Dartmouth Medicine Fall 2001
Dear Reporter, Editor, or News Director:
Inside the Fall 2001 issue of Dartmouth Medicine (to request a printed copy, call 603-653-0772 or e-mail dartmed@Dartmouth.edu), read about:
A pediatric ophthalmologist who exported his expertise to Trinidad: Dartmouth ophthalmologist Douglas Fredrick took a week of vacation to visit Trinidad, but never got near a beach. Instead, he operated on children with impaired sight and--even more importantly--shared his knowledge with local doctors and technicians. See page 26.
Peering into polio's past: Polio has now been nearly eradicated worldwide--a fact whose foundation was laid long ago by a pair of Dartmouth graduates, as a member of the faculty recently discovered when he dug into the history of the devastating disease. See page 36.
A promising alternative to Pap tests: A member of the Dartmouth faculty has been a national leader in the effort to evaluate a new method of testing for cervical cancer--a technique that appears to be not only less invasive and more accurate but less expensive than the 50-year-old Pap smear. See page 12.
The latest in high-tech surgery: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is one of the first hospitals in the Northeast to have operating rooms equipped with voice-activated robots to assist surgeons. The prospect may sound scary, but there are lots of benefits, according to the institution's director of minimally invasive surgery. See page 4.
National leaders are tapped to lead pediatrics and cancer: The head of the Centers for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on immunization practices has been named chair of pediatrics at Dartmouth, and the former head of the National Cancer Institute's Molecular Genetics Section has been named director of Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center. See pages 7 and 9.
Pressing issues in geriatric psychiatry : A member of the Dartmouth faculty was recently elected president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. He's already hard at work on an activist agenda. See page 8.
Improving results from residency programs: Several Dartmouth faculty members are key players in a national effort to establish a set of core competencies that all medical residents in the U.S. must achieve. The project is still in its infancy, but promises to have a far-reaching effect. See page 3.
Why the life sciences are everywhere in the news: A noted biochemist on the Dartmouth faculty explains how a couple of centuries worth of change in the sciences is culminating in creating a revolution in the life sciences in our time. See page 22.
Shattering stereotypes: The first Navajo woman surgeon in the country, a member of the Dartmouth faculty, was asked to help the American Indian College Fund shatter stereotypes about Native Americans. It was a tough choice, even though it's a cause she believes in deeply. See page 12.
If you'd like to pursue any of these stories, contact:
- Hali Wickner, Communications director for Dartmouth Medical School, at (603) 650-1520.
- The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Office of Public Affairs, at (603) 650-7041.
Or feel free to give me a call; my direct line is (603) 650-4058.
Dana Cook Grossman,
Editor