (SOM) Sara Elnakib (SPH)

Pinar Erdogdu (SPH) Ivan G. Georgiev (NJDS) C. Eric Gullbrand II (SOM)

Chetan Jeurkar (SOM) Heidi C. Ko (SOM) Adam Levine (SOM)

Meredith Lindner (SOM) Ashley R. Martz (SOM) Sheel Mehta (SOM)

Mia E. Messina (SHRP) Joshua A. Mleczko (SOM) Jessian L. Munoz-Forti (GSBS)

Eric Nagele (SOM) Pratik M. Parikh (SOM) Barry E. Perlman (SOM)

Vishal Phakey (SOM) Joshua M. Robbins (SOM) Jarrett R. Schanzer (SOM)

Amy C. Schmelzer (SOM) Douglas M. Stranges (SOM) Maria C. Tesoro (SHRP)

Amy B. Triche (SOM) Renada Woodward (SN) Benedict Wu (SOM)

Minyong Yu (SOM)

Founding Advisor

Freda Zackin, Esq., Vice President for Academic Affairs, UMDNJ

Founding President

Yuri T. Jadotte, MD

Alpha Epsilon Lambda

The National Graduate and Professional Honor Society

Alpha Chi Chapter, The Interprofessional Honor Society University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

The Induction Ceremony on April 20th, 2013 was Sponsored by the UMDNJ Student Senate, the School of Public Health Student Government Association,

and the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs

Special Shout-Out to the Following Inductees!

Cassandra Dorvil, SOM Dhaval Naik, SOM Lauren Parkes, SOM

Jarrett Schanzer, SOM Amy Schmelzer, SOM M. Christina Tesoro, SHRP

Yuri T. Jadotte, SN/NJIT/RU James Rankin, NJMS Jessian Munoz, GSBS/NJMS

Founding President 2013-2014 Vice President

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences School of Health Related Professions New Jersey Dental School School of Nursing New Jersey Medical School School of Osteopathic Medicine Robert Wood Johnson Medical School School of Public Health

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65 Bergen Street, Room 1551 • PO Box 1709, Newark, NJ 07101-1709

Phone: 973-972-0961 • Senate Listserve: [email protected]

Contact Email: [email protected] • Web Site: www.umdnj.edu

Agenda – Sunday, March 3, 2013 First Quarterly Meeting, New Brunswick Campus, 12 PM

Attendees: In person: Yuri Jadotte (Secretary), Michael Hayoun, Ashley Silakoski, Shelly Uppal, Shalom Fialkoff, Preeya Khandge, Christine White (Chair), William Cole, Myan Colatat Over the phone: Nancy Ahn, Binni Patel, Richard Arilotta (Treasurer), Osman Abbasi, Kiauntee Murray, Jermey Taylor, Varun Malik, Sachi Shah

I. Call to order a. Meeting called to order at 12:10PM. Christine thanked everyone. She stated that this is

an election meeting. b. Aside: Christine stated that we need to have elections for dental students at this

meeting. She believes that even though there are a lot of interested dental students, we still want those who are not elected to serve on the Student Senate.

II. Roll call a. Christine went over some of the history of the Senate and its structures. There are 24

senators (3 per UMDNJ school). This number will change once we merge with Rutgers. There are also committee members. There are 4 committees, and 2 co-chairs for each committee. All senators are required to be part of at least one committee. Most co-chairs will be elected at this meeting because most current co-chairs are graduating, which is an unusual circumstance.

