Inspired - Spring 2012 - University of Chicago Medicine

Targeting lung cancer

Minimally invasive approach to diagnosing,

treating high-risk patients

ALSO INSIDE

Collaboration expands optionsfor patients with heart failure

Inspired research focuses on using nanoparticles to �ght brain cancer

Pediatric Focus Teaming up with community physicians to o�er home sleep studies

The University of Chicago Medicine

A PUBLICATION FOR PHYSICIANSVOLUME 1 SPRING 2012

Welcome to Inspired, our new publication to keep you updated on all that’s happening at the University of Chicago Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division.

Every day, physicians on our Hyde Park campus and in our off-campus locations throughout the region work in collaboration with referring physicians to treat the most challenging cases and return patients to their community doctors. Our physician-researchers lead the way in making state-of-the-art diagnoses and treatments available to patients throughout the Chicago area and from different parts of the world.

It’s an especially exciting time for us, as we will open a state-of-the-art new hospital in less than a year. The new 10-story hospital will serve as a catalyst for our physicians and researchers to perform the most complex specialty care. At the same time, it will support compassionate, family-centered care for patients facing extended stays and complicated procedures. It is truly at the forefront of care and discovery.

Our new physician relations team makes you, the referring physician, a priority, helping you seamlessly admit your patients to the University of Chicago Medicine and then making sure the lines of communication are open so that you can collaborate with our physicians to come up with the best treatment plans.

And we are expanding our reach out into the community, as we make access to expertise more convenient for patients and referring physicians.

The new University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital will open by summer. Our oncologists, radiation oncologists and pediatric oncologists will provide the latest in cancer treatment, as well as access to clinical trials, in this 20,000-square-foot outpatient cancer treatment center, located in New Lenox, Ill.

We value our relationships with our referring physicians and research colleagues throughout the world. We are continually inspired to heal, to cure and to improve care. We look forward to working with you along the way.

Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD

Dean, Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine Executive vice president for Medical Affairs for the University of Chicago

DEAR COLLEAGUES, from Overseas

Specialty Care for Children

AdoptedADOPTION CENTER PROVIDES EXPERTISE, SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES

By the Numbers

240 private inpatient rooms in our

new hospital, opening in January 2013

1 of only 40National Cancer

Institute-designated comprehensive cancer

centers in the U.S.

Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH, chief of family planning, professor of obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics, and associate dean for diversity, was recognized for her work to prevent teen pregnancy and address the societal problems that contribute to it.

21 adult and pediatric specialties

ranked among the best in the nation by

U.S. News & World Report

The University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences has been at the forefront of medical care, research and teaching for more than 90 years. Located in historic Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago, the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences includes:

Patient Care:

Bernard A. Mitchell Hospital (adult)

Comer Children’s Hospital

Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine

Numerous outpatient locations throughout the Chicago area

Teaching Programs:

Pritzker School of Medicine

Master’s and doctoral degree programs

Postdoctoral programs

Research:

Medical and basic science units

Among our many honors and acknowledgements: 12 Nobel laureates; ranked 10th of all U.S. medical schools; one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers; 21 adult and pediatric specialties ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report; ranked second in nation for National Institutes of Health grant support per researcher.

University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences Executive Leadership

Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Dean of the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine, and executive vice president for Medical Affairs for the University of Chicago

Sharon O’Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center

Richard Baron, MD, dean for clinical practice, chair of the University of Chicago Medicine Department of Radiology

T. Conrad Gilliam, PhD, dean for research and graduate education, Biological Sciences Division

Holly J. Humphrey, MD, dean for medical education, Pritzker School of Medicine

Inspired is published quarterly by the University of Chicago Medicine.

Editors:

Ginny Lee-Herrmann

Anna Madrzyk

Email us at: [email protected]

Design: Group Chicago

Contributing writers: Laura Ramos Hegwer, Diane Kastiel, JoAnn Milivojevic, Rob Mitchum, Stephen Phillips, Anita Slomski and Mary Wroblewski

Contributing photographers: Andrew Campbell, David Christopher, Megan Doherty, Bart Harris, Jean Lachat, Bruce Powell and Victor Powell

Address:

The University of Chicago Medicine5841 S. Maryland Ave.Chicago, IL 60637

Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine5721 S. Maryland Ave.Chicago, IL 60637

Physician Referral Line: 1-800-824-2282

Appointments: 1-888-UCH-0200

Follow the University of Chicago Medicine on Twitter at twitter.com/UChicagoMed or visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/UChicagoMed. You can read more about our news and research at uchospitals.edu/news and at sciencelife.uchospitals.edu.

This publication does not provide medical advice or treatment suggestions. If you have medical problems or concerns, contact a physician who will determine your treatment. Do not delay seeking medical advice because of something you read here. For urgent needs, call 911 right away.

IN THIS ISSUE

3 Expert care for children adopted from overseas

4 Continuing Medical Education events Excellence in diabetes treatment and research Medical students give back to the community

5 Head and neck, lung cancer expert talks about what inspires him

6 Minimally invasive approach to tracking lung cancer

8 Multidisciplinary approach to treatment of advanced heart failure

10 Testing for child sleep disorders without hospital stay

11 Innovative tool helps determine when to remove pacemaker leads

12 Surgeon performs craniotomy on patient who is awake, talking A history of inspiration and discovery

13 Generous donation to improve doctor-patient communication

14 Inspired news from the forefront

15 Patient inspired to help �nd breast cancer cure

Pullout All about our new hospital opening in January 2013

INSPIRED SPRING 2012 The University of Chicago Medicine Physician Referral Line: 1-800-824-2282 uchospitals.edu uchicagokidshospital.org INSPIRED 3

IN THIS ISSUE


4 Continuing Medical Education eventsExcellence in diabetes treatment and researchMedical students give back to the community



8 Multidisciplinary approach to treatment of advanced heart failureMultidisciplinary approach to treatment of advanced heart failureMultidisciplinary approach to treatment of








Bereket Rams and Larry Gray, MD

87 physicians ranked among the best of the best in Chicago

magazine’s 2012 Top Doctors issue

L ast August, Chicagoans Patrick and Erin Rams traveled to Ethiopia to pick up their daughter, a beautiful little

girl whose name means “blessing.”�e first few weeks at home weren’t easy. Bereket was 4½

years old and didn’t speak any English. “Her world was flipped upside down,” Erin Rams said.

�e family found help at Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine. Larry Gray, MD, medical director of the University of Chicago Adoption Center, and his colleagues are experts on the medical, emotional and developmental needs of children adopted from overseas.

Many arrive here with extreme malnutrition or other medical conditions rarely seen in the U.S. Gray recalls one child who was here for more than a year, but had gained barely any weight. “�ey called us, and we found the parasite others weren’t familiar with,” he said.

�is highly specialized care is provided in a warm, child-friendly setting. “It’s an amazing support system,” said Patrick Rams.

For complex problems, families have access to the Univer-sity of Chicago Medicine’s leading pediatric specialists, but the goal for most children is to transition them to a

For more information or to refer a patient, please call 1-800-824-2282 or visit adoption.uchicago.edu.

community pediatrician.“We’re here to help the primary care doctors do their good

work,” Gray said.�e center is reaching out to create long-term relationships

with pediatricians in the community, who may never have treated an orphan with cleft palate or HIV/AIDS. “We can and want to train pediatricians to feel comfortable with these complex stories in their medical practices,” Gray said.

Gray also provides pre-adoption consultations, reviewing the medical records from the orphanage and counseling couples on relevant health issues.

Today, Bereket is thriving. In short order, she not only learned English but blossomed into one of the most popular preschoolers in her class.

�at’s the kind of outcome that’s inspiring the Adoption Center to expand its efforts to support families. “More than a one-stop adoption center, we really want to be the hub of adoption information in the state of Illinois,” said Michaela Neer, the center’s director of development.

INSPIRED_2_3_FCv8_4C.pdf 1 4/11/12 2:13 PM

Welcome to Inspired, our new publication to keep you updated on all that’s happening at the University of Chicago Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division.

Every day, physicians on our Hyde Park campus and in our off-campus locations throughout the region work in collaboration with referring physicians to treat the most challenging cases and return patients to their community doctors. Our physician-researchers lead the way in making state-of-the-art diagnoses and treatments available to patients throughout the Chicago area and from different parts of the world.

It’s an especially exciting time for us, as we will open a state-of-the-art new hospital in less than a year. The new 10-story hospital will serve as a catalyst for our physicians and researchers to perform the most complex specialty care. At the same time, it will support compassionate, family-centered care for patients facing extended stays and complicated procedures. It is truly at the forefront of care and discovery.

