The Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center at The University of Toledo Medical Center will host its fifth annual Cancer Survivor Celebration on Thursday, June 6.

“Each year of survivorship is a reason for joy,” said Renee Schick, manager of Renee’s Survivor Shop in the Dana Cancer Center. “We want to recognize and honor our patients and their caregivers for their strength and courage through the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”

The annual event, which will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., honors and celebrates the Dana Cancer Center’s past and present patients, as well as their loved ones, for their strength, courage and survivorship.

Survivors and their guests will be treated to inspirational stories, food, music, a photo booth and displays from a number of area support groups. Cancer treatment experts including UTMC oncologist Dr. Danae Hamouda also will be on hand.

This year’s guest speaker will be Dr. Michelle Masterson, a breast cancer survivor, retired associate professor and former director of the Physical Therapy Program in the College of Health and Human Services.

“I hope my story can inspire and help others to stay strong and positive, to fight hard, and to never give up,” Masterson said. “I also hope this celebration helps to get the word out to the Toledo community that we have excellent, expert, comprehensive and compassionate cancer care right here at the UTMC Dana Cancer Center.”

The event is free, but reservations are requested. Email eleanorndanacancercenter@utoledo.edu or call 419.383.5243.

The National Youth Sports Program at The University of Toledo is celebrating its 50th year of providing income eligible youth with free educational and athletic activities.

The three-week summer camp, which kicked off yesterday, will be held weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through Friday, June 21.

About 150 area youth between the ages of 9 and 16 are expected to participate in this year’s program, which helps children build social skills, confidence and healthy lifestyles.

“For 50 years, the administration at The University of Toledo has seen the National Youth Sports Program as an asset to the community and to the University. There’s a lot of credit due to a lot of people, and I’m proud we’re able to continue offering this enriching experience,” said Dr. Ruthie Kucharewski, professor and chair in the School of Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, and administrator of the National Youth Sports Program.

A celebration to recognize the 50th university will be held at noon on Sunday, June 9, in the Health Education Center gym.

The National Youth Sports Program was established by an act of Congress in 1968. UToledo was one of the first universities in the country to offer the federally funded program the following year. Though federal funding for the program has since been cut, UToledo continues to host the camp annually through fundraising and in-kind donations.

More than 14,000 children are estimated to have participated during the program’s 50 year history.

Participants receive instruction in a number of sports and recreational activities, such as soccer, basketball, track, swimming and fishing. Today’s schedule includes basketball, softball and flag football.

In addition to the athletic and recreation therapy activities, the youth are provided educational and health programs; academic tutoring; information about nutrition and personal hygiene; peer-refusal skills; and alcohol, tobacco and other drug seminars.

The camp also has several field trips scheduled, including visits to the Indian Creek Zoo and Side Cut Metropark, and features a local guest speaker every day at lunch to inspire the children to become the best version of themselves.

“We want to make our community’s youth well-rounded individuals. We’re helping them to grow emotionally, psychologically, physically and socially through a variety of constructive recreational activities and educational experiences,” Kucharewski said. “I think that the experiences the children have at NYSP helps stimulate their imagination about their future, about what they might aspire to be when they grow up.”

Dr. Scott Parazynski, a pioneering explorer, inventor, astronaut and physician, will deliver the commencement address at The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences’ graduation ceremony Friday, May 10.

A total of 238 degrees will be awarded: 166 doctor of medicine degrees, nine doctor of philosophy degrees, 59 master’s degrees, and four graduate certificates.

The commencement ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in Savage Arena.

Scott Parazynski

“I am beyond thrilled to come celebrate this great milestone with the healers of the @UToledoMed Class of 2019!” Parazynski wrote on Twitter after he was announced as the commencement speaker.

Parazynski, who earned a medical degree at Stanford Medical School, can easily lay claim to being one of history’s most well-traveled explorers.

He has ascended Mount Everest, spent more than eight weeks orbiting the Earth and more than 47 hours on spacewalks with NASA, visited Antarctica, and conducted scientific research beneath the surface of one of the globe’s highest lakes in Chile.

Parazynski also served as the personal onboard physician for the late John Glenn when the former senator returned to space in 1998, and has founded multiple research and development companies.

“It is an honor to have Dr. Parazynski address our graduates,” said Dr. Christopher Cooper, dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, and executive vice president for clinical affairs. “Dr. Parazynski was selected by a committee of medical students and faculty from a national pool in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments both professionally and through personal explorations.”

The College of Medicine will award Parazynski an honorary doctor of science.

One of Parazynski’s current projects is with Fluidity Technologies, a company he founded to focus on developing disruptive control devices for everything from drones to surgical robots

The Student Nurses Association at The University of Toledo is aiming to register 1,000 potential bone marrow donors next week during a two-day blitz that could be the starting point for saving someone’s life.