III. Approval of agenda a. Approved unanimously.

IV. Approval of minutes from December 2, 2012 a. Motion to approve the minutes by Christine. Approved unanimously.

V. Bills a. UMDNJ Student Senate Name Change Pending Merger with Rutgers University: will

discuss this along with the Student Manifesto. VI. Committee reports – quarterly reports

a. University and Legislative Affairs i. UMDNJ’s Last Ball: Shelly states that there has been a lot of confusion on this

event. She met with the Stratford Deans, and they believe that it should be scaled down, with the Senate working with the President's office, to do a cocktail reception event. She has spoken to several schools, and they have volunteered to donate $500 each, and the Deans would donate their time and talent. She also said that we can't call the event "UMDNJ's Last Ball", to avoid looking to the past and instead looking to the future. She asked for assistance from any student, especially from UMDNJ-New Brunswick. Christine asked what the function of the event would be (a dance? etc?). Shelly stated that it would be up to us to decide. We are aiming for end of May or June. Shelly also wants to ask a representative from each school to advertise to their school/campus.

ii. Aside: Christine discussed the purpose this committee, including dealing with tuition hikes, lobbying training sessions, etc, and that we are looking for Co-Chairs.



http://www.umdnj.edu/


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b. Internal Affairs i. Mike stated that there isn't a whole lot to report on IA matters, but we will

discuss the Student Manifesto. New senators, please contact him at [email protected] for discussion of the rules of being a senator.

ii. Issue with school selection of senators: Bill stated that he got in touch with the SHRP Student Leadership Council and the faculty in student affairs. He has not received a positive response regarding SHRP's participation with the Senate, and he believes that the merger uncertainty has left SHRP unwilling to fully participate. Shelly brought up the fact that GSBS Stratford does not have a student government, which is a problem. Christine also brought up the fact that some of this uncertainty may be due to SHRP's academic structures (such as numerous online programs, and a large number of students who are not NJ-based).

iii. Alternative to electing senators: Christine stated that we usually ask that each school student government elect their 3 senators. Christine proposed that we should have a general call for all schools to come to the senate meeting and have elections there for who can be a senator if the standard process does not yield 3 senators. Bill agrees that this may be a valid alternative. Yuri mentioned that IA should work on a concrete plan for this. IA will meet about that prior to the next meeting.

iv. Aside: Christine clarified that the role of IA is to deal with Senate best practices, how to connect everyone via public relations, rules for being Senators, etc.

c. Community Service i. Updates: Rich said to reach out to the committee. Kiauntee reports that she

was able to direct students and others who had items for Sandy to various places to bring them. They also have not gotten any applications for CS grants. Christine said she got one application, but we need to work on emailing out a reminder to all students for the application process, and at the next meeting we can vote on the proposals we receive.

ii. Aside: Christine clarified that CS awards these grants for projects that span several schools. This committee also spearheads other service projects that span multiple schools, such as the 2012-2013 Sandy relief efforts at UMDNJ.

iii. Update on the Newark campus gardening project: William Mallon received an alumni service grant for this campus beautification project. He will have a meeting for further planning for this project on March 13 at NJMS. Christine will send out an email to everyone once Will sends us the details.

d. Academic Affairs i. Updates: Not much to report, other than that the planning for the AEL

ceremony on April 20th is going well, although the setup of AV services for this event are pending. Jermey also stated that he and Varun are graduating, and they would like to see new co-chairs elected for this committee.

ii. Aside: Christine went over the duties of this committee, including working on the UMDNJ excellence awards (which is good for Senate publicity because it is the only opportunity for faculty to get awards from students university-wide), disciplinary procedures at UMDNJ and issues of fairness, as well as the






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interprofessional grand rounds, which have not yet been brought to the Newark and New Brunswick campuses.

iii. AEL progress report: Yuri gave a brief overview of AEL. He discussed the details of the April 20th induction ceremony. Information on AEL and the Spring 2013 application cycle was sent out recently to all students at UMDNJ.