Our new physician relations team makes you, the referring physician, a priority, helping you seamlessly admit your patients to the University of Chicago Medicine and then making sure the lines of communication are open so that you can collaborate with our physicians to come up with the best treatment plans.

And we are expanding our reach out into the community, as we make access to expertise more convenient for patients and referring physicians.

The new University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital will open by summer. Our oncologists, radiation oncologists and pediatric oncologists will provide the latest in cancer treatment, as well as access to clinical trials, in this 20,000-square-foot outpatient cancer treatment center, located in New Lenox, Ill.

We value our relationships with our referring physicians and research colleagues throughout the world. We are continually inspired to heal, to cure and to improve care. We look forward to working with you along the way.

Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD

Dean, Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine Executive vice president for Medical Affairs for the University of Chicago

DEAR COLLEAGUES, from Overseas

Specialty Care for Children

AdoptedADOPTION CENTER PROVIDES EXPERTISE, SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES

By the Numbers

240 private inpatient rooms in our

new hospital, opening in January 2013

1 of only 40National Cancer

Institute-designated comprehensive cancer

centers in the U.S.

Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH, chief of family planning, professor of obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics, and associate dean for diversity, was recognized for her work to prevent teen pregnancy and address the societal problems that contribute to it.

21 adult and pediatric specialties

ranked among the best in the nation by

U.S. News & World Report

The University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences has been at the forefront of medical care, research and teaching for more than 90 years. Located in historic Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago, the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences includes:

Patient Care:

Bernard A. Mitchell Hospital (adult)

Comer Children’s Hospital

Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine

Numerous outpatient locations throughout the Chicago area

Teaching Programs:

Pritzker School of Medicine

Master’s and doctoral degree programs

Postdoctoral programs

Research:

Medical and basic science units

Among our many honors and acknowledgements: 12 Nobel laureates; ranked 10th of all U.S. medical schools; one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers; 21 adult and pediatric specialties ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report; ranked second in nation for National Institutes of Health grant support per researcher.

University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences Executive Leadership

Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Dean of the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine, and executive vice president for Medical Affairs for the University of Chicago

Sharon O’Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center

Richard Baron, MD, dean for clinical practice, chair of the University of Chicago Medicine Department of Radiology

T. Conrad Gilliam, PhD, dean for research and graduate education, Biological Sciences Division

Holly J. Humphrey, MD, dean for medical education, Pritzker School of Medicine

Inspired is published quarterly by the University of Chicago Medicine.

Editors:

Ginny Lee-Herrmann

Anna Madrzyk

Email us at: [email protected]

Design: Group Chicago

Contributing writers: Laura Ramos Hegwer, Diane Kastiel, JoAnn Milivojevic, Rob Mitchum, Stephen Phillips, Anita Slomski and Mary Wroblewski

Contributing photographers: Andrew Campbell, David Christopher, Megan Doherty, Bart Harris, Jean Lachat, Bruce Powell and Victor Powell

Address:

The University of Chicago Medicine5841 S. Maryland Ave.Chicago, IL 60637

Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine5721 S. Maryland Ave.Chicago, IL 60637

Physician Referral Line: 1-800-824-2282


Follow the University of Chicago Medicine on Twitter at twitter.com/UChicagoMed or visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/UChicagoMed. You can read more about our news and research at uchospitals.edu/news and at sciencelife.uchospitals.edu.

This publication does not provide medical advice or treatment suggestions. If you have medical problems or concerns, contact a physician who will determine your treatment. Do not delay seeking medical advice because of something you read here. For urgent needs, call 911 right away.

IN THIS ISSUE


4 Continuing Medical Education events Excellence in diabetes treatment and research Medical students give back to the community



8 Multidisciplinary approach to treatment of advanced heart failure









IN THIS ISSUE


4 Continuing Medical Education eventsExcellence in diabetes treatment and researchMedical students give back to the community



8 Multidisciplinary approach to treatment of advanced heart failureMultidisciplinary approach to treatment of advanced heart failureMultidisciplinary approach to treatment of








Bereket Rams and Larry Gray, MD

87 physicians ranked among the best of the best in Chicago

magazine’s 2012 Top Doctors issue

L ast August, Chicagoans Patrick and Erin Rams traveled to Ethiopia to pick up their daughter, a beautiful little

girl whose name means “blessing.”�e first few weeks at home weren’t easy. Bereket was 4½

years old and didn’t speak any English. “Her world was flipped upside down,” Erin Rams said.

�e family found help at Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine. Larry Gray, MD, medical director of the University of Chicago Adoption Center, and his colleagues are experts on the medical, emotional and developmental needs of children adopted from overseas.

Many arrive here with extreme malnutrition or other medical conditions rarely seen in the U.S. Gray recalls one child who was here for more than a year, but had gained barely any weight. “�ey called us, and we found the parasite others weren’t familiar with,” he said.

�is highly specialized care is provided in a warm, child-friendly setting. “It’s an amazing support system,” said Patrick Rams.

For complex problems, families have access to the Univer-sity of Chicago Medicine’s leading pediatric specialists, but the goal for most children is to transition them to a

For more information or to refer a patient, please call 1-800-824-2282 or visit adoption.uchicago.edu.

community pediatrician.“We’re here to help the primary care doctors do their good

work,” Gray said.�e center is reaching out to create long-term relationships

with pediatricians in the community, who may never have treated an orphan with cleft palate or HIV/AIDS. “We can and want to train pediatricians to feel comfortable with these complex stories in their medical practices,” Gray said.

Gray also provides pre-adoption consultations, reviewing the medical records from the orphanage and counseling couples on relevant health issues.

Today, Bereket is thriving. In short order, she not only learned English but blossomed into one of the most popular preschoolers in her class.

�at’s the kind of outcome that’s inspiring the Adoption Center to expand its efforts to support families. “More than a one-stop adoption center, we really want to be the hub of adoption information in the state of Illinois,” said Michaela Neer, the center’s director of development.

New Drug Combination for MyelomaA three-drug combination treatment compares favorably to the best established therapy for newly diagnosed myeloma patients, according to a multicenter study led by Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Myeloma Program at the University of Chicago Medicine. All patients responded well to the combination of the investigational drug car�lzomib combined with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone, with limited side e�ects. “The combination appears to deliver everything we expected and more,” Jakubowiak said.

Empathetic RatsA team of University of Chicago neuroscien-tists found rats show empathy for fellow rats in distress. In the study, published in Science,

rats repeatedly acted to free fellow rats from a clear plastic tube. They were just as likely to free their cage mates as they were to nudge open a

tube �lled with chocolate chips, a favorite treat. “This is the �rst evidence of helping behavior triggered by empathy in rats,” said Jean Decety, PhD, who worked on the study with Peggy Mason, PhD, and Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, a PhD candidate in psychology.

Fat Fuels Ovarian Cancer Spread Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine have identi�ed why and how ovarian cancer cells spread to the abdominal omentum. In a study published in Nature Medicine, Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics/gynecology, and co-investigators found the cancer cells are attracted to adipocytes and then use the lipid content of adipocytes to grow faster and become more invasive. “Gaining a better understanding of ovarian cancer metastasis will help us to learn how to disrupt it, and we are already performing studies blocking proteins that are important for this process,” said Lengyel, a gynecological oncologist.

Time to Try Diet, Exercise FirstA new study suggests that middle-aged adults recently diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension have time to learn how to control their high blood pressure without medication, but not too much time. The consequences of delaying e�ective

hypertension treatment for up to a year were small — a two-day reduction in quality-adjusted life expectancy, University of Chicago Medicine researchers found. “Our results indicate that it’s OK to spend from six months to a year, perhaps even longer, to make the di�cult lifestyle changes that are necessary and will pay o� in the long run,” said study author Neda Laiteerapong, MD, instructor of medicine.

Hope for Gout Su�erersSome patients with chronic, severe gout that resists standard treatment have shown dramatic improvement with a new drug therapy, pegloticase, a modi�ed porcine enzyme. “This represents the �rst e�ective therapy for a group of patients who previously had no options at all,” said the study’s senior author, Michael A. Becker, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, who sees patients at the University of Chicago Medicine’s gout referral clinic.