The registration drive will take place Monday and Tuesday, April 15, and 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Thompson Student Union and Nitschke Hall on Main Campus, and in the Collier Building on Health Science Campus. Signs will be posted. The event coincides with National Donate Life Month.

Bone marrow transplants are often the best — and in some cases, only — treatment for a range of diseases, including blood cancers like leukemia and genetic conditions such as sickle cell anemia.

“We have been touched by people who have had these diagnoses,” said Shannon Rafferty, vice president of the Student Nurses Association. “We wanted to spearhead an educational program and register donors. You have the potential to save someone’s life by doing this.”

The Student Nurses Association is partnering with DKMS, an international nonprofit based in Germany, to conduct the donor drive.

Volunteers from the University’s College of Nursing will explain to potential donors how the transplant process works, guide them through a registration form, and take three quick cheek swabs.

The swabs are then sealed up and sent back to DKMS to be cataloged, with the results ultimately being placed on the Be The Match Registry operated by the National Marrow Donor Program.

More than two-thirds of patients requiring a bone marrow transplant must look outside their immediate family to find a match, making international registries crucial to pairing willing donors to individuals in need of a transplant.

That was the case for a family friend of Patricia Sopko, an instructor in the College of Nursing and advisor of the University’s Student Nurses Association chapter.

The 16-year-old girl needed a bone marrow transplant after a blood cancer diagnosis. A match was found in the United Kingdom and an infusion was done in the States, but the cancer recently came back. She’s currently awaiting another match for a second bone marrow transplant.

Rafferty, a senior working toward a bachelor of science degree in nursing, said that personal connection was one reason the group decided to make a priority of registering new donors. They did their first drive last year during Relay for Life, collecting about 100 new donors.

Next week’s effort is one of the largest initiates they’ve undertaken.

“Volunteering is a huge thing our board believes in,” Rafferty said. “That’s one of the reasons we went into nursing — we have a passion to help people in our community. We’re trying to make a change.”

The group will again be sharing the story of Sopko’s friend to illustrate the need for donors and the potential impact they could make. While people on the registry can’t specify a wish to donate to a specific individual, the fact that so many are prepared to help is encouraging to those waiting on a life-saving donation.

“It made a huge difference for my friend’s daughter,” Sopko said. “It was like we were fighting for her life. She felt so much more hopeful seeing people were willing to do this.”

The University of Toledo Medical Center, in partnership with Life Connection of Ohio, will mark the beginning of National Donate Life Month with a flag-raising ceremony Thursday, April 4.

The annual event is meant to serve as a reminder of the ongoing need for organ and tissue donors, as well as to recognize those whose donations have helped save lives and those who are living today because of an organ transplant.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. outside UTMC’s main entrance, near Mulford Library.

Attendees will include hospital leaders, officials from Life Connection Ohio, and two women who will speak about how their lives were changed after organ transplant surgery. One of the women scheduled to speak received a life-saving kidney transplant at UTMC in 2018.

More than 110,000 Americans are currently awaiting organ transplants, and a new name is added to the nation’s organ transplant waitlist every 10 minutes. Approximately 80 percent of those on the waitlist need a kidney.

UTMC is northwest Ohio’s only organ transplant center. In 2018, the hospital performed 88 kidney transplants.

The hospital also will be raising money throughout the month of April with a bike raffle to offset the cost of sending a UTMC transplant recipient to the 2020 Transplant Games in New Jersey.

Tickets for the bike, which was donated by local bike shop Cyclewerks, may be purchased for $2 each.

For more information on organ and tissue donation or to register as a donor, visit donatelifeohio.org.

The University of Toledo, as part of its ongoing commitment to address the opioid epidemic in northwest Ohio and beyond, will host an educational resource expo and hold a community-wide teach-in on Friday, April 5.

Together, the events are meant to serve as a day of community impact that will provide links to community resources and a data-driven overview of the epidemic, while addressing myths and misconceptions that can serve as a barrier to seeking treatment.

“There tends to be a social stigma associated with opioid use disorder, but it’s important that people understand opioid use disorder is a complex brain disease that affects people from all backgrounds,” said Dr. Amy Thompson, professor of public health and vice provost for faculty affairs who serves as co-chair of the UToledo Opioid Task Force. “By reducing that stigma, we can help save lives.”

The 2019 University of Toledo/Community Opioid Prevention Resource Fair and Expo will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium.

The expo will feature a variety of speakers who will outline how opioids work, the difference between safe, medically necessary use and opioid use disorder, the effect of opioid use disorder on a variety of age groups, and prevention and treatment methods.

Naloxone training will be offered throughout the day and there will be a variety of community service providers on hand to help connect attendees to key resources. Supervised children’s activities also will be provided.

