Fifteen of the 91探花’s doctoral programs were very highly rated, and 19 programs were highly rated among their peers at major universities across the country in an assessment by the National Research Council, according to the 91探花Graduate School’s analysis of the rankings. The NRC evaluated 5,000 doctoral programs from 212 universities nationwide — including 62 from the 91探花— and released the results Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The assessment, according to the NRC, is designed to help universities evaluate and improve the quality of their programs and to provide prospective students with information on the nation’s doctoral programs. The NRC rankings do not assign numbers or ratings to individual programs, or to universities as a whole. The rankings — based on information including faculty research, degree completion rates, entrance exam scores and faculty and student diversity — place each program within a range to indicate how it compares to like programs at other universities. The NRC also asked faculty at research universities nationwide to identify the characteristics of excellent doctoral programs, and then asked the faculty to rate doctoral programs in their respective disciplines. All information for the assessment was gathered in 2006, and the report’s release has been delayed several times.

The NRC study focused only on doctoral programs and did not evaluate the UW’s highly regarded professional programs in law, dentistry, medicine, business and pharmacy.

“Although the data were gathered four years ago, the assessment gives us a baseline to understand the quality of the 91探花’s doctoral programs and how we compare to others across the country,” said Gerald J. Baldasty, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. “The assessment illustrates the excellence of our larger programs in math and science such as Applied Mathematics, Forest Resources and Nursing, and notes the quality of some of our smaller programs, like Drama.”

Using the NRC’s data, the Graduate School sorted the UW’s top programs into two tiers based on overall rankings. Tier one encompasses the very highly rated programs, those that were consistently rated in the top 10 percent of programs nationwide. Tier two includes programs that were highly rated, meaning they were rated in the top 20 percent of programs nationwide.

The UW’s very highly rated doctoral programs include:

• Applied Mathematics
  
• Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
  
• Atmospheric Sciences
  
• Bioengineering
  
• Biostatistics
  
• Chemistry
  
• Drama
  
• Epidemiology
  
• Forest Resources
  
• Genome Sciences
  
• Microbiology
  
• Molecular and Cellular Biology
  
• Nursing
  
• Physics
  
• Statistics

The UW’s highly rated doctoral programs include:

• Anthropology
  
• Astronomy
  
• Biochemistry
  
• Chemical Engineering
  
• Computer Science & Engineering
  
• Electrical Engineering
  
• Geography
  
• Geological Sciences
  
• Geophysics
  
• History
  
• Mechanical Engineering
  
• Neurobiology and Behavior
  
• Nutritional Sciences
  
• Pharmacology
  
• Pharmacy-Medicinal Chemistry
  
• Political Science
  
• Psychology
  
• Sociology
  
• Zoology

“This is an extremely impressive report card because more than half of the 91探花programs evaluated can be called top 20 programs. We are proud to be in the relatively small group of public universities that can claim to have so many outstanding programs,” Baldasty said.

The rankings also evaluated individual areas including faculty research, student support and diversity.

The NRC rankings reflect the exceptional research efforts that are the hallmark of the UW. In 2005-06, the 91探花received $990 million in research dollars, and by 2009-10 that number had climbed to $1.32 billion. Each year since 1974, the 91探花has received more federal research funding than any other American public university.

When measured for faculty research, Atmospheric Sciences, Bioengineering, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Microbiology and Statistics and were very highly rated. The highly rated programs in research were Applied Mathematics, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Biostatistics, Drama, Epidemiology, Genome Sciences, History, Immunology, Nursing, Nutritional Science, Pharmacology, Pharmacy-Medicinal Chemistry, Political Science and Psychology.

“These rankings underscore the tremendous vitality and impressive range of faculty research at the 91探花. Many people know of the University’s work in health sciences, and this assessment shows additional real strength in the arts, social sciences and natural sciences,” Baldasty said.

Additionally, the NRC rankings recognized Drama, Health Services and Statistics for providing student support, while Art History, Classics, Drama and Music were highly ranked for their student diversity. Since 2006, the University has seen a jump the number of doctoral students who are underrepresented minorities (defined as African Americans, American Indians, Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders and Hispanic Americans). In 2006, 7.6 percent of the UW’s doctoral students were underrepresented minorities. By 2009, that number had increased to 9.9 percent.