Finding a Fin-Limb LinkUniversity of Chicago professor Neil Shubin’s 2004 discovery of the fossil Tiktaalik roseae made National Geographic’s list of 10 projects “that have made the greatest di�erence in understanding the Earth” — out of 10,000 the magazine has funded to date. Tiktaalik, which mixed �shlike features with limb joints, provided the missing link between �sh and the �rst animals that walked on land.

Preventing Second CancersRadiation saves the lives of many young patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, but some develop second cancers years later. University of Chicago Medicine researchers have identi�ed two genetic variants associated with increased risk of second cancers. More studies are needed, but the �ndings raise the possibility of someday tailoring cancer treatment to help prevent this long-term complication, said Kenan Onel, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Familial Cancer Clinic, which serves families with questions about their own cancer risk. Onel and his colleagues analyzed the genomes of more than 300 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors, half of whom developed second cancers.Read more at uchospitals.edu/news and sciencelife.uchospitals.edu.

RESEARCH NEWSAt the Forefront of diabetes research

kovlerdiabetescenter.org

1900s Diabetes research begins at theUniversity of Chicago.

1965 Donald F. Steiner, MD, discoversthe proinsulin molecule, paving the way for

the first synthetic insulin.

1987 Richard Thistlethwaite, MD, PhD, performs the state’s first pancreas transplant in a

patient with diabetes.

1990s Graeme Bell, PhD; Nancy Cox, PhD;Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD; and Louis Philipson, MD, PhD,

identify genetic causes of diabetes, leading to personalized genetic medicine for patients

with diabetes.

2006 The University of Chicago Medicine’s Bell and Philipson discover insulin gene mutations

that cause permanent neonatal diabetes.

2012 More than 150 scientists studying diabetes.

Everett E. Vokes, MD, is physician-in-chief at the University of Chicago Medicine and

chair of the Department of Medicine. He is an internationally renowned

expert in the treatment of head and neck cancer and lung cancer.

His work has shown that intense treatment combining radiation and chemotherapy

can bring locally advanced head and neck cancer under control and improve survival.

His research in lung cancer is directed at identifying new active therapeutic agents, as well as the interaction of

chemotherapy and radiation.

What’s new at the University of Chicago Medicine?

The new hospital, which opens in January 2013, will facilitate highly specialized minimally invasive

surgery and stem cell transplantation. And it will link those procedures with advanced molecular

imaging and molecular diagnostics, leading to individualized cancer care through sophisticated

drug treatment choices.

What else makes you excited for the future?We have a long history of translational research,

bringing advances made in the basic sciences to the patient’s bedside. I’m excited about the work

we are doing on the interaction of chemotherapy and radiation with novel therapies for patients

with these di�cult cancers.

What else sets the University of Chicago Medicine’s head and neck and lung

cancer programs apart?Our collaborative approach, our extensive experience with complex cases and our outcomes. Our medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists, radiologists and other cancer experts

work as a collaborative team, and that’s why we excel at solving the most di�cult cases. We have

excellent organ preservation and survival rates that compare very well to national statistics.

What inspires you about the University of Chicago Medicine?

We have so many bright, creative minds, working together to inspire the next generation of learning and discovery. It’s ful�lling and inspiring to mentor the next generation of research scientists who will

make a di�erence in patients’ lives. And it’s rewarding to collaborate with these patients’ physicians to help

heal those with the most complex illnesses.

<Meet Our Physicians>

STUDENTS GIVE BACK TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY HEALTH

Residents of several city neighborhoods have been vaccinated against the �u this season, thanks to students at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.Under physician supervision, �rst- and second-year students administered more than 500 �u vaccines to community members during �u vaccine drives in Chicago’s Chinatown and Little Village neighborhoods and on the city’s South Side.

Pritzker students gained an appreciation for Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods and immigrant populations and had the chance to talk with community members in Spanish and Chinese. Along with giving �u shots, the future physicians took blood pressure readings and administered glucose screenings at the Chinatown Health Fair. Students also participated in Community Prostate Awareness Day on the South Side, giving free PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer.

Pritzker School of Medicine student David Bluhm immunizes a young soccer player at the ¡Gol…A Tú Salud! Health Fair.


Orthopedic surgeon specializes in minimally invasive surgery for sports injuries

Register for CME events at cme.uchicago.edu.

Educational Opportunities C M E +

State-of-the-Art Advances in Diagnostics and Surgical Therapies8 a.m. to noon, May 2Odyssey Country Club19110 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park

Translating Evidence-Based Cardiology into New Innovations: Bench to Bedside8 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 19The Hyatt Lodge at McDonald’s Campus2815 Jorie Blvd., Oak Brook

Inaugural National Conference: Medicine and ReligionAll day, May 23-25Westin Michigan Avenue909 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

21st Annual Advances in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic SurgeryAll day, June 14-16InterContinental Chicago505 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Primary Care OrthopaedicsAll day, June 18-20Millennium Knickerbocker163 E. Walton Place, Chicago

Controversies in the Management of Complex GI Cancer PatientsAll day, September 7Ritz-Carlton Chicago160 E. Pearson St., Chicago

Chicago Breast Reconstruction SymposiumAll day, September 28Ritz-Carlton Chicago160 E. Pearson St., Chicago

University of Chicago Medicine physicians are available to present in-o�ce CME courses in greater Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. For information, please contact Blair Parker, CME coordinator, 1-773-834-0283 or [email protected].


New Drug Combination for MyelomaA three-drug combination treatment compares favorably to the best established therapy for newly diagnosed myeloma patients, according to a multicenter study led by Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Myeloma Program at the University of Chicago Medicine. All patients responded well to the combination of the investigational drug car�lzomib combined with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone, with limited side e�ects. “The combination appears to deliver everything we expected and more,” Jakubowiak said.

Empathetic RatsA team of University of Chicago neuroscien-tists found rats show empathy for fellow rats in distress. In the study, published in Science,

rats repeatedly acted to free fellow rats from a clear plastic tube. They were just as likely to free their cage mates as they were to nudge open a

tube �lled with chocolate chips, a favorite treat. “This is the �rst evidence of helping behavior triggered by empathy in rats,” said Jean Decety, PhD, who worked on the study with Peggy Mason, PhD, and Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, a PhD candidate in psychology.

Fat Fuels Ovarian Cancer Spread Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine have identi�ed why and how ovarian cancer cells spread to the abdominal omentum. In a study published in Nature Medicine, Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics/gynecology, and co-investigators found the cancer cells are attracted to adipocytes and then use the lipid content of adipocytes to grow faster and become more invasive. “Gaining a better understanding of ovarian cancer metastasis will help us to learn how to disrupt it, and we are already performing studies blocking proteins that are important for this process,” said Lengyel, a gynecological oncologist.

Time to Try Diet, Exercise FirstA new study suggests that middle-aged adults recently diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension have time to learn how to control their high blood pressure without medication, but not too much time. The consequences of delaying e�ective

hypertension treatment for up to a year were small — a two-day reduction in quality-adjusted life expectancy, University of Chicago Medicine researchers found. “Our results indicate that it’s OK to spend from six months to a year, perhaps even longer, to make the di�cult lifestyle changes that are necessary and will pay o� in the long run,” said study author Neda Laiteerapong, MD, instructor of medicine.

Hope for Gout Su�erersSome patients with chronic, severe gout that resists standard treatment have shown dramatic improvement with a new drug therapy, pegloticase, a modi�ed porcine enzyme. “This represents the �rst e�ective therapy for a group of patients who previously had no options at all,” said the study’s senior author, Michael A. Becker, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, who sees patients at the University of Chicago Medicine’s gout referral clinic.

Finding a Fin-Limb LinkUniversity of Chicago professor Neil Shubin’s 2004 discovery of the fossil Tiktaalik roseae made National Geographic’s list of 10 projects “that have made the greatest di�erence in understanding the Earth” — out of 10,000 the magazine has funded to date. Tiktaalik, which mixed �shlike features with limb joints, provided the missing link between �sh and the �rst animals that walked on land.

Preventing Second CancersRadiation saves the lives of many young patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, but some develop second cancers years later. University of Chicago Medicine researchers have identi�ed two genetic variants associated with increased risk of second cancers. More studies are needed, but the �ndings raise the possibility of someday tailoring cancer treatment to help prevent this long-term complication, said Kenan Onel, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Familial Cancer Clinic, which serves families with questions about their own cancer risk. Onel and his colleagues analyzed the genomes of more than 300 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors, half of whom developed second cancers.Read more at uchospitals.edu/news and sciencelife.uchospitals.edu.