VII. Officer reports a. Chair

i. Senator committee selections: Christine stated that we have a UMDNJ website but we don't really use it. You can google our real website by searching for "UMDNJ Student Senate", and it contains all updated files, minutes, or anything that you might want to know about the Senate.

ii. Meeting with UMDNJ President Rodgers: Christine stated she met with her, and she agreed to meet with the Senate prior to the start of the merger, particularly with regards to any updates on the merger for students. All are welcomed, especially future co-chair and executive committee members.

b. Vice Chair: Paul is not present. c. Secretary

i. The 2012 Student Manifesto: Christine discussed the background of this document, and how it is a proposed guide for how the Senate is to merge with Rutgers and Rowan. This document has been proposed to all Student Councils, and many have approved and signed it. Mike mentioned whether or not we should include Cooper as well as SOM. Osman mentioned that SOM would like to have some involvement in the Senate, but SOM would not have decision-making capacity in the Senate. Yuri mentioned that we should work on the exact language to incorporate SOM on an unofficial basis and decide at the next meeting. Bill reminded everyone that the Student Manifesto leaves room for amendments so we should vote on it. Yuri agrees and stated that the new executive council will need this document approved by the Senate in order to approach Rutgers and UMDNJ central administration to discuss its content.

ii. Christine made a motion for the Senate to vote on the manifesto as is. Motion approved unanimously.

iii. The Scope: Yuri stated that it is currently not ready. The list of topics and content are set, but it will be ready within a week or so.

d. Treasurer i. Updates: including pending charges, the current balance is $3838. It is likely to

go down to about $3000 after all community service grants. There is a concern for what will happen with the funds. Christine stated that we will need to discuss this with President Rodgers.

VIII. Public sector a. The Zombie Run Fundraiser: this event is being hosted by SPH students on April 13th.

They are looking for other schools to get involved. The event will be at Thompson Park in Jamesburg. Mike asked the representative to send all the information to the Senate so we can see what is needed from us and for dissemination to all schools, and Yuri asked for the flyer so he can put it in the Scope newsletter.

IX. Elections a. Outstanding Senator positions





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i. Christine mentioned the breakdown of schools that have senators for next year: NJMS (3), GSBS (2), SN (2), SPH (1), SOM (3), RWJMS (3), SHRP (0). NJDS will need to have elections at this meeting, as there are many students interested.

1. Mike went over the proceedings of how these elections should happen. 2. After nominations and deliberations, the new NJDS senators are:

Shalom, Nancy Ahn, and Binni Patel. b. Senate Executive Board

i. Chair: Mike nominated Yuri for chair, Christine seconded. Motion approved unanimously.

ii. Vice Chair: Mike discussed the roles of the position. Yuri nominated Mike for Vice Chair. Christine seconded. Motion approved unanimously.

iii. Secretary: Rich proposed a motion to suspend the rule that someone has to be senator to run for a position, because he would like to like to nominate Sachi. Mike clarified that you do not have to be a senator, and that you only have to be a member, so the motion we need to make is to suspend the rule that requires senate experience prior to running for an executive position. Yuri motioned to suspend this rule, Mike seconded. Motion approved unanimously. Ashley Silakoski was nominated for this position by Yuri, seconded by Christine. Motion approved unanimously.

iv. Treasurer: Shelly nominated herself for the position, and Yuri seconded. Yuri also nominated Shalom, because Shelly may have to leave the Senate since she is part of SOM. After a discussion on the fate of the position after July 1 since Shelly will no longer be an official representative, Shalom still declined. Shelly was approved unanimously, and the Senate agreed that the position will be open for elections again after July 1, 2013.

c. Committee Co-Chairs i. University/Legislative Affairs: Varun nominates Shalom, Prya nominates

herself, George P. nominated himself via email. All were seconded. Shalom and Prya are approved via consensus.

ii. Community Service: Rich nominates Nancy, Varun nominates Mayan, George P. nominated himself via email. All were seconded. Nancy and Mayan are approved via consensus.

iii. Internal Affairs: Christine nominates Sachi. Motion seconded, approved unanimously.

iv. Academic Affairs: Shalom nominates Binni. Motion seconded, approved unanimously.