Applied Mathematics and Nutritional Sciences were in the top five of similar programs for the number of faculty citations in publications and the percentage of interdisciplinary faculty on their staffs.

In 1995, the last time the NRC issued rankings of doctoral programs, 22 of the UW’s doctoral programs were ranked highly.

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About the 91探花Graduate School

The Graduate School supports, advances and champions graduate education throughout the 91探花 and the greater community. The Graduate School creates endowments and oversees graduate fellowships and awards totaling approximately $11 million a year. The school also promotes minority graduate student recruitment and retention through GO-MAP and provides the infrastructure the 91探花needs to admit graduate students and manage their educational progress to graduation. In addition, the Graduate School provides professional development for graduate students and faculty members and reviews graduate degree programs to ensure that the 91探花continues to offer innovative, high quality graduate education.

Ask a Bonderman travel fellow where she is going — or where he has been — and settle in for a fascinating conversation. You’ll get a long list of exotic places from Papua New Guinea to Bosnia to Iceland to Botswana, along with invaluable travel tips. You’ll learn how to lock your backpack to your bed at night to prevent theft and what to do if your credit card is swiped.

Each year, seven undergraduate students and seven 91探花graduate students are awarded Bonderman Travel Fellowships — worth $20,000 each. The catch? Each student must travel solo for eight months, to at least six countries in at least two regions of the world. Students are not permitted to pursue academic study, projects or research. Their charge is to simply travel, learn, explore and grow.

Collectively, the 2010 Bonderman Fellows will travel to Ethiopia, Egypt, Papua New Guinea, Japan, China, El Salvador, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Morocco, South Korea, Panama, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Eritrea, Somalia, Belize, Haiti, Cambodia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Iceland, and other countries and regions. Their interests include learning about maternity and birthing practices, how large groups of people have been displaced because of conflict, approaches to environmental conservation, international business landscapes, places of cultural convergence, the role of libraries and fire rituals.

Since 91探花alumnus David Bonderman established the fellowships in 1995, 151 91探花students 鈥� 52 graduate and 99 undergraduate students 鈥� have been named Bonderman Fellows. 91探花graduate students, undergraduate students in the Honors Program and in 91探花Tacoma’s Global Honors Program are eligible to apply. The application process includes an essay and interview with a selection committee, comprised of University faculty and staff and former Bonderman Fellows.

The committee seeks students who demonstrate integrity, the capacity for vision and leadership, and potential for humane and effective participation in the global community. Candidates should demonstrate initiative, commitment and creativity.

The purpose of the fellowship is to push the fellows outside of their comfort zones, said Brook Kelly, Honors Program adviser and 2003 Bonderman Fellow who chairs the selection committee. Fellows are encouraged “to go into cultures where they are the 鈥榦thers,’ where they are the strangers,” she said.

“Certainly you meet people along the way, and you may want to travel with them for a little bit,” advises Helene Obradovich, the 91探花Graduate School’s director of fellowships and awards. “It is imperative for you to go out there alone. We want you to be conscious that all this experience is about you and your growth as an individual.”

When they travel, Bonderman Fellows stay in tents, hostels and budget hotels, and they couch-surf — crashing on sofas and in spare bedrooms of people they’ve recently met. Often they stay with families, sharing meals and conversations.

The fellows keep in regular contact with the 91探花staff, letting them know how and where they are. At some point in nearly every fellow’s journey, he or she gets lonely or depressed. The staff encourages them to resist the urge to pack bags and come home.

“Sometimes we give the advice of 鈥榞o find yourself a fancy hotel with air conditioning and cable TV, and you will feel better in two days. I promise,'” Kelly said.

In preparation for their travels, fellows create itineraries and make travel plans in consultation with 91探花staff and former fellows. They follow advice such as buy the best backpack, get your vaccinations as soon as you can, renew your passport, pack extremely light and buy supplies wherever you go — but, by all means, take lots of underwear.