RESEARCH NEWSAt the Forefront of diabetes research

kovlerdiabetescenter.org

1900s Diabetes research begins at theUniversity of Chicago.

1965 Donald F. Steiner, MD, discoversthe proinsulin molecule, paving the way for

the first synthetic insulin.

1987 Richard Thistlethwaite, MD, PhD, performs the state’s first pancreas transplant in a

patient with diabetes.

1990s Graeme Bell, PhD; Nancy Cox, PhD;Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD; and Louis Philipson, MD, PhD,

identify genetic causes of diabetes, leading to personalized genetic medicine for patients

with diabetes.

2006 The University of Chicago Medicine’s Bell and Philipson discover insulin gene mutations

that cause permanent neonatal diabetes.

2012 More than 150 scientists studying diabetes.

Everett E. Vokes, MD, is physician-in-chief at the University of Chicago Medicine and

chair of the Department of Medicine. He is an internationally renowned

expert in the treatment of head and neck cancer and lung cancer.

His work has shown that intense treatment combining radiation and chemotherapy

can bring locally advanced head and neck cancer under control and improve survival.

His research in lung cancer is directed at identifying new active therapeutic agents, as well as the interaction of

chemotherapy and radiation.

What’s new at the University of Chicago Medicine?

The new hospital, which opens in January 2013, will facilitate highly specialized minimally invasive

surgery and stem cell transplantation. And it will link those procedures with advanced molecular

imaging and molecular diagnostics, leading to individualized cancer care through sophisticated

drug treatment choices.

What else makes you excited for the future?We have a long history of translational research,

bringing advances made in the basic sciences to the patient’s bedside. I’m excited about the work

we are doing on the interaction of chemotherapy and radiation with novel therapies for patients

with these di�cult cancers.

What else sets the University of Chicago Medicine’s head and neck and lung

cancer programs apart?Our collaborative approach, our extensive experience with complex cases and our outcomes. Our medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists, radiologists and other cancer experts

work as a collaborative team, and that’s why we excel at solving the most di�cult cases. We have

excellent organ preservation and survival rates that compare very well to national statistics.

What inspires you about the University of Chicago Medicine?

We have so many bright, creative minds, working together to inspire the next generation of learning and discovery. It’s ful�lling and inspiring to mentor the next generation of research scientists who will

make a di�erence in patients’ lives. And it’s rewarding to collaborate with these patients’ physicians to help

heal those with the most complex illnesses.

<Meet Our Physicians>

STUDENTS GIVE BACK TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY HEALTH

Residents of several city neighborhoods have been vaccinated against the �u this season, thanks to students at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.Under physician supervision, �rst- and second-year students administered more than 500 �u vaccines to community members during �u vaccine drives in Chicago’s Chinatown and Little Village neighborhoods and on the city’s South Side.

Pritzker students gained an appreciation for Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods and immigrant populations and had the chance to talk with community members in Spanish and Chinese. Along with giving �u shots, the future physicians took blood pressure readings and administered glucose screenings at the Chinatown Health Fair. Students also participated in Community Prostate Awareness Day on the South Side, giving free PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer.

Pritzker School of Medicine student David Bluhm immunizes a young soccer player at the ¡Gol…A Tú Salud! Health Fair.


Orthopedic surgeon specializes in minimally invasive surgery for sports injuries

Register for CME events at cme.uchicago.edu.

Educational Opportunities C M E +

State-of-the-Art Advances in Diagnostics and Surgical Therapies8 a.m. to noon, May 2Odyssey Country Club19110 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park

Translating Evidence-Based Cardiology into New Innovations: Bench to Bedside8 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 19Gleacher Center450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago

Inaugural National Conference: Medicine and ReligionAll day, May 23-25Westin Michigan Avenue909 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

21st Annual Advances in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic SurgeryAll day, June 14-16InterContinental Chicago505 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Primary Care OrthopaedicsAll day, June 18-20Millennium Knickerbocker163 E. Walton Place, Chicago

Controversies in the Management of Complex GI Cancer PatientsAll day, September 7Ritz-Carlton Chicago160 E. Pearson St., Chicago

Chicago Breast Reconstruction SymposiumAll day, September 28Ritz-Carlton Chicago160 E. Pearson St., Chicago

University of Chicago Medicine physicians are available to present in-o�ce CME courses in greater Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. For information, please contact Blair Parker, CME coordinator, 1-773-834-0283 or [email protected].

Robert Krull knew his years of smoking — two packs a day for four decades — put him at risk for a recurrence of the non-small cell lung cancer that University of Chicago Medicine surgeons removed in 2005. Krull’s emphysema and family history of lung cancer didn’t improve his odds.

Two years later, a CT scan showed an ominous mass at the bottom of Krull’s right lung, along the pleura next to the

diaphragm. “I was terrified and then angry that the cancer had returned when I thought I did everything right,” including quitting smoking,

said the 67-year-old lawyer from Long Beach, Ind. His pulmonologist, D. Kyle Hogarth, MD, was worried, too, especially when a PET scan of Krull’s lung lesion “lit up like a Christmas tree.”

Hogarth, director of the University of Chicago Medicine bronchoscopy and minimally invasive diagnostics, didn’t want to subject Krull to another surgery to biopsy the lesion. �e location prevented a needle biopsy, and Krull’s emphysema made it a risky idea as well. �is time, Hogarth would explore Krull’s lung with electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB), also known by its trade name superDimension iLogic System. �e image-guided localization system can biopsy peripheral nodules that flexible bronchoscopy cannot reach.

“�ere is virtually no region of the lung I can’t reach with superDimension,” Hogarth said. Even in patients with the most challenging problems, such as

advanced emphysema, one lung or extensive coronary artery disease, the likelihood that a lung lesion will go undiagnosed is significantly decreased, Hogarth said.

University of Chicago Medicine physicians have some of the most extensive clinical experience with ENB in the Midwest, Hogarth says. In 2004, he was one of the first pulmonologists in Illinois to adopt superDimension.

A pioneer of several minimally invasive technologies to detect or prevent lung cancer, Hogarth wants to give individuals at risk for lung cancer a fighting chance. �at’s the goal of the Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Risk Clinic, a special program for people at high risk for the development or recurrence of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, including lung cancer. Hogarth is the codirector.

“We’re actively screening individuals at high risk for lung cancer and are devoted to diagnosing and treating early-stage disease,” said Hogarth, who performs more than 700 bronchoscopies a year.

Exploring deep in the lung

�e lungs’ complex and narrow branch-ing system has made minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of early-stage lung cancer exceedingly challenging. More than 70 percent of primary pulmonary lesions found on a CT scan are located in areas of the lung that can’t be biopsied by conventional flexible bronchoscopy, Hogarth said. Sampling those lesions typically requires needle biopsy or thoracoscopy.

But using superDimension’s navigation catheters, Hogarth was able to steer a bronchoscope through

High-tech lung diagnosticsMinimally invasive technology allows physiciansto find and remove precancerous lung lesions

Robert Krull, left, and D. Kyle Hogarth, MD

Leading the Fight Against Cancer

Ranked #1 in Illinois and #14 in nation by U.S. News & World ReportMore than 350 cancer clinical trials

210 University of Chicago laboratory and clinical scientists focusing their efforts on cancer

1 of only a few programs nationwide with NCI-sponsored Phase I, Phase II and Phase III clinical trials of anticancer drugs or procedures

Highest overall rating from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Canceruchospitals.edu/cancer

continued on page 9

The University of Chicago Medicine’s leading-edge

cancer care is available at multiple locations

throughout Chicagoland.

New center at Silver CrossThe University of Chicago

Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital

opens by summer in New Lenox, Ill. The new

$21.6 million, 20,000-square-foot outpatient cancer center, a joint venture between the University of Chicago Medicine and Silver

Cross Hospital, will provide state-of-the-art chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well

as access to innovative clinical trials not usually found in a

community setting. Patients can receive comprehensive cancer care for adult, gynecologic and

pediatric cancers.

Schererville, Ind.Gynecologic oncology cancer

care is offered at the University of Chicago Health Specialists

in Schererville, Ind.

Naperville — Palos Heights — Merrillville, Ind.

Compassionate and personalized pediatric cancer

care from University of Chicago Medicine children’s

cancer specialists is available at offices at Edward Hospital

in Naperville, Ill., and in Palos Heights, Ill., and

Merrillville, Ind.

ElginUniversity of Chicago Medicine

physicians provideradiation oncology services

at Sherman Hospital’sCancer Care Center in Elgin, Ill.

