Under a new and expanded educational and research partnership, The University of Toledo and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are collaborating closely to improve human performance as well as the outcomes of medical care.

Areas of collaboration include modeling and simulation, biomarker and neuroscience research, the study of post-traumatic stress, and bio-engineering. With the goal of understanding and improving human effectiveness, UT and Wright Patterson scientists and researchers are studying biomarkers and their relationship to human performance such as fatigue and stress.

Air Force Col. Douglas Hodge, Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, UT chancellor and executive vice president for biosciences and health affairs, and Dr. Pamela J. Boyers, director of the UT Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center, will lead a tour of the simulation center and, with their colleagues, describe some of the initiatives underway at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14 in the lower level of the Collier Building.

“The University has been a longtime supporter of the armed forces and we are excited about this increased level of collaboration with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” Boyers said. “Not only can we support the military mission through testing devices and examining training techniques, but our UT students also get the opportunity to learn from their researchers in Dayton.”

The current first phase of the UT Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center is a 12,000-square-foot space in the lower level of the Collier Building that features patient simulators, a 3-D CAD Wall and an iSpace 3-D immersive environment, among other technology.

The university broke ground this year on a new $36 million facility that will house the existing simulation technologies and allow for expansion into a variety of educational disciplines. Slated to open in February 2014, the Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center will be the first in the nation to incorporate three integrated simulation centers: a progressive anatomy and surgical skills center, an advanced simulation center and the virtual immersive reality center.

The tour is part of a series of events hosted by The University of Toledo in recognition of Veterans Day and the national Joining Forces initiative to serve America’s military families.

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have helped organize Joining Forces week nationally, honoring veterans for their service and working to ensure those returning from the battlefield have the economic and health care they deserve. For the week of Nov. 12, UT is highlighting the research and services available on campus to those who have served our nation.
The schedule of events at UT for the remainder of the week is:

• Thursday, Nov. 15 — “Joining Forces in Teaching for Better Care of Veterans,” a panel discussion along with a question-and-answer session featuring Tamburrino, Dr. Thomas Sodeman, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, and second-year medical student and U.S. Army veteran Robert Roether, is scheduled from noon to 12:30 p.m. in Collier Building Room 1230. The panel discussion will focus on how UT’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences is exploring a change in curriculum to enhance the education of students in relation to veterans. Learn how training future physicians to ask a few simple questions could help better meet the physical and emotional needs of veterans and their families.
• Friday, Nov. 16 — The University of Toledo’s Military Service Center, the main point of contact for students, staff and faculty veterans or those who are still serving, will hold an open house from 1-2:30 p.m. in Rocket Hall Room1529. Stop by to meet the staff, including VA certifying official Cheryl Karnikowski; representatives from the Toledo VET Center, one of eight centers in Ohio that provides a broad range of counseling, outreach and referral services to eligible veterans in order to help them make a satisfying post-war readjustment to civilian life; and Brittany Powers, a social worker from the Department of Veterans Affairs, who regularly meets with student veterans to talk about resources, including VA health care and the new Toledo Community Based Outpatient Clinic located on the Health Science Campus.

For more information on the national Joining Forces initiative visit www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces.

Media Coverage
13 ABC, WTOL 11 and WNWO (Nov. 19, 2012)

Tags: College of Medicine and Life Sciences