While fellows are not pursuing their studies on the travels, they are exploring interests they have, which often relate to their areas of study or career plans.

Anna Kramer, who is earning her master’s degree in teaching, teaches in a culturally diverse area of Seattle, and she wants to familiarize herself with the places which her students and their families identify with culturally and historically. To do that, she will travel to the countries where most of her students have roots: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Western and American Samoa, the Philippines and Indonesia. By becoming better acquainted with her students’ cultural traditions, she will be better equipped to engage them in the classroom.

“As I travel, I will explore the nature of the communities’ relationships with the ecosystems in which they live, as well as strive to better understand how the unique biological communities and natural resources in each place shape the daily lives of the people living there,” she said.

To read details about each of the Bonderman fellows and their travel plans, click .

Collaboration and creativity are at the heart of the new 91探花Medicine at South Lake Union complex of buildings. By locating seemingly disparate entities such as Cardiovascular Biology and Regenerative Medicine and the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence, 91探花Medicine leaders and researchers hope to generate new, innovative research.

“The completion of this second phase of 91探花Medicine’s new lab building allows us to consolidate some critically important research activities in a new state-of-the-art facility,” said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO of 91探花Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. “This type of collaborative research environment presents tremendous opportunities for scientists across multiple disciplines.”

Over the last few months, 91探花Medicine employees from several offices, departments, labs and research institutes have packed their files in boxes, purged old papers, organized excess office supplies for pick-up by surplus and removed artwork from the walls. Department moves will occur primarily in June, with the lab moves occurring in August and September.

Vulcan Inc. and 91探花Medicine announced earlier this month the completion of the second phase of 91探花Medicine’s research hub in what’s become one of Seattle’s fastest-growing neighborhoods. The second phase, located at 815 Mercer, includes a 170,000-square-foot laboratory building as well as an 86,000-square-foot office building.

The project brings almost 950 91探花Medicine scientists and employees to the new buildings, including a laboratory building that will house the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, the Center for Lung Biology, the Diabetes & Obesity Center of Excellence, and a proposed Mitochondria and Metabolism Center run by the Department of Anesthesiology. The administration building will house 91探花Medicine departments such as Development, News, Community Relations & Marketing, and 91探花Medicine Compliance, along with School of Medicine units such as Research and Graduate Education and Clinical Research Budget & Billing Support.

A move of this size is no small feat, given the number of employees moving and range of available facilities to get office-ready. Staff members have been attending meetings over the last several months, discussing topics such as parking, transportation and paper management systems for cubicles.

Departments that will be sharing floors 鈥� 91探花Medicine Development, for example, and News, Community Relations & Marketing 鈥� have also held “getting to know you” sessions to meet new neighbors and discuss office norms.

Jill Morelli, director of facilities for the dean of medicine, is leading the process.

“An effort of this magnitude would not have been possible without a great construction and development team to provide a great work environment and a great move management team to coordinate,” Morelli said. “We are consolidating people from 10 locations around the Seattle metropolitan area and already we are seeing the benefit in improved processes and communication between groups where work flow intersects. Beside that, it’s an enjoyable place to work.”

Offices, departments, research centers and institutes located at 91探花Medicine at South Lake Union:

鈥� 91探花Medicine Development
鈥� Health Sciences/ 91探花Medicine News ,Community Relations & Marketing
鈥� School of Medicine Administration and Finance
鈥� Research and Graduate Education (RGE)
鈥� Clinical Research Budget & Billing Support (CRBB)
鈥� 91探花Medicine Compliance
鈥� School of Medicine Information Technology
鈥� School of Medicine Office of Facilities
鈥� Laboratory Medicine
鈥� Lung Biology
鈥� Cardiovascular Biology & Regenerative Medicine
鈥� Translational Medicine in Women’s Health
鈥� Allergy and Inflammation
鈥� Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine
鈥� Anesthesiology
鈥� Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence
鈥� Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center

Working as a team will be much easier when 14 UWMC offices move to 91探花Tower on the northwest edge of campus. Having that many departments all in one place will foster collaboration and creativity, said Helen Shawcroft, senior associate administrator who oversees the medical center’s planning and facilities efforts.