Cancer Centers

AT THE FOREFRONT

�e University of Chicago Medicine’s pulmonology program is ranked #1 in the state by U.S. News &World Report.



Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, estimates he has now performed 1,200 heart transplants.

It is a level of experience that gives him, and his patients, a certain assurance in the operating room, said Jeevanandam, chief of cardiac and thoracic surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine.

“If there’s a hiccup in option A and you have to go to B, C or D, it’s nice to have done B, C and D,” he said.

For gravely ill patients in dire need of a replacement heart, such deep experiential knowledge can make all the difference. Jeevanandam credits it with enabling him to work more flexibly with donor organs — reducing the wait for transplants to among the shortest in the nation.

�e University of Chicago Medicine hosts Illinois’ busiest heart transplant program, performing roughly 25 operations annually. It has helped pioneer “total transplant,” whereby more of the donor’s organ is used, versus the standard procedure, to produce a better physi-ological fit for improved heart perfor-mance with less risk of complications.

It also has blossomed into one of the

region’s foremost centers for ventricular assist devices (VADs), implantable motors that augment the capacity of damaged hearts to pump blood.

�e device serves as a “bridge to transplant” — a stopgap for patients needing a transplant. It also is coming into its own as a destination therapy, a permanent treatment in its own right that some patients can live with for years.

“VADs started out as a complementary component of advanced heart failure therapy,” Jeevanandam said, “but because of their reliability and durability, they’ve become a primary therapy.”

Surgeons here implanted 58 VADs in 2011, and the University of Chicago Medicine is one of the sites for an FDA trial of a smaller, more durable model not yet available widely.

But Jeevanandam and his colleagues would rather forestall the need for a VAD or transplant in the first place by restoring patients’ native heart function, either through medical management or surgical repair.

“With medical intervention, we often can prevent patients from needing those

advanced therapies,” said Allen S. Anderson, MD, director of the University of Chicago Medicine’s Advanced Heart Failure Program.

“Surgically,” Jeevanandam said, “the first thing we do is see if we can recon-struct, repair or resuscitate patients’ hearts.” Front and center in this decision making is what’s best for the patient rather than easiest for the doctor. “We don’t rush to the easiest therapy. Doing a transplant or putting in a VAD can often be easier than reconstructing a heart, but preserving a patient’s own heart is almost always preferable, if possible.”

�e spectrum of therapies offered for advanced congestive heart failure addresses patient needs through coordi-nated team-based care and tight integra-tion between the traditionally separate arenas of medicine and surgery, said Anderson and Jeevanandam.

“Certain types of care are best delivered by internal medicine and cardiovascular disease specialists; for others, you want a world-class technical surgeon,” said Anderson. “We work together to achieve our goals.”

�is comprehensive approach to cardiac care is on display �ursday mornings at 7:30 sharp. In attendance at a recent weekly case conference were four cardiologists, three cardiac surgeons, four transplant nurses, two social workers, a nutritionist and a psychiatrist, among others.

On individual cases, Jeevanandam said he might confer with cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, vascular surgeons and specialists in heart valves, arrhythmia and electrophysiology, for example.

�is breadth of expertise means the program does not flinch from taking the highest-need patients, those who have run out of options elsewhere.

“We’re the place you go when everyone else says no,” Anderson said. “When we look at someone, we don’t think of the 14 reasons why we shouldn’t, we look at the 14 problems and how we can work around them to give someone a shot at an improved life.”

His team takes pains to accommodate the needs of referring physicians.

“We try to provide the interaction referring physicians want,” said Anderson. “Some like to know they can pick up the

Expertise, collaboration

the tight angles of the smallest branches of Krull’s lung. Aided by GPS-like technology, the sensor-equipped instrument pushed forward, while Hogarth tracked its exact location on a virtual three-dimensional reconstruction of Krull’s bronchial anatomy projected on a plasma screen.

When Krull woke from the 30-minute procedure, he found Hogarth grinning at him. Instead of cancer, Hogarth found histoplasmosis.

�e minimally invasive tool also is improving treatment of lung cancer. Unlike needle biopsies, ENB can obtain tissue, allowing for genetic testing of the tumor so oncologists can choose the most effective chemotherapy. In the past when initial chemotherapy failed, patients were sent to the operating room to remove tissue for molecular analysis. “�at was a hard sell, telling the patient you need surgery not to cure but so you can get more chemo,” Hogarth said. “Now we can go in with the scope, remove tissue, send the patient home the same day and allow the oncologists to do their job.”

Hogarth also uses ENB to place radiosurgical markers around tumors, which give radiation oncologists greater precision in targeting carcinomas with external beam radiation. “Patients receiving radiation therapy typically have poor lung function to begin with, making them the least able to tolerate pneumothorax and bleeding from traditional transthoracic marker placement,” Hogarth said.

Finding lesions early and often

As of his last visit, Krull is cancer-free, and Hogarth wants to increase the

chances of keeping him that way by checking his lungs annually for metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma in situ. �e University of Chicago Medicine is one of the only hospitals in the Midwest that offers autofluo-rescence bronchoscopy (AFB) to screen for lung cancers in high-risk individuals: those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, a smoking history of 30 pack years, survivors of esophageal and head and neck cancer, and asbestos workers.

An adapter put onto a standard bronchoscope, AFB shines an excited blue light on bronchial tissue. Normal tissue glows green, but the distorted tissue caused by neoplasia fluoresces reddish-brown. Hogarth

complements AFB with narrow-band imaging to look for neoplasia’s hallmark tangle of abnormal blood vessels. “�ese technologies more than double our chances of finding premalignant lesions,” Hogarth said.

In keeping with its mission of actively screening for lung cancer and proactively finding and treating early pulmonary lesions, the University of Chicago Medicine Advanced Bronchoscopy Center typically schedules patients for diagnostic bronchoscopy within a week of referral, Hogarth said. “And if it’s urgent, a referring physician can call me and I’ll try to see the patient tomorrow,” he added.

“Bronchoscopy is amazing today; there are so many ways to use it diagnostically,” Hogarth said. And the results are no less extraordinary: “Quite literally, we’re nipping lung cancer in the bud.”uchospitals.edu/physicians/d-kyle-hogarth.html

Multidisciplinary approach to treat advanced heart failure

“�ese technologies more than double our chances of finding

premalignant lesions.”

D. KYLE HOGARTH, MD


AT THE FOREFRONT

Four of the 11 heart-liver-kidneytransplants performed in the U.S.

were done at theUniversity of Chicago Medicine.

phone and we’ll take care of their patients; others want to be more actively involved, in which case we work together to co-manage patients.”

All in all, it is work he finds immensely gratifying. “�ere’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a patient, who came to you desperately ill, rejoin their life. For some, this means prescribing the right medicines. For others, who are literally dying and have given up — resigning themselves to never seeing their kids grow up — it is seeing them transplanted.

“What was previously treating chronic patients and watching them die has evolved into an area in which we can really prevent a lot of patients from dying,” Anderson said. “We’re pushing back the wall a little at a time.”uchospitals.edu/specialties/heart/services/heart-failure

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

High-tech lung diagnostics

Screening patients at high risk for lung cancer

Allen S. Anderson, MD, left, and Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD

the child’s home the next day.For most children, data from the home

sleep study will be sufficient to make the diagnosis and therefore formulate a treatment plan. A small number of children may need more comprehensive overnight studies in a hospital or clinic. University of Chicago Medicine physicians have the ability to analyze data from sleep studies that are conducted at the University of Chicago Medicine main campus in Hyde Park, the Institute of Sleep Medicine of DuPage Medical Group in Naperville, Ill., and Adventist Hinsdale Hospital in Hinsdale, Ill.

If treatment is needed, the sleep medicine team will collaborate with the child’s physician to determine the best course of care.

“We believe the care of most children with a sleep disorder is best provided by the general pediatrician,” said David Gozal, MD, chair of pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Gozal, who is internationally recog-nized for his research on children’s sleep disorders, is working on developing a simple urine test to diagnose sleep apnea in children. �e research is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

�is combination of clinical care, basic science research and clinical research

uniquely positions the University of Chicago Medicine as a leader in children’s sleep medicine. “We have constituted here a group of individuals who are not only outstanding clinicians, but who also can conduct research on new diagnostic tools and therapies and on new drugs and genetic models of the disease,” Gozal said. �is model is unique in the country and even the world, he said.