X. Adjournment a. Meeting adjourned at 3:20 PM.




Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress

RISCInvites you to

Hike For a CausePalisades Interstate Park

Sunday August 18 9:30 amPeanut Leap Cascade

Sunday August 25 9:30 amCape Fly away Loop

Saturday September 21 9:30 amDock of Englewood Boat

Proceeds to Benefit University Hospital

Department of Pediatrics

for more informationhttp://[email protected]

http://www.njpalisades.org/

http://www.njpalisades.org/




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MINUTES-- UMDNJ Student Senate Meeting with Dr. Rodgers

Agenda – Monday, April 22, 2013

I. Introduction of New Executive Board and Committee Co-Chairs

a. In attendance: Dr. Rodgers, Lacretia Caldwell, Yuri Jadotte (Incoming Chair), Christine

White (Outgoing Chair), Michael Hayoun (Vice Chair), Ashley Silakoski (Secretary),

Jermey Taylor, William Cole, Shalom Fialkoff, Nancy Ahn, Binni Patel, Sachi Shah

b. Meeting called to order at 5:15PM.

II. Integration Updates (from Dr. Rodgers)

a. 69 days to go! Expected to be seamless for students. Rutgers will maintain “Banner

system” for employees and student records (no disruption with IT switch). Transition

weekend there will be cosmetic changes including new uniforms, white coats, etc. with

new logo. Students shouldn’t feel any different, labels will change but faculty and staff

will remain the same. Still working on figuring out back office things including finance

and purchasing, but students shouldn’t feel the impact of this. Rutgers will still need to

figure out how to deal with cases of already taken username/alias.

III. Integration - Student Reference Cards

a. Goal is to preemptively identify student questions and put all the answers in one place.

Also want to have the information on the website in case students misplace card

(Student Senate and University website). We should collect questions and then submit

them all at one time. Public Affairs SVP will be assisting with the dissemination of this

information.

b. Christine will submit the list of questions we have already compiled via email thread.

IV. Student Manifesto/Recommendations to Rutgers for UMDNJ Student Senate

a. Yuri stated that Dr. Barchi has submitted the manifesto to Dr. Malloy, Interim Provost

for RBHS. Dr. Rodgers doesn’t believe this document will be a priority for Rutgers until

after day 1 of the merger, and it will probably be addressed after that date. Dr.

Rodgers doesn’t believe that there will be a problem with establishing RISC within

RBHS.

b. Dr. Rodgers stated that the UMDNJ Student Senate has never been approved and added

to the bylaws. Originally it was intended to re-write the bylaws to reflect the existence

of the UMDNJ Student Senate but then this has now become a moot point.





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V. Celebrating health sciences in NJ - a UMDNJ social event

a. Originally began as an idea from the Stratford campus. Goal of the event is to bring

students from all of the different health professions together for a celebration and

networking event—Celebrating Health Sciences in NJ.

b. Ideal date would be middle of June, before the merger but after end of year exams.

Venue still in question but we are looking into locations in New Brunswick. We would

provide appetizers and light food (not a sit down meal) for students, no guarantee of

food. Want to invite SGAs, Deans, and interested students. We may want to invite

Rutgers health sciences faculty and administrators.

c. Dr. Rodgers is currently working on a team planning an “End of UMDNJ Celebration.”

Should touch base with Public Affairs SVP Julane Miller-Armbrister. There will be

events on all of the different campuses, intended to involve students. She will get us

information on what is currently being planned. She is concerned that Robert Wood

Johnson may not be interested in our event, and we should poll before having the

event in that area. May want to have it in the student area of the Research Tower, may

get more interested Rutgers students.

VI. UMDNJ Student Senate Portal Group - access to core server/virtual storage space

a. We have a Google website, but it is not our official website. Yuri mentioned that it

would be helpful for the Student Senate to have access to virtual storage space for

official documents related to the Senate.

b. Lacretia clarified that student senate portal exists and was created a couple years back

and it seems information wasn’t passed from Chair to Chair within the Student Senate.

Will need to have IT go back in and reboot/reset passwords so that the Senate can once

again access the portal.