“We’re very excited to be moving so many departments back to campus from office space at Northgate, Fairview and down-town,” Shawcroft said. “By working in the same building, we’re encouraging employees and departments to work collaboratively to improve the way we work and find creative solutions to problems.”

The UWMC departments moving to 91探花Tower include: Accounting, Compliance, Center for Clinical Excellence, Design & Construction Management, Finance, Organizational Development & Training, Patient & Family Centered Care, Patient Financial Services, Planning & Physician Liaison, Regulatory Affairs, UWMC Human Resources, Financial Counseling and UWPN Administration.

Once everyone moves into the 91探花Tower by the end of the summer, six floors 鈥� or about 20 percent of the rentable space in the building 鈥� will be filled with UWMC employees, Shawcroft said. Most of the UWMC employees moving to the tower have been working at offices located at Northgate.

“Occupying that much of the tower means that we have quite a bit of access to conference space at 91探花Tower,” she said. 91探花Tower has 24-hour security and visitors sign in and out. Employees based there will have a chip in their badges that allows them access to various areas of the building.

Getting from the tower to UWMC is convenient. The Health Sciences Express shuttle service has added 91探花Tower to its route, just before it stops at UWMC-Roosevelt. Shuttles run every 15 minutes.

You can see the shuttle schedule at: .

A hospital building is much like the people inside of it.

Its structure is like a skeleton, while its plumbing is like the circulatory system. The roof is similar to a person’s scalp and hair, while the exterior is the skin. And the heart? The chillers and boilers that keep air and water warm and cool throughout the whole building.

And like a human body, a hospital requires maintenance and repair.

“You’ve got to take care of all the body parts,” said Don Larson, director of 91探花Medical Center’s Operations & Maintenance. “Buildings are like people.”

A team of 47 people cares for 91探花Medical Center 鈥� every day, all day and night. They take care of the building from the roof to the grounds and everything in between. Larson’s office fields 8,000 to 10,000 calls a year, most of which are coordinated by the front office staff.

“We support anything and everything that has to do with the building,” he said.

Larson’s crews of plumbers, electricians, machinery mechanics, carpenters and all-around facility operations and maintenance specialists care for everything except medical equipment. They take care of everything that doesn’t have a service agreement, which includes about 7,600 pieces of equipment. Operations & Maintenance crews install lights, repair the heating, stop leaky faucets, replace hand controls for the nurse call system patients use, maintain the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, fix doorknobs and move walls.

Facility operation maintenance specialists 鈥� also called FOMs, for short 鈥� “are our front line, responding to just about everything,” Larson said.

FOMs and plumbers unstop about 12 toilets a week, as well as handling problems with dialysis drains and floods from broken pipes, said Ken Feilen, program operations manager for Operations & Maintenance. The staff also deal with the glitches of a new building. Even though the Surgery Pavilion is relatively new, the building has settled a bit 鈥� as buildings always do 鈥� which means doors don’t always shut, noted Mike Bussert, manager of program operations for Operations & Maintenance.

It’s this variety of jobs 鈥� from the simple to the complex 鈥� that keep so many skilled trades people at UWMC, Feilen said.

David Ketcherside, a machinery master mechanic, came to UWMC six years ago after a varied career as a musician and artist. He creates cartoons and illustrations, as well as concepts for video games. He enjoys working with his co-workers, who are always willing to lend a hand.

Like Ketcherside, many of the Operations & Maintenance workers have diverse backgrounds. One former refrigerator mechanic who retired last year earned a master’s degree and has deep knowledge of quantum physics. Another employee, Posin Siev, was a captain pilot of the transport plane C123k in the Cambodian Air Force for five years in the early 1970s before immigrating to the United States.

“You never know what brought people here,” Ketcherside said.

When he arrived in the U.S., Siev never imagined he could be successful. Grateful to have gotten out of war-torn Cambodia, he thought he would just “mow lawns for people.” Once in Washington, Siev trained as an electrician and then learned to drywall and install acoustic ceilings. He has worked at UWMC since 1999.