Basic sleep science research under way includes identification of biological pathways and gene networks that are altered in children with obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. �e research also is investigating the physiological, cellular and molecular processes involved in the origin and development of sleep disorders. �e clinical research program is conducting several studies, including research on the medical, educational and psychological challenges of sleep disorders

An overnight sleep study may be the gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnea, but it’s not always practical when the snoring patient is a child.

Access and cost are barriers for families who don’t live near centers that conduct pediatric sleep studies, can’t leave their other children overnight or who don’t have appropriate health insurance that covers the expensive test.

Now, the children’s sleep medicine team at Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine is pioneering home sleep studies for children suspected of having sleep apnea.

Portable monitors will be available to pediatric and otolaryngology (ENT) practices starting in the spring. Parents will pick up the device at their child’s physician’s office. �e information from the study will be transmitted to our board-certified children’s sleep specialists, who will evaluate and interpret the data. �e child’s physician can expect to have the report back in about a week.

“We want to offer families a test that is simple, not costly, that can be done at home and that will allow us to provide answers to their child’s sleep problems quickly,” said Hari Bandla, MD, chief of pediatric sleep medicine.

�e home recording device is FDA-approved for children, and is easy for parents to put on and take off their child. �e device includes an oximeter to measure oxygen saturation levels, a small nasal cannula to measure breathing and belts that go around the child’s chest and abdomen to measure effort during breathing. Once everything is connected, the parent simply pushes a button to start the test.

A home health agency will provide phone support for parents and also pick up the device at

Wire ManagementNew mathematical model helps physicians

manage pacemaker and ICD leads

AT THE FOREFRONT

University of Chicago sleep scientists discovered rapid eye movement (REM)

sleep in 1953.

getting kids to sleep

To participate in the home sleep study program, please call 1-800-824-2282 or [email protected]. Visit uchicagokidshospital.org/sleep-test to learn more.

Pediatric sleep medicine specialistsstart a program to make overnight sleep studies

accessible, affordable


Martin C. Burke, DO

and the relationship between sleep patterns and obesity in children.

�e bench-to-bedside approach — commonly used at the University of Chicago Medicine — means children and their families often have access to innovative treatments well before they are available elsewhere.

University of Chicago Medicine sleep scientists were the first to discover that supplementary iron is effective for children with restless legs during sleep. In addition, researchers are aggressively exploring new therapies for children with sleep apnea. Indeed, University of Chicago Medicine physician/scientists were at the forefront when they reported that standard treatments which include surgical removal of adenoids and tonsils are not as effective as previously thought. “Not all children are cured, and we are developing new therapies to improve results and outcomes,” said Rakesh Bhattacharjee, MD, a pediatric sleep specialist.

�e pediatric sleep specialists diagnose and treat children with bed-wetting, narcolepsy, parasomnias, period limb movement disorder, restless leg syndrome, sleepwalking, trouble falling asleep or awakening and teen sleep problems.

For children with complex sleep disorders, a multidisciplinary treatment team may include a sleep specialist, ENT surgeon, craniofacial surgeon and orthodontist. Behavioral therapy also is offered to families who need help establishing healthier daytime and nighttime routines.

For the convenience of families, outpatient care by the pediatric sleep specialists is available at the University of Chicago Medicine’s clinics in Westmont, Ill., Naperville, Ill., and Merrillville, Ind., as well as on the main campus.

Untreated sleep apnea can lead to problems with behavior, school perfor-mance and attention. Children with disturbed sleep have a risk of obesity that’s up to four times higher than children who get enough sleep, University of Chicago Medicine researchers found.

“We need to educate parents that if your child is snoring, that is not normal,” Bandla said.

The annual failure rate of some implantable cardioverter-de�brillator (ICDs) and pacemaker leads can be as high as 3.5 percent. Until recently, physicians have not had a decision model to help them weigh the risks of lead failure against the bene�ts of continuing to use these devices in patients with life-threatening arrhythmias. Now, physician-researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine have developed such a model, the �rst of its kind, to help guide the management of these patients.

The model uses a Markov analysis — a statistical technique used for forecasting — to determine the impact on survival of two di�erent management strategies: monitoring a lead or revising it through replacement or extraction. It was developed by a team of physicians led by Martin C. Burke, DO, University of Chicago Medicine interim chief of cardiology and director of the Heart Rhythm Center.

Burke says the model allows physicians to weigh the risks based on patients’ clinical presentation and parameters. “If a patient is pacemaker dependent and has had a prior cardiac arrest, the threshold to remove leads from service is much higher than if a patient is not pacemaker dependent and has only primary prevention indications,” Burke said.

Burke and his colleagues presented their model at the recent American Heart Association scienti�c sessions in Orlando, Fla. He expects the new model, which is being developed as a mobile app, will improve physicians’ ability to manage patients with leads and help referring physicians feel more comfortable about the safety of pacemakers and ICDs, particularly for arrhythmia patients in their 50s and early 60s who often delay treatment.

Burke and his team train physicians from around the country on laser lead extraction. Each year, University of Chicago Medicine physicians safely perform 300 to 400 extractions, including those classi�ed as Class IIa and IIb extractions under the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association’s guidelines.uchospitals.edu/physicians/martin-burke.html

A doctor-patient relationshipinspired one of the largest donations

ever pledged to theUniversity of Chicago Medicine.

The Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation is giving $42 million to the University of Chicago to create a unique program to improve doctor-patient communication.

The Bucksbaums’ longtime physician, Mark Siegler, MD, will lead the initiative.

“Our doctor, Mark Siegler, showed us what good doctoring involved, and it was just as much about compassion and communication as his outstanding clinical competence,” Carolyn “Kay” Bucksbaum said.

“In Dr. Siegler, I have had a doctor who is interested in my husband and me as persons, not just diseases, although we’ve confronted him with a few of them. I have so valued that. A special mark of Dr. Siegler’s character is his extreme kindness and interest in what makes us tick.”

The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence will train medical students, junior faculty members and senior clinicians to serve as role models and mentors in communication and shared decision making.

According to a 2001 study by the Commonwealth Fund, one in �ve U.S. adults had trouble communicat-ing with doctors and one in 10 felt they had been treated disrespectfully during a recent health care visit.

Kay Bucksbaum hopes the Bucksbaum Institute will address this problem by becoming a clinical and teaching model nationwide, emulated by other academic medical centers.

“This is a transformative gift, the kind that has an impact sustained over generations,” said Holly J. Humphrey, MD, dean for medical education at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Aw

ake a

nd talk

ing Surgeon performs

awake craniotomyon patient with a lemon-size tumor

87 Nobel Prize winners associated with the University of Chicago.

12 of the Nobel laureates won for discoveries related to biology or medicine, including 2011 winner Bruce A. Beutler, MD, a 1981 graduate of the Pritzker School of Medicine.

Transplant

Gastroenterology

Cancer

Sleep Medicine1972. Janet Rowley, MD, identi�ed the �rst chromosomal abnormality in leukemia, leading to the recognition of the genetic basis of cancer.

Surgery

Physician-scientists study nano-treatments to fight brain tumors

Surgery can be a daunting experience for anyone, though thanks to general anesthesia, it’s not typically a memorable one. �at’s not so for patients who go through an awake craniotomy — a unique procedure that allows surgeons to react based on feedback from the patient during removal of a brain tumor.

“I remember them waking me up, using a flashlight and talking to me,” said Anna Litchfield, 50, who was operated on in August by Maciej S. Lesniak, MD, director of neurosurgical oncology at the

University of Chicago Medicine. “I remember Dr. Lesniak saying, ‘Anna, are you OK?’ and I remember saying, ‘Great, Dr. L!’”

Awake craniotomies typically are used to remove tumors nestled close to functional areas of the brain. As the surgeon carefully removes the tumor, a neurologist monitors the patient to minimize damage to critical parts of the brain.

“When tumors are in what we call eloquent, functional areas, the margin of error is a millimeter,” Lesniak said.

He and his team perform one of the highest number of awake craniotomies in the Chicago area — more than 30 each year. Each surgery utilizes an interdisci-plinary, experienced team of neurosur-geons, neurologists, anesthesiologists and operating room nurses.

“Dr. Lesniak showed me very quickly that he not only understood me as a patient, but also supported my journey,” Litchfield said. “I decided if there’s anybody on this planet I would literally let in my head, it would be him.”

For most of the procedure, the patient is in a state of “twilight” anesthesia, similar to what is used for dental procedures. �e procedure can last up to eight hours.

“Often I find my role is to distract the patient,” said Leo Towle, PhD, professor of neurology, surgery and pediatrics. “We talk about their kids, their hobbies.”