VII. Miscellaneous

a. AEL first induction ceremony was held at RWJ on Saturday April 20th. It was very

successful and about 60 people attended.

b. Tuition will continue to rise. RBHS will not likely be on the same tuition raise schedule

as the undergraduate programs. Variability in tuition changes is likely to continue.

c. Meeting adjourned at 6:15PM.







Translational Health Science (continued from page 7) So what can you do about this? What message should you take away here? First, note that you’ve already done quite a lot simply by reading this far into this article in our newsletter! It tells us that you are intrigued by this phenomenon of disparity in the valuation of the types of research, and that you may be interested in conducting translational research yourself. As far as what you can do, if you do nothing else after reading this article, at the very least try to develop an appreciation for the definition and significance of both T1 and T2 translational research.

You should also recognize that the different healthcare professions themselves are at different stages regarding their appreciation for translational health science, and even for the different phases of translational health science. For example, Medicine (and by this I mean attending physicians, physician-scientists, residents, medical students, etc) is clearly ahead in its appreciation for T1 translational research. Mention “bench-to-bedside” research and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the scientific/educational circle of Medicine who does not know or at least have some idea of what you are referring to.

On the other hand, Nursing (and by this I mean nurse leaders, practitioners, advance practice nurses, nursing students, etc), believe it or not, is also ahead, but namely in its appreciation of T2 translational research. Mention evidence-based practice or evidence-based research and you’d also be hard-pressed to find someone in the scientific/educational circle of Nursing who does not know or at least have some idea of what you are referring to. And yet despite the fact that these are just phase 1 and phase 2 of the same spectrum of research (i.e. translational health science/research), few are those in either discipline who understand the full scope of these terms when you flip them around and try to communicate with the other profession. Such is the sad state of scientific research (or rather of its awareness across and valuation by different health professions) in the 21st century USA! Fortunately, interprofessionalism is beginning to breakdown some of these barriers (for a very brief overview of interprofessionalism, check out my article in THE SCOPE Volume I, Issue 1).

On a separate but related note, Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC) is actively doing its part in helping to break down those barriers and “silos”. The regular publication of this newsletter alone is evidence enough of this. It is something that neither the legacy UMDNJ Faculty Senate nor the Rutgers University Senate is doing, and we are accomplishing it without a budget on a purely voluntary basis. As we, the legacy UMDNJ Student Senate, continue rebranding ourselves as RISC, we are embedding within our very core the essences of interdisciplinary collaboration, which consist of an appreciation for the value of collaboration/team work across disciplines, respect for other health professions, appropriate interpersonal communication, and embracement of the values/ethics of patient-centered care, which are the 4 acknowledged pillars of interprofessionalism in the US.5 (finished on page 16)

(continued from page 7) Table 1. Phases of Translational Research.+ Phase Colloquial

Connotations Definition Common Study Designs & Methodologies Involved

T1 T1 – “Bench to Bedside”

First phase of translational research, or “Bench to Bedside,” moves a basic discovery into a clinical application

Phase V of randomized controlled clinical trials (Phase I-IV are considered part of clinical research)

T2 T2 – “Bedside to Bedroom”*

“Bedside to Practice” research provides evidence of the value of taking the basic discovery in the clinical setting

Epidemiological studies, additional primary research, systematic reviews, meta-analysis

T3 Research that moves the evidence-based guidelines developed in phase 2 into health practice

Dissemination, implementation, patient engagement

T4 Research to evaluate the “real world” health outcomes of the original T1 development

Program evaluation, analysis of clinical databases and networks, epidemiological studies

*This is my own term and I make no claim as to its current use in scientific/academic circles.