UWMC is fortunate to have a full-time maintenance crew, Larson said, as many hospitals are maintained by “two guys and a Rolodex” full of names and numbers for freelance contractors.

“The most significant change for us is working in patient care environments in which we have strict infection controls,” Larson said.

For instance, patients in cancer treatment areas have low immunity, so workers must be extremely careful that they “don’t create dust or particle levels that increase the level of illness of the patient,” Larson said. This means workers use HEPA filters to clean the air and build containment cubes that attach to the ceilings so particles do not escape.

The oldest part of UWMC was built in the late 鈥�50s and opened in 1959. The Muilenberg Tower was built in the mid-1980s, while the Surgery Pavilion opened in 2003. The building has 1.5 million square feet in all. Power for the medical center comes from the upper campus power plant, which also provides back-up generators in case the hospital loses power.

Many people who visit and work in UWMC are unaware of the miles of pipes, hundreds of fan units and pumps and the massive equipment that it takes to keep the hospital going, Ketcherside said.

“This crew that takes care of this equipment is probably the most experienced, thoughtful, service-oriented and nicest group of people that I have ever worked with,” Ketcherside said. “On many days, they are the only reason I have the energy to come into work.”

Operations & Maintenance staff play a large part in maintaining the hospital’s accreditation from The Joint Commission (TJC). To ensure that the hospital meets fire, life and safety regulations, crews make sure ceilings and walls are intact and that the sprinkler system works. In addition, all fire exits must be open and doors must latch properly.

Workers also maintain other building systems such as water, sewer, medical gasses and steam. Larson constantly monitors The Joint Commission’s regulations to make sure UWMC complies with them.

“A large part of our survey includes a fire and life safety survey,” said Patty Riley, assistant administrator for support services at UWMC. “This is primarily the maintenance of our fire safety system and maintaining our utilities and emergency backup systems. We had a great outcome this last TJC survey in September鈥ue to the excellent and thorough work of our Operations & Maintenance staff.”

While Operations & Maintenance workers aren’t delivering medical services, they feel good about their work because they support the people who do.

“We’re helping people get well in the end,” Larson said.

Coffee makers. Comforters. Dinnerware. These are just some of the things you can buy to help make 91探花Medical Center’s hospitality house feel more like home for patients and families visiting UWMC for medical treatment.

UWMC took ownership of the Collegiana, a small former inn located across 12th Avenue N.E. and just north of N.E. 43rd Street, last year as part of the University’s move to the 91探花Tower properties previously owned by Safeco.

As of May 1, all 28 units in UWMC’s hospitality house will be open for patients and families. Throughout May, the UWMC Service League is collecting housewarming gifts for the Collegiana. Just visit Bed Bath and Beyond on the Internet at . Under gift registries, enter 91探花Medical Center as the first name and Collegiana as the second name. The registry number is 4231079. You may purchase items ranging from a set of ice cube trays for $3 to $130 for a queen-sized duvet.

You can participate by shopping on-line and having your donation shipped to the UWMC Volunteer Services office, or you may deliver a donation to the office or the Collegiana. You can also arrange a pickup for items outside of UWMC by calling Pat Poulin at 206-598-4454. You also may donate money directly to the UWMC Service League.

For all donations, please make sure to provide the donor’s name, department, and phone number. You will automatically be included in a weekly drawing, held each Friday in May, for a $25 gift certificate to the UWMC Service League Gift Shop, Espresso Bar, or Tea Room.

Patients and family members pay below market rate to stay at the Collegiana, where the rooms are quiet, private and roomy. Residents may cook in three common kitchens and relax in common sitting areas and a game room.

The Collegiana has already made a difference in the lives of many patients and families.

By staying on campus for the last five weeks, caregiver Mike Gilbert eliminated a six-hour roundtrip commute from his home north of Seattle. Gilbert wanted to be here to support his friend Toby Carpenter, who has been participating in a brain injury recovery program at UWMC.

“With where we’re from, we just couldn’t do it, not without the Collegiana,” Gilbert said.