�e conversation is more than small talk. �roughout the surgery, the neurologist runs tests to make sure there is no loss of function. “�ey’re under the drapes asking them questions, showing them cards, asking them to count back, and I listen,” Lesniak said. “It’s like music: When there’s a note or something that sounds off, I know that we are approaching a critical area.”

�e lemon-size tumor on the right side of Litchfield’s brain was invading into the motor cortex, so it was important to monitor her ability to move the limbs on the left side of her body. When the team observed muscle weakness, the surgery was immediately stopped.

Litchfield, a teacher from Lake Forest, Ill., experienced some neurological deficits after surgery, but has seen full recovery of normal function after rehabilitation. In a procedure where the surgical team could not continually test the patient, the damage could have been permanent, Lesniak said.

rain cancer is among the most difficult malignancies to treat. Physician-scientists at the University of Chicago Medicine are researching innovative ways to make treatment easier.

Maciej S. Lesniak, MD, director of neuro-oncology research at the University of Chicago Medicine, is collaborating with scientists at the University of Chicago’s Center for Nanoscale Materials and the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory on a novel therapy that uses magnetic nanoparticles to destroy cancer cells.

And Bakhtiar Yamini, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine, collaborated with a Nebraska biotechnology company to design a nanoparticle “shell” capable of selectively targeting therapeutics to brain tumor cells.

Lesniak recently was awarded a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to begin testing the nanomagnetic therapy in animal models.

“�ere have been advances in therapy for brain cancer, but they haven’t been significant enough to make a tremendous difference in terms of extending life,” Lesniak said.

Lesniak and his team are at the forefront of research with a total of $13 million in NIH grants to study brain tumor treatments, including gene therapy, immunotherapy and neural stem cells.

�e nanomedicine technique developed by the University of Chicago Medicine

and Argonne scientists uses magnetic microdiscs so tiny that calling them “microscopic” would be an exaggeration.

Antibodies attached to the microdiscs are capable of recognizing brain cancer cells. Once the discs reach their targets, a weak magnetic field — about the same strength as a refrigerator magnet — is applied to the cancer cells. �e discs start to rotate, which severely disrupts the cell functions. �e cancer cells self-destruct.

In theory, this therapy is potentially less toxic than the standard weapons to treat brain cancer such as radiation and chemotherapy, which work by damaging cancer cells’ DNA but also harm healthy cells.

“�e great thing about this approach is it changes the mindset from trying to use pharmaceutical agents to do something to a cell to actually damaging the cell in a mechanical fashion,” Lesniak said.

Yamini’s NIH-funded research with nanoparticles, meanwhile, essentially tags the particles so physicians will be able to monitor their path in the desired area of the brain by MRI.

“People have previously used both targeting and image guidance in the treatment of other cancers, but bringing these two strategies together in one vehicle is something that would be really useful,” Yamini said.

In Phase II, the team will test the nanoparticle delivery system in animal models. If those experiments are a success, the next step is a clinical trial for dogs that have been diagnosed with brain tumors.uchospitals.edu/physicians/maciej-lesniak.html

uchospitals.edu/physicians/bakhtiar-yamini.html

Fluoridation


B

Anna Litchfield and Maciej S. Lesniak, MD

At the Forefront of Medicine®

Archival Photograph Files, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Pioneers of hormone therapy for cancer and birthplace of modern chemotherapy. 1943. Leon Jacobson, MD, used the �rst chemotherapeutic agent, nitrogen mustard, to treat leukemia and lymphoma.

1927. The country’s �rst full-time academic gastroenterology section established.1934. First use of the gastroscope in the United States.

Early 1900s. A cardiac surgeon performed the �rst heart transplant, on a dog.1989. First successful living-donor liver transplant in the world.1999. First successful heart-liver-kidney transplant.

1930s. Proved most cases of surgical shock are caused by lack of blood, leading to use of blood transfusionsduring surgery. Developed the technique of all-night sleep

recording. Overnight sleep studies reveal that sleep is a complex set of stages.1963. Identi�ed the �rst sleep disorder (narcolepsy).

1946-61. University of Chicago research conducted in two Chicago suburbs led to the �uoridation of water nationwide.


Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, an internationally known authority on multiple myeloma and professor of medicine, has been appointed director of the University of Chicago Medicine Myeloma Program. He came to the University of Chicago from the University of Michigan, where he received the Myeloma Center of the Year Award from the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium in 2008 and 2010. He is lead investigator on a number of multisite clinical trials.

Leading Japanese scientist Yusuke Nakamura, MD, PhD, joined the University of Chicago Medicine as a professor of medicine in April to continue his program in anticancer drug discovery and development, as well as his internationally recognized research in genomics and pharmacogenomics. He leaves his position as Japanese Secretary General in the Office of Medical Innovation. Nakamura also served as a professor of molecular medicine at Tokyo University’s Human Genome Center.

Seon Kyu Lee, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiology, neurosurgery and neurology, is the new director of Interventional Neuroradiology. Lee specializes in neurointerventional proce-dures and has participated as a lead investigator in multiple national and international clinical trials. He came to the University of Chicago Medicine from Tufts University School of Medicine and Lahey Clinic Medical Center.

Janet Rowley, MD, Blum-Riese distinguished service professor of medicine, molecular genetics and cell biology, and human genetics, is a winner of the 2012 Japan Prize for Healthcare and Medical Technology, a presti-gious international award. Rowley and two other physicians were chosen for their roles in advancing understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of cancer that ultimately led to

the development of imatinib (Gleevec), the first precisely targeted anticancer drug. Rowley’s many honors include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH, chief of family planning and professor of obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics, is the new associate dean for diversity in the Biological Sciences Division (BSD). In this newly created position, Gilliam will play a critical leadership role in developing and implementing procedures and programs relating to diversity across the BSD.

Pediatric cancer specialist Susan L. Cohn, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of clinical research in pediatric hematology/oncology, has been elected treasurer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world’s leading organization representing cancer physicians, with more than 30,000 members.

Lucy A. Godley, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies, for her contributions to cancer biology research.

Sharon O’Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center, has been elected to a three-year term on the Illinois Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees.

“It Shoudda Been Me,” a play about youth violence and depression written by Doriane C. Miller, MD, associate professor of medicine, runs through June 15 at eta Creative Arts Foundation Inc. in Chicago. Miller, director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality, also leads Community Grand Rounds, dialogues meant to engage youth and adults about health and social issues affecting the South Side of Chicago.

Mitchell C. Posner, MD, chief of general surgery and Surgical Oncology and Thomas D. Jones professor of surgery, has been appointed medical director of Clinical Cancer Programs.

Ezra Cohen, MD, associate professor of medicine, has been named to the new position of associate director for education for the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center.

HealthLeaders Media named Vineet Arora, MD, MA, associate professor of medicine and assistant dean for scholarship and discovery for the Pritzker School of Medicine, to its annual list of 20 leaders who are changing health care for the better. Her research is leading to changes in sleep schedules for resident physicians to improve quality and safety of patients.

Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, Joseph P. Kirsner professor of medicine and clinical pharmacol-ogy, and chief of gastroenterology and nutrition, received the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award for Clinical Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Monica B. Vela, MD, associate professor of medicine and associate dean for multicultural

affairs for the Pritzker School of Medicine, received the American College of Physicians Award for Diversity and Access to Care. Vela, who is Spanish speaking, studies disparities in health and health care.

Linda Druelinger, MD, associate professor of medicine and medical director of the Adult Emergency Department, has been named chief of the Section of Emergency Medicine.

Arshiya Baig, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, launched Picture Good Health/Imagínate una Buena Salud, an innovative program to involve local churches in educating Latino Americans about diabetes. The bilingual, eight-week program reached community members in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, where diabetes-related mortality is above the national average.

Ross Milner, MD, an internation-ally recognized expert in vascular surgery, is the new codirector of the Center for Aortic Diseases. Milner, associate professor of surgery, came to the University of Chicago Medicine from Loyola University Medical Center, where he was chief of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy. Milner specializes in the treatment of complex aortic diseases.

Inspired… to discover, to teach and to give back

McBride consulted widely about the best place for treatment. All roads led to the University of Chicago Medicine.

“I knew the university had a stellar program,” she said. But conferring with luminaries during an American Associa-tion for Cancer Research meeting “sealed the deal.”

“Hands-down, they said, ‘Go to the University of Chicago.’”