+Table phases and definitions derived from the University of Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research. http://www.michr.umich.edu/about/clinicaltranslationalresearch

http://www.umdnj.edu/acadweb/studentsenate/documents/studentSenateNewsletter_vo1.pdf

http://www.michr.umich.edu/about/clinicaltranslationalresearch




Translational Health Science (finished from page 16) Finally, the most active thing you can do is to advocate (from your classrooms to your eventual clinics/workplaces) for equal consideration being given to all stages of healthcare research: i.e. not just basic science, or clinical science, but also T1 and T2 translational research. In fact, I challenge that all biomedical and health science research endeavors that do not eventually reach the T2 stage are of least value to society and to improving the general well-being of human populations. Notice that I did not say of “no value” as that would be a blatant lie, akin to the type of propaganda that has for so long led to the devaluation of scientific ways of knowing, but to say of “least value” is in my mind quite accurate.

For example, with regards to improving the human health condition, what is the point of discovering that the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are directly correlated with certain types of cancers (i.e. a basic science insight), and that HER2 receptors (the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 or erbB2) can be modulated/influenced by certain drugs to curb the severity (or even potentially cure) breast cancer (i.e. a clinical science insight), if we don’t investigate and solve the problem of African American women being less likely to receive appropriate care for breast cancer than women of all other “races” in the US, even when controlling for potential confounders such as socioeconomic status and health literacy (a translational science insight)? How does knowing that sickle cell disease is due to a person having two copies of a mutation in the gene for hemoglobin (i.e. a basic science insight), and that inappropriate opioid use in sickle cell patients can actually lead to hyperalgesia (or increased sensitivity to pain) (i.e. a clinical science insight) help society or patients, if we fail to recognize that a team-based approach to pain management is demonstrably and by far the most effective way to deal with pain crises for these patients (i.e. a transitional science insight)?

The fact that simultaneously so little is known about how we effectively move treatments from the bench to the bedside, and from the bedside to the bedroom, should be a wake-up call for our society to re-evaluate its research priorities, and indeed this seems to be happening, slowly but surely.6 The emergence of a national federal funding agency such as the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and its emphasis on patient engagement, the creation of NCATS at the NIH, recent calls by different health professions to embrace translational research,7 and the increasingly greater emphasis on evidence-based research as an integral part of many of the proposal funding announcements of all the major health research agencies, all suggest that the direction our nation is taking is the right one.

On a closing note, pay attention to the fact that that Rutgers and Rowan, our new partners in academia, are increasingly talking about “translational research”, “patient outcomes research”, “evidence synthesis”, “dissemination”, “patient engagement” and “interprofessionalism”, all of which hint at translational health science. As colleagues pursuing degrees and careers in the biomedical and health sciences, I encourage you to keep an eye out on these trends both at RBHS and beyond. Translational science needs to be embraced and equally valued as one of the 3 spokes in the wheel of knowledge for the health sciences. Efficient, effective and equitable relief of human suffering from diseases of the mind and body, which is our collective calling as healthcare professionals, demands no less. References 1. International Council for Science. Accessed on June 24, 2013. http://www.icsu.org/publications/icsu-position-

statements/value-scientific-research. 2. University of Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research. Access on June 24, 2013.

http://www.michr.umich.edu/about/clinicaltranslationalresearch. 3. Woolf SH. The meaning of translational research and why it matters. JAMA. 2008;299(2):211-3. 4. Congressional Research Service. Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2013. Accessed on June 24,

2013. https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42410.pdf. 5. Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative

Practice. Washington, D.C.: Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2011. Accessed on June 24, 2013. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/ipecreport.pdf.

6. Zerhouni EA. Translational and Clinical Science — Time for a New Vision. New England Journal of Medicine. 2005;353(15):1621-3.

7. Brekke JS, Ell K, Palinkas LA. Translational Science at the National Institute of Mental Health: Can Social Work Take Its Rightful Place? Research on Social Work Practice. 2007;17(1):123-33.

http://www.icsu.org/publications/icsu-position-statements/value-scientific-research

http://www.icsu.org/publications/icsu-position-statements/value-scientific-research

http://www.michr.umich.edu/about/clinicaltranslationalresearch

https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42410.pdf

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/ipecreport.pdf

The Student Senate University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)

To be known on July 1, 2013 as

The Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC)

Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS)

We thank all students, faculty, staff and speakers who made this event possible, and we look forward to further collaboration with you all at Rutgers, Rowan,

and throughout the state of New Jersey.

