The 29th annual Dance for Diabetes was held Jan. 16 at the historic Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, where more than 425 students, faculty, staff and guests enjoyed a night of music, dining and dancing.

The event raised a grand total of $13,440 for diabetes treatment and education at the Interprofessional Community Clinic, where interprofessional teams of RFU students treat medically underserved adults under faculty supervision.

D4D event coordinator Katie Landry, a second-year student at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, worked with a team of about 15 volunteers to organize the dance.

"Diabetes hits home," said Katie, a native of Racine, WI. "Both my grandparents had it. I remember as a child pricking their fingers to check their blood sugar levels. Since then, I've come across so many people who have diabetes. To be able to help them lead a healthier lifestyle means so much.

"D4D 2016 was a huge success," Katie said. "I'm so grateful for everyone who participated in fundraisers throughout the year and those who attended the dance."

• Nurse Anesthesia Department Chair Sandra Larson, PhD, MS, CRNA, was elected to the National Academies of Practice and the Nursing Academy as a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow. She will be inducted during the NAP Annual Meeting & Forum April 8-9 in Baltimore, MD.
• An article by Sydney Cooley, CHP '16, a student in the Pathologists' Assistant program, was recently published in the American Academy of Pathologists' Assistants journal, The Cutting Edge. Sydney first presented "Osteosarcoma of the Distal Femur" in poster form at the AAPA conference, where the piece was chosen as the top student research article.
• Hector Rasgado-Flores, PhD, associate professor of physiology and biophysics and classical pianist, performed "The Elements," his original composition on the physical properties and biological effects of 14 chemicals. The performance was hosted by the College of Health Professions on Jan. 19.
• Physician assistant students, aided by physical therapy students, RFU clinical educator Patrick Withrow, PT, DPT '08, and Assistant Professor Ziemowit Mazur, Ed.M, MS, PA-C, participated in a hands-on geriatric lab learning experience. Impaired mobility, sense of smell and vision were just a few of the simulated experiences students engaged in to help them better understand and serve future senior patients.
• Frank Cerra, MD, senior advisor for the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, visited RFU in December to present “Nexus Innovation Network: Generating and Deploying Evidence Regarding IPE into the National Conversation” to faculty, students and staff. The event was hosted by RFU’s Baldwin Institute for Interprofessional Education.

• The research of Jun-yong Choe, PhD, CMS associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was featured in the December journal Academic Medicine. Dr. Choe's ribbon diagram of the first three-dimensional structure of a true glucose transporter, achieved through protein crystallography, appears on the journal's December 2015 cover.
• A study by a team of Rosalind Franklin University researchers headed by Carl White, PhD, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, made the Dec. 15 cover of the journal Science Signaling. "Depletion of H2S during obesity enhances store-operated Ca2+ entry in adipose tissue macrophages to increase cytokine production" was co-authored by investigators from the department of Physiology and Biophysics, including lead authors Gopal V. Velmurugan, PhD, and Huiya Huang, PhD, in addition to members of RFU's Department of Microbiology and Immunology and researchers at Northwestern University. The paper is accompanied by a podcast on the findings featuring an interview with Dr. White.
• Grace Stutzmann, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience, and John Buolamwini, PhD, chair of pharmaceutical sciences, were awarded a one-year, $257,942 grant from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation to study "Drug development and optimization of compounds stabilizing ryanodine calcium channels for AD."
• Stephanie Wu, DPM, MSc, was awarded $6,500 by Smith & Nephew for a one-year prospective, randomized, comparative effectiveness study of a single-use, negative pressure wound therapy system versus a traditional negative pressure wound therapy system. Dr. Wu is associate dean of research and professor in the Department of Podiatric Surgery and Applied Biomechanics.

• The Daily Herald and TribLocal both featured a story on College of Pharmacy students William Alegria and Haley Spaulding, who took first place in the national 2015 Clinical Skills Competition at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists meeting, held Dec. 6-10 in New Orleans. Both members of the COP Class of 2016, the students competed against 128 teams in an interactive, team-based analysis of clinical scenarios for hospital/health-system pharmacists.