McBride registered as a patient with Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD, an international leader in breast cancer research. McBride’s mastectomy and

subsequent breast reconstruction were performed by Nora Jaskowiak, MD, and David H. Song, MD, MBA, respectively.

“�ey’re remarkable,” she said. “�ey worked so well together,

and listened to me every step of the way.”Today, McBride draws upon her

experiences for inspiration in her role at the Noreen Fraser Foundation.

Philanthropy is especially important amid shrinking science budgets, she said.

Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD

Michelle McBride admits she’s “driven.” “I’m always trying to raise a little more

money,” said McBride, vice president of the Noreen Fraser Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting research into women’s cancers.

For McBride, it’s personal.On Dec. 11, 2011, she turned 39 years

and 24 days old. It’s not a milestone most of us would mark, but for McBride, of Glencoe, Ill., it held special significance. Both her mother and grandmother had died young, and McBride had, on that day, lived longer than her mom had. “When your mother dies young, it’s natural to assume you’ll die young too — especially when your grandmother also died early,” explained McBride. “My husband and I were up until midnight; I turned to the clock and said, ‘I made it.’”

For McBride, a mother of three, it had been an arduous journey. Sensitized to her familial risk of cancer by watching her mother succumb to the disease at 39 and the knowledge that her grandmother had died of it at 44, she underwent a test in 2006 that found a particular genetic mutation. It meant her odds of getting breast cancer were 87 percent. She stood a 27 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer.

“I cried,” she recalled. “I was sad my mother didn’t have the chance to learn what I had about our genetic makeup and to do something that could have prevented her death.”

McBride, a former attorney, embarked on a course of screening and self-education that culminated in her decision — in her mid-30s and without any indication of cancer — to have her breasts and ovaries removed.

She documented her experiences in a series of moving online journal entries.

“I am trying to break a pattern that is woven into my genetic fiber,” she wrote after deciding on the mastectomy.

“We’re making such strides in research that it’s imperative to continue supporting groundbreaking work.”

One project the foundation supports — through a $150,000 grant — is Olopade’s pioneering 4,000-patient study of triple-negative breast cancer, a virulent cancer that disproportionately strikes women of African descent.

“�eir funding is vital,” said Olopade. “We want to prevent breast cancer through better risk assessment, improved guidance on lifestyle changes, new therapies and less-invasive procedures.

“Our hope is that one day women like Michelle will be spared the tough decisions she faced.”

Michelle McBride supports research so other women will be spared the tough decisions she faced

News from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences

Evan Lyon, MD, assistant professor of medicine, is helping launch a residency in earthquake-ravaged Haiti through the University of Chicago Medicine and Partners In Health, a Boston-based nonprofit charity. Lyon also is initiating a Global Health Fellowship within the Section of Hospital Medicine. The physician chosen for the fellowship will spend six months in Haiti next year teaching in the family practice residency and collaborating with Haitian physicians for inpatient care.


curing breast cancer

Michelle McBride with her daughters London, 7, and Lola, 4

For information on how to support cancer research at the University of Chicago Medicine, please contact Amanda Nunnink at [email protected].

To learn more about the Noreen Fraser Foundation, visit noreenfraserfoundation.org.

Support Comer Children’s Hospital at theUniversity of Chicago Medicine through

the House of Dreams Charity Raffle.Enter at houseofdreamsraffle.org for the

chance to win a house or$1 million in cash.

Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/UChicagoMed and Twitter at twitter.com/UChicagoMed.

The University of Chicago Medicine Physician Referral Line: 1-800-824-2282 uchospitals.edu uchicagokidshospital.org

Please contact us by phone or email with any request. We are here to serve you.

Physician Relations Program 773-234-2036

Carol Marshall, [email protected]

Carrie Sota, Assistant DirectorServing Northwest [email protected]

Anthony Turner, AssociateServing the South and Southwest [email protected]

Demetria Avant, AssociateServing the Western [email protected]

Dionne Meekins-Michaud, AssociateServing all regions for [email protected]

Blair ParkerCME [email protected]

University of Chicago Medicine Physician Relations Program

Our Physician Relations team is dedicated to building meaningful relationships with referring physicians with the goal of understanding your needs, addressing your concerns and expediting access to University of Chicago Medicine specialists and services. Our specialists are committed to collaborating with referring physicians, augmenting the types of services you are able to provide to your patients. As your advocate, the Physician Relations team can help build this collaborative bridge with you and your office staff.

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Our New HospitalAt the ForeFront oF CAre And disCoverysm

opening January 2013

Our new hospital will provide patients and their physicians with a facility capable of transforming itself as rapidly as medicine is changing.

Its design is committed not simply to today’s ideal, but to a vision of perpetual and unpredictable change in patient care and clinical research. This vision is built on the University of Chicago Medicine’s fundamental

commitment to discovery, innovation and collaboration.

5841 s. maryland ave.

Chicago, iL 60637


Physician referrals: 1-800-824-2282

nhp.uchospitals.edu

FAst FACts About the new hospitAl

1.2 million total square feet

550 average number of construction workers on a peak day

2 million+ total estimated work hours to build the NHP

96 hours How long the new hospital can operate in case of a power outage

1,800 additional planned parking spaces. garage to be built north of the hospital

2 Wireless bands — one reserved for hospital use, one for patients and visitors

100,000 total number of plants on the roof — hardy, drought-resistant sedums

“A hospital has not only the goal but the obligation to be inspirational. When you come as a patient, or with a family member, the experience of the architecture is something that has to give you not only hope, but clarity, peace.”raFaeL viÑoLy | Architect

The new hospital is designed for family-centered care and improved commun-ication among all members of the patient’s care team.

privACy And

ComFort Our 240 inpatient rooms are all single occupancy and spacious enough to accommodate family for overnight stays. Each room will have a flat-screen TV and a reading light, so a family member can read without disturb-ing the patient.

Spirit-lifting

views All patient rooms are on the perimeter of the build-ing for greater privacy. Large windows provide spectacular views of the University of Chicago campus and the Chicago skyline.

room serviCe

Patients will be able to order what they want to eat, when they want to eat (within dietary restrictions).

peACe And quiet

Dual-layer window coverings include a blackout layer to darken the room for

better sleep. The new paging system does not rely on overhead pages.

FAmily support

The 10th floor will have two exercise rooms for patients and their families to use. Family members will be able to follow their loved one’s progress from pre-op to recovery on electronic boards — similar to the ones in airports — in the surgery waiting area. Patients will be identified by number for privacy.

a healing environment for patients and families

ArchitecturAl drAwing of A pAtient room

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“ The new hospital will empower us to deliver world-class, leading-edge care to patients facing the most challenging, complex conditions and to drive new breakthrough treatments for patients.”

KeNNetH S. PoloNSKy, MD Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs

“ The new hospital will allow us to make a great leap forward, especially in the field of integrated multispecialty care — a hallmark of future cancer care.”

everett e. voKeS, MD Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Medicine

“ It is a design for the future that allows rapid integration of new technologies for advanced care in a way that maintains the patient and family at the center of the care.”

Jeffrey B. MAttHewS, MD surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Surgery

Leading-edge Care

ArchitecturAl drAwing of the new hoSpitAl

the neW hospital:an economic engine for the community

The new hospital is the largest single health-care investment in the history of the University of Chicago Medicine.

And from the beginning of construction in 2009, the $700 million project has fostered the participation of minority- and women-owned enterprises.

The massive project continues a renewed tradition of commitment by the University of Chicago Medicine to making a significant impact not just on the medical health, but also on the economic health of the surrounding community. As an employer and provider, the medical center provides stability and growth for the South Side.

The University of Chicago Medicine launched its initiative to improve participation by minority- and women-owned businesses in construction and other projects more than a decade ago.

“ This building offers a tremendous opportunity to transform how we care for patients, from innovative technology that delivers the most advanced clinical treatments and improves safety, to amenities that offer a superior healing environment.”

SHAroN o’Keefe President of the University of Chicago Medical Center

ArchitecturAl drAwing of the lobby

ArchitecturAl drAwing of the new hoSpitAl

programmed for 28 operating rooms with leading-edge technology

green roof planted with 100,000 drought-resistant plants

two exercise rooms for patients and their families to use

two floors of expansion space for future technology

retail space along 57th street

Cancer care

Our New Hospital

the Sky lobby’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows offer panoramic views of the city

240 private inpatient rooms, including iCu

pharmacy

Blood bank

Heliport

integrated diagnostic and interventional platform includes cardiac, gastrointestinal,

neurological and vascular services

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Inspired - Spring 2012 - University of Chicago Medicine

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