Student Celebration of Health Sciences Education in New Jersey

Friday June 21st, 2013, 7-9:00 PM

Multipurpose Room A

Busch Campus Center, Rutgers University

1. Introduction – Senator & Treasurer Shelly Uppal 2. Introduction of Guest Speaker – Senator, Vice Chair & Acting Chair Michael Hayoun 3. Guest Speaker’s Remarks – Dr. Christopher J. Molloy, PhD, RPh, Interim Provost, RBHS 4. Presentation of Guest Speaker Award - Senator, Vice Chair & Acting Chair Michael Hayoun 5. Introduction of Guest Speaker – Faculty Liaison & THE SCOPE Editor-in-Chief Yuri Jadotte, MD 6. Guest Speaker’s Remarks – Dr. Denise V. Rodgers, MD, President, UMDNJ 7. Presentation of Guest Speaker Awards - Faculty Liaison & THE SCOPE Editor-in-Chief Yuri Jadotte, MD 8. Cocktail Hour & Intermission - Faculty Liaison & THE SCOPE Editor-in-Chief Yuri Jadotte, MD 9. Introduction of the New Jersey Health Sciences Caucus - Senator & Treasurer Shelly Uppal 10. Open Forum/Student Remarks on Health Sciences Education in New Jersey 11. Concluding Remarks & Announcements – Senator & Treasurer Shelly Uppal




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UMDNJ Student Senate

UMDNJSenate

UMDNJ Student Senate

Rutgers Interprofessional Student Congress (RISC) 65 Bergen Street, Suite 1551, Newark, NJ 07101-1709

[email protected] or [email protected], Tel: (973) 310-2781 Please leave a message, we will return your call and/or address your concern!

UMDNJ Senate Website https://sites.google.com/site/umdnjstudentsenate/ & http://www.rbhs.rutgers.edu/acadweb/studentsenate/

Senate Standing Committees Descriptions & Co-Chairs/Contact Persons

Academic Affairs: Develops and maintains a good relationship with the administration and faculty to address student concerns, including student academic issues such as student advising, course offerings, research and scholarship opportunities. Email: Binni at [email protected] for more info or to join. Community Service: Develops and coordinates community service efforts among students from various schools. Email: Myan [email protected] at or Nancy [email protected] at for more info or to join. Internal Affairs: Addresses internal matters of the Student Senate, such as changes to the Constitution and Standing Rules, removal of officers, loss of Senate voting privileges, and committee attendance. Email: Sachi [email protected] at for more info or to join. Legislative Affairs/University Affairs: the Legislative Affairs arm of this committee advocates for student interests at the local, state and federal levels on pertinent issues, remains as non-partisan and unaffiliated with the RBHS administration as possible, and organizes annual lobbying efforts in coordination with Office of Government Affairs and local budget hearings. The University Affairs arm of this committee addresses non-academic student concerns, working with the administration to resolve them. Email: Shalom [email protected] at or Preeya [email protected] at for more info or to join.

http://www.twitter.com/umdnj_senate

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=173113316876

http://www.youtube.com/umdnjsenate

https://plus.google.com/u/0/109709530791313992492/posts



https://sites.google.com/site/umdnjstudentsenate/

http://www.rbhs.rutgers.edu/acadweb/studentsenate/







http://www.twitter.com/umdnj_senate

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=173113316876

http://www.youtube.com/umdnjsenate

https://plus.google.com/u/0/109709530791313992492/posts

the scope, volume ii, issue 1

Documents

rbhs student groups

staff of rbhs

rbhs policy

health sciences rbhs

student spotlight

student governments

central rbhs administration

rutgers health sciences