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Innovation Depot Breaks New Ground for Birmingham Biotech
It was a groundbreaking of a different sort.
Innovation Depot, the new high-tech and biotech incubator for Birmingham, will open in spring of 2007 in the old Sears Building between First and Second Avenue North and 12th and 13th Streets. Since the building is being renovated, there was no actual ground to break, but that didn't stop 150 key players in Birmingham's biotech industry from gathering to celebrate the start of work on the former eyesore that will anchor a new entrepreneurial district downtown.
BY MARTI WEBB SLAY |
Viruses Prove an Ally in Delivering Targeted Medicine
A decade-long collaboration that began from examining the protein function of viruses has yielded the technology to use viruses as containers for helping the body, rather than harming it. Professors Trevor Douglas and Mark Young saw the possibilities of viruses working as containers for inorganic material and have proven an effective method to redesign viruses and activate protein cages to work as molecule delivery systems. Basically, using the protein cage architecture, synthetic cargos take a ride on the backs of viruses undetected by the rest of the body.
BY HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
Biotech Industry Continues to Grow
The state of the biotech industry in Alabama is healthy and growing, according to Matthew A. Gonda, PhD, chairman of the Biotechnology Association of Alabama.
"We had a banner year this past year … we have 90 companies in bio-related industry in the state. We had 13 new startup companies in the past 18 months, opposed to no starts in the previous two years. We lost a couple at the same time," he admits, "yet we grew a couple. We had $104 million worth of capital raised in the past year for our companies, vs. $82 million in 2005, another level of growth.
BY MARTI WEBB SLAY |
Discoveries in Genetic Variation Creating Possibilities for Predictive Medicine
Four years ago, anonymous people in various populations of America, Nigeria, Tokyo and Beijing allowed for samples of their DNA to be obtained for an extensive genetic study. Researchers hoped to navigate and catalog the patterns of genetic variation that are common in the world's population.
The results have provided overwhelming evidence that variation in the human genome is organized into local neighborhoods, called haplotypes, which usually are inherited as intact blocks of information.
By HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
Certified Program Offers Senior Housing Options
Plan ahead. That's the message residential contractors hope healthcare providers can give senior patients. Seniors have new options to stay at home, thanks to the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) program, designed by AARP and the National Association of Home Builders. However, making full use of that program requires prior planning.
CAPS professionals are certified home remodelers trained in elder needs and solutions to common barriers. CAPS specialists in Birmingham offer universal design features for both new construction and remodeling.
BY JEAN M. MCLEAN |
Geriatric Specialists Emphasize Correct Housing Placement
"Where should Grandma live?"
That's the question physicians are hearing more often, as the elderly live longer and families struggle with housing options. According to Dr. Andrew Duxbury, that question is appropriately posed, as housing choices are also part of a physician's responsibility.
BY JEAN M. MCLEAN |
Under the Knife
Over the next 25 years, the number of American adults 65 and older will double, topping 71.5 million. Yet sufficient numbers of professionals to deliver their healthcare is far from assured.
A study last year by the American Geriatrics Society concluded that the current shortage of geriatricians and other healthcare professionals trained to care for older adults could reach "crisis proportions" during those same 25 years. Meanwhile, Congress has slashed federal funding to help train the next generation of geriatricians.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD and Lynne Jeter |
Physicians Spotlight: Dr. Roswell Pfister and Dr. Sara Alvarez
During workdays, the feet of Dr. Roswell Pfister and Dr. Sara Alvarez are firmly planted in the medical profession. The couple, married for 12 years, is a busy clinician/researcher pair based at Brookwood Eye Institute.
But after office hours, the feet that have carried these doctors so capably through seeing patients and conducting research carry them gracefully around the dance floor.
BY JUNE MATHEWS |
Doctors Begin to Opt Out of Prescribing Database
Every time a doctor writes a prescription, the information is collected by a group of vendors, which in turn sell it to drug companies anxious to analyze how their pharmaceuticals are making out on the frontlines of medicine. And for an uncomfortable group of physicians, that data has occasionally been read back to them by a visiting drug representative.
But that is about to change.