91探花Medicine Neighborhood Clinics have received a second leadership award from the health insurer Premera Blue Cross (Premera) for continued participation and support in the Premera Quality Score Card program. 91探花Medicine Neighborhood Clinics are one of fifteen participating medical groups in Washington State.

The Premera quality program was designed to help develop evidence-based outcome measures in key areas of health care. Premera’s approach is based on national guidelines, best practices and a commitment to continuous improvement in health-care quality.

This year, the quality program will be the subject of a major study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and led by Doug Conrad, Ph.D., director of the 91探花Center for Management Research. The study aims to assess the groundbreaking work in the clinical quality improvement partnership between Premera and its medical group partners, including 91探花Medicine Neighborhood Clinics. The 91探花Medicine Neighborhood Clinics are a part of 91探花Medicine, which also includes Harborview Medical Center, 91探花Medical Center and the 91探花School of Medicine.

“Approximately three years ago, 91探花Medicine Neighborhood Clinics were asked to be a participating medical group and act on behalf of 91探花Medicine in this ground-breaking quality score card program,” said Dr. Peter McGough, chief medical officer for the clinics and 91探花clinical associate professor. “After working with the program, we said we would take our lessons learned back to 91探花Medicine and provide knowledge and support to help others improve clinical quality measures and related outcomes.

“Internally, this has stimulated 91探花Medicine Neighborhood Clinics to focus on areas of care in which we were looking to excel, especially diabetes care and women’s health care,” McGough said.

Physicians and practices recognized as “Premera Blue Cross Healthcare Quality Award Program Honorees” represent clinics of all sizes across Washington that are committed to delivering exceptional levels of quality care. This year, Premera Blue Cross recognized 27 individual physicians and practices.

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For more information about the program, refer to: https://demo.premera.com/stellent/groups/public/documents/xcpproject/mwa_qsc07_overview.asp

If a woman has been newly diagnosed with cancer in one breast, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the other breast may show cancer that the mammogram missed, according to a UW-led international study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March. This means that both cancers can be diagnosed at the same time, so women can have one round of treatment instead of two, says 91探花radiologist Dr. Constance Lehman, principal investigator in the American College of Radiology Imaging Network study.

Lehman and other researchers studied the MRIs of 969 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. All of the women had cancer recently diagnosed in one breast, but negative mammograms and negative clinical breast exams in the opposite breast. But MRIs found 30 additional breast cancers that the mammograms missed.

Lehman’s research made headlines worldwide. The same week, based on her research and others on MRI in screening high-risk women, the American Cancer Society rewrote its breast cancer screening guidelines to recommend annual MRIs — in addition to mammograms — for women who are at high risk for breast cancer.

Recently promoted to head of radiology for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), Lehman answered questions about what her research means for women.

Q. Who should have a breast MRI?

A. According to the American Cancer Society guidelines (which Lehman and 91探花medical ethicist Dr. Wylie Burke helped write), any woman who has a greater than 20 to 25 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer should have an MRI in conjunction with a mammogram. So it’s not a matter of replacing the mammogram, but adding to the screening.

Q. Did anything in your research surprise you?

A. Many believe MRI can help women with dense breast tissue but not women with fatty tissue. And that wasn’t the case at all in our study. The added benefit of MRI was exactly the same whether women had dense breast tissue or fatty breast tissue.

There are other people who will use breast MRI in younger women rather than older women. We found it was just as effective regardless of the patient’s age.

Q. Your study shows how MRI can be used to find breast cancer. Another study questions whether every woman should have a mammogram yearly from age 40 on. How should women sort this information?

A. The recommendation that women between the ages of 50 and 69 should have routine mammograms is not argued by anyone with any scientific backing. Unfortunately, that’s not emphasized enough. So for the first time in the history of screening, we’re seeing mammography rates decline. This is very concerning. We have decreased breast cancer mortality in the United States because of screening mammography’s ability to detect breast cancer at an early stage. Yet, for the first time ever, fewer women are availing themselves of the technology. My fear is that in these areas of “controversy,” women are being misled to think that mammography is not an important tool. And that is really a disservice to women.