SCPM Distinguished Lecturer Series

Nexus Visit

Geriatrics Lab

CMS Alumni / Student Dinner

Scholl College New Year's Social

Dance for Diabetes

Hijab Awareness Day

• Laura Pickard, DPM '90, and Michael Hriljac, DPM ‘79, JD, recently spoke on "The Future of Podiatric Medicine: National and Local Perspectives." Dr. Pickard is one of five Scholl College alumni currently serving on the American Podiatric Medical Association Board of Trustees. Dr. Hriljac, a member of RFU's Board of Trustees, is executive director of the Illinois Podiatric Medical Association. The Dec. 16 event was an offering of the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine Distinguished Lecturer Series.
• Edwin Harris, DPM '70, contributed to an article for podiatrytoday.com titled "Does Type 1 Diabetes Put Patients at Higher Fracture Risk?"
• Jesse Viner, MD '76, was awarded the 2015 Excellence in Patient Services Award from the Illinois Psychiatric Society.
• Vincent Coda, DPM '77, was reappointed to the Indiana Board of Podiatry Examiners.
• George Bakris, MD '81, was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board of NephroGenex, Inc.
• Daniel Evans, DPM '82, was appointed president of the Board of Directors of the American College of Foot & Ankle Orthopedics & Medicine.
• Stephen Barrett, DPM '85, contributed to an article for podiatrytoday.com titled "Can Medical Marijuana Offer Relief for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy?"
• David Kulber, MD '88, received the Mending Kids Award at the annual Mending Kids Wings Around the World fundraising gala for providing surgical care to children in Mozambique.
• Lawrence A. Lavery, DPM '88, co-edited the American Diabetes Association's "Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot," third edition.
• Amol Saxena, DPM '88, was elected vice president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sport Medicine.
• Alex Kor, DPM '89, was elected president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sport Medicine.
• Karen Cassiday, PhD '90, was recently interviewed by prevention.com for a piece titled "7 Days to Less Anxiety and Brain Chatter," and by Live Happy magazine for the podcast "Managing Negative Thinking".
• Benny Fair, DPM '90, was profiled in frostillustrated.com.
• Jane Ann Koch, DPM '90, was reappointed to the Indiana Board of Podiatry Examiners.
• Matt Werd, DPM '93, presented at the Florida Podiatric Medical Association's Science & Management Symposium, where he updated participants on sports medicine-related topics.
• Martin Yorath, DPM '94, contributed to an article for podiatrytoday.com titled "Exploring A Melanomatous Lesion in a Financially Underserved Patient."
• Brian Buksar, PT '99, was profiled for "Where Are They Now?" on nwi.com.
• Roland Walker, MD '01, is the medical director of the new Marram Health Center in Gary, IN.
• Jamie Becker, PhD '06, was interviewed about her career path for cbslocal.com.
• Brandon Gumbiner, DPM '07, was recognized as a Young Professionals Leader in Columbus, IN.
• Jennifer Pappalardo, DPM '09, contributed to an article for podiatrytoday.com titled "Does Type 1 Diabetes Put Patients at Higher Fracture Risk?"
• Robert Garoon, MD '12, was chosen for the Retina Fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Florida.

• Physical therapy students Erin Demarco, CHP '17, and Nathan Hilse, CHP '17, are recipients of Healthcare Foundation of Northern Illinois scholarships. The foundation works to improve access to health services for underserved residents in Lake County, IL.
• On Jan. 21, 49 students from Abbott Middle School in Waukegan visited the Anatomy Lab and Simulation Lab and participated in a panel discussion with RFU's Latino Medical Student Association. Students from Glenbrook North High School's Spartan Medical Club toured RFU on Jan. 22. The visits were sponsored by the Division of Strategic Enrollment Management.