BY JOHN CARROLL |
Study Investigates Possible Breakthrough Therapy
Adevice that's being touted as "breakthrough" technology for the treatment of heart failure is being trialed by UAB researchers in a national clinical study sponsored by the device manufacturer, Impulse Dynamics of Orangeburg, N.Y. Scientists will investigate the effects of the Optimizer III™ System in patients with moderate to severe heart failure to see if the treatment improves quality of life and exercise tolerance.
BY ANN B. DEBELLIS |
Citizens Invited to Join in Healthcare Debate
In 2003, Federal legislation created the Citizens' Health Care Working Group … 14 men and women who reflect a broad geographic representation and a balance between urban and rural representatives … to listen to what citizens around the country like and don't like about our nation's healthcare system.
Last month, Birmingham area residents were invited to participate in the nationwide discussion at a meeting at the UAB School of Public Health.
BY MARTI WEBB SLAY |
Health Professionals Brace for Upcoming Flu Season
The threat of an avian flu pandemic may have captured the attention of the American people, but the healthcare system still needs to brace for the annual arrival of seasonal influenza. Each year, influenza kills tens of thousands of people in the United States. And in an effort to help reduce that grim toll, a group of the country's top influenza specialists came together in Washington, D.C. recently to highlight their plans for the upcoming flu season.
BY TRACY STATON |
New Studies Cast Fresh Light on MS Drugs
Researchers typically focus on the value of new drugs that are being pushed through the pipeline. But a pair of new studies on a 10-year-old therapy for multiple sclerosis is underscoring some hidden long-term gains for patients.
Dr. Omar Khan, an associate professor of neurology at Detroit's Wayne State University and a prominent MS expert, has concluded that a new study of Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate injection) shows that the drug — made by Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries — continues to help protect patients after they fail to respond to Avonex®. Biogen Idec's Avonex is one of the leading MS drugs on the market.
BY TRACY STATON |
Physician Ownership of Hospitals
Physician ownership of hospitals is one of the most controversial topics in American healthcare today. Particularly where specialty hospitals are involved, there are strong feelings regarding the appropriateness of physician ownership. Although Alabama has not seen the development of specialty hospitals, the state has a long standing tradition of physician ownership of acute care hospitals. Currently, at least one Birmingham hospital appears to be actively pursuing the sale of a significant interest in the hospital to a group of referring physicians.
By Colin H. Luke |
Congress Decides Life is Worth $7,214.76?
Many of you read about Congress passing the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006 and will surely hear more about it in the upcoming election. The incumbents who voted for the legislation will try to use their affirmative vote to political advantage. However, these incumbents will avoid discussing the amendments known as Section B and Section C that were attached to the Deficit Reduction Act that negatively and drastically impacted Medicare.
By Joe Bryant |
Patients' Rights to Self-Determination and Medical Care
Anyone who is at least 19 years old and who is mentally capable of understanding a lay description of medical procedures and able to appreciate the consequences of his or her own decisions has the right to decide whether medical procedures or treatment will be provided to them. This right applies whether these procedures are lifesaving emergency treatments, life-sustaining treatments, or the provision of food and liquids by artificial means.
By Jim Hoover |
UAB Alumnus Takes Helm of AOA
A 1979 graduate of the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) School of Optometry was sworn in as president of the 34,000-member American Optometric Association (AOA) this week at the group's 109th annual meeting in Las Vegas.
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Amling Appointed to Bueschen Chair
Christopher L. Amling, MD, has been appointed as the first holder of the Anton J. Bueschen, MD, Endowed Chair in Urologic Surgery and Research at UAB. The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees took the action recently.
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Markert Named Director of Neurosurgery at UAB
James M. Markert, MD, has been named director of the division of neurosurgery in the Department of Surgery at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham). Markert is a professor of surgery, physiology and biophysics, and pediatrics.
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UAB Driving Clinic Serves as Valuable Resource
Along with housing, drivers' licenses and car keys are proud symbols of independence treasured by many seniors. However, maintaining independence must be tempered by safety concerns. That's where the UAB Driving Assessment Clinic comes into play.
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