We strongly recommend mammography for women in their 40s. This is when cancers grow more rapidly and can be more aggressive. I don’t think excluding women aged 40 to 49 from screening mammography programs makes sense. I do recommend younger women have digital mammography because of proven benefits in cancer detection using digital mammography in younger women. I recommend they go to a site with experience.

Q. Describe your new role as head of radiology at SCCA.

A. Dr. Norman Beauchamp, chairman of radiology at the 91探花, asked if I would oversee radiology at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The SCCA Radiology is one of the facilities that is a part of the 91探花Department of Radiology. It’s the perfect job, because we have the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance clinical site, actively supporting excellence in clinical care, research and education. We have the Fred Hutch, developing new and innovative approaches to the full spectrum of cancer care from detection through treatment, and we have the 91探花, supporting its faculty’s efforts in research and clinical care of cancer patients. It’s pulling all of these factors together and having a practice site at the cancer center that makes it all work. The SCCA is the site where 91探花patients come for their cancer imaging. What I see in the future is getting to the place where imaging has a very powerful role in the early detection of all cancers. One of the things we know about solid tumors, whether lung, colon, ovarian, or breast, is if we can detect them early, we have a much higher chance of cure.

Q. What do you do for fun?

A. My favorite thing is spending time with my family鈥y husband, daughter (age 15) and son (age 12). We enjoy being outdoors, riding bikes, and playing games. We all love to read. I love to play bridge but I am terrible at it and can only play with people who remind me what to do.

Tami Sadusky’s secret dream is to own a gourmet cupcake shop. She’s even named it Red Velvet.

It’s a remarkable dream, considering that until 13 years ago, Sadusky, 47, couldn’t even eat cupcakes herself. She was diagnosed with diabetes at age 13 and by the time she was 33 years old, her kidney and pancreas were failing.

She took insulin four times a day and checked her blood sugar up to 10 times a day by sticking her finger, drawing blood and dropping it into a device that measured her blood sugar. At times, her blood sugar levels would drop so low that she would pass out and wake up to see medics standing over her, after concerned bystanders had called 911.

Dr. Irl Hirsch, her physician and 91探花professor of medicine, told her “your kidneys are failing, your eyesight is failing and one of these days you will not be waking up from the 鈥榩assing out’ events that had become quite frequent. You’re not going to survive this,” he said.

“I had so many health problems; I was pessimistic,” she said. But after the pancreas-kidney transplant, “I woke up, and my outlook on everything had changed. I was now hopeful and thankful and knew that many, many good things lie ahead for me.”

To celebrate her transplant, Sadusky will be walking the UW Medical Center Seattle Marathon 2007 as a part of Team Transplant on Sunday, Nov. 25. Sadusky, who participated in the marathon for the first three years Team Transplant existed, but took a couple years off to pursue her passion of competitive ballroom dancing, will walk either the half or full marathon with the team, led by UWMC dietician and Team Transplant Coach Alysun Deckert.

Sadusky was diagnosed with diabetes when she was living in a small fishing village in Alaska. She received treatment at the small, local hospital. By 1991, Sadusky had moved to Seattle, in large part for the health care provided at the UW. A few years later, Sadusky had her transplant. Seven months after that, she began working at the UW. Sadusky is now director of the 91探花Grant and Contract Accounting Office.

She still takes 45 pills each day to make sure her body does not reject the organs.

“The pills are not an issue at all. I have no complaints. I take tests at the hospital every few weeks,” said Sadusky, who lives in Bellevue. “I can eat what I want. The big thing is to make sure I take my meds and stay in the best physical shape I can.”

Occasionally, Sadusky indulges in gummi bears and jelly beans. She is a competitive ballroom dancer. In addition to dancing, she volunteers for Life Center Northwest, talking about diabetes and encouraging people to become organ donors.

Her transplant “is not a big thing in my life. It’s part of me, but I can do pretty much what I want.” Including opening a cupcake shop, which Sadusky wants to do “someday, when I have a little more time.”

Run, walk or volunteer

Opportunities for participating in 91探花Medical Center Seattle Marathon

You don’t have to be a runner or a walker to be a part of the 91探花Medical Center Seattle Marathon 2007 on Sunday, Nov. 25. It takes thousands of volunteers to present the marathon each year. Volunteers hand out water, serve as course marshals and wrap runners in warm blankets as they cross the finish line.

To volunteer, e-mail ppoulin@u.washington.edu  or call 206-598-4454.

The marathon starts and ends at Seattle Center. Runners and walkers may participate in a half-marathon of 13.1 miles or the full marathon of 26.2 miles. Want to walk or run? Join Team Transplant and train with a group of transplant survivors and their supporters. E-mail teamtx@u.washington.edu.

For more information, go to , or call 206-729-3660.

The 91探花 Institute of Translational Health Sciences is among 12 additional academic medical organizations nationwide to receive funding through the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). The 91探花Institute will receive approximately $62 million of the approximately $577 million in total funding that will be awarded over five years to the national consortium, which is transforming how clinical and translational research is conducted at academic health centers across the country. Ultimately, this consortium will enable researchers to provide new treatments more efficiently and quickly to patients.

Today’s announcement by NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., adds 12 more academic health centers to the first 12 announced last October. The consortium sites serve as discovery engines that can rapidly translate research into prevention strategies and clinical treatments, Zerhouni said. When fully implemented in 2012, 60 institutions will be linked together to energize the discipline of clinical and translational science.

The Institute of Translational Health Sciences is a consortium of six 91探花health science professional schools and multiple partner institutions covering 12 sites, involving 67 key scientific personnel, and connecting researchers to more than 150 centers. This CTSA site includes the 91探花, Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies, Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, and the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research, which will educate the public about translational research and the importance of participating in clinical trials.

The institute is led by Principal Investigator Mary L. “Nora” Disis, M.D., associate dean for Translational Science in the 91探花School of Medicine, 91探花professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology, director of the 91探花Center for Translational Medicine in Women’s Health, and member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The institute will integrate research and clinical institutions across the five-state region of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) via collaborative pathways that are part of the successful WWAMI program led by the 91探花 School of Medicine. Features of the Institute of Translational Health Sciences include:

鈥� a community engagement plan which considers diversity across race, ethnicity, culture, rural and urban locations, geography, health status and health service delivery in partnership with Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies;

鈥� an integrated ethics program linking adult and pediatric medical centers in partnership with Children’s Hospital; and

鈥� advanced capability for therapeutic product development and clinical testing, in conjunction with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, aimed at enhancing future health care in the region.

In addition, six American Indian/Native American network sites have been invited to partner with the institute, including Seattle Indian Health Board, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Native Health Clinic (Spokane, Wash.), South Puget Sound Intertribal Planning Agency (Shelton, Wash.), Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (Anchorage, Alaska), and the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council (Billings, Mont.)

“As a part of this national consortium, the institute will be able to foster new health science interactions across the sites through technology, education and research support efforts,” Disis said. “Not only will our partner institutions and network sites here in the Northwest help us accelerate health sciences research, but we’ll be able to leverage expertise and resources across the CTSA institutions nationwide to provide new treatments more quickly and efficiently to patients.”

The CTSA initiative grew out of the NIH commitment to re-engineer the clinical research enterprise, one of the key objectives of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. This round of awards includes partnerships with three minority research centers; three institutions led by women principal investigators; and connections with an additional four national primate research centers, which will help bring discoveries in animal models more quickly into clinical practice. In addition to the UW, the following institutions are receiving awards in this second round of CTSA funding:

鈥� Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)

鈥� Emory University (Atlanta, Ga.), partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine

鈥� Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.)

鈥� University of Chicago (Chicago, Ill.)

鈥� University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)

鈥� University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

鈥� University of Texas SW Medical Center (Dallas, Texas)

鈥� University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.)

鈥� Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.), partnering with Meharry Medical College

鈥� Washington University (St. Louis, Mo.)

鈥� Weill Medical College of Cornell University (New York, N.Y.), partnering with Hunter College

A third funding opportunity announcement for CTSAs has been issued, calling for the next round of applications to be submitted by Nov. 7 with the awards expected in June 2008. For more information, visit .

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