Registration is not necessary for the free, public event. However, professionals in the fields of nursing, social work and counseling who wish to receive continuing education credit do need to register in advance at the UToledo Opioid Task Force website.

The UToledo Opioid Task Force, alongside a number of community partners, has also developed a tool-kit to provide educational materials that can be shared at schools, workplaces, churches and other area organizations for The University of Toledo/Community Partners Regional Teach-In.

“We want to meet people where they are to ensure that everyone in our community has access to information and resources that will help them understand opioid use disorder and where they can find help and support for themselves or loved ones,” said Dr. Linda Lewandowski, dean of the College of Nursing who co-chairs the UToledo Opioid Task Force. “We hope to reach as many people throughout the community as possible on April 5.”

In addition to written materials, UToledo can arrange for expert speakers to visit participating organizations.

More information on the expo and teach-in can be found on the UToledo Opioid Task Force website.

The University of Toledo Police Department and the Office of Recreational Services will conduct a training exercise on March 30 to test the response of campus law enforcement in the event of a violent intruder within a University building.

The active shooter simulation will take place from 8 to 9:45 a.m. inside the Student Recreation Center on Main Campus. The training is scheduled to be complete before the Student Recreation Center opens at 10 a.m.

Similar to other active shooter training exercises University police have conducted, campus safety officials will test first responders’ communication, response and scene management. This exercise, however, also will test the response of more than 160 staff and students who work in the Student Recreation Center.

“We’ve been doing active shooter exercises for many years and we continue to build upon previous experience,” University Police Chief and Director of Public Safety Jeff Newton said. “It’s an opportunity for officers to train in their response to an active aggressor and also for the students and staff to train in their ALICE principles.”

ALICE, which is an acronym that stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate, is a national program that instructs participants on how to survive an active shooter situation. The University regularly offers ALICE training to students, faculty and staff.

Many of the staff and students participating in the March 30 exercise have undergone ALICE training. Demond Pryor, director of the Office of Recreational Services, said it is important to provide training that readies students for a variety of situations.

“We feel it is our responsibility to prepare our students for potential incidents in our facility and to increase their awareness of how to respond to an incident in the community,” Pryor said.

Signs will be posted that say “UT Police Training Event” around the Student Recreation Center. In the event of a real emergency, the public address and UT Alert systems would be activated to inform the campus community that a dangerous situation is occurring and to stay clear.

Regular police training exercises are a key part of the University’s mission to ensure a safe campus environment.

“It’s important for every location to prepare,” Newton said “We’ve seen that no location is immune to this type of violence. Churches, movie theaters, shopping malls, workplaces and schools are all potential targets for an aggressor. It’s really prudent for everyone to train. We want to ensure we’re providing the safest environment possible for our students and staff.”

To learn what to do in the event of an emergency and for more information on the University’s emergency preparedness plans and procedures, please visit emergency.utoledo.edu.

A former director of the National Science Foundation who is known worldwide for her work in addressing water quality issues will visit The University of Toledo next week as part of the Jesup Scott Honors College Distinguished Lecture Series.

Dr. Rita Colwell was the first scientist to discover cholera can enter a dormant state and lurk in water until conditions are again favorable for it to grow. Her finding opened the door to new research about the link between the natural environment, climate and the spread of infectious diseases.

Colwell

She is currently working with the British government on a project to track and better respond to likely cholera outbreaks.

“Dr. Colwell is one of the most influential and well-known life scientists in the world today,” said Dr. Heidi Appel, dean of the Jesup Scott Honors College. “She is a leader not only in her academic discipline, but in pulling people together from many academic disciplines to focus on water quality and interdisciplinary approaches to solve major societal challenges.”

Colwell is scheduled to present a pair of lectures at UToledo:

• A public presentation of how connections between climate and oceans affect human health at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 25, in Doermann Theatre on Main Campus.
• A technical talk about how next-generation DNA sequencing has revolutionized the study of the relationship between microbial communities and how that new knowledge can be used in diagnostics, drug development, public health and water safety at noon on Tuesday, March 26 in Radisson Hotel Suite C on Health Science Campus.

Both lectures are open to the public, but reservations are requested to the technical talk luncheon. Guests are encouraged to attend both events.
Much of Colwell’s six decades of research has been dedicated to understanding and preventing cholera outbreaks. Among her many discoveries, she demonstrated how algal blooms, spurred by high nutrient loads and warming ocean waters, increases the population of cholera-carrying zooplankton.

Though Lake Erie’s algal blooms raise concerns of microcystin — not cholera — Colwell’s innovative research methods and multidisciplinary way of developing solutions could prove a helpful roadmap to addressing the problem in northwest Ohio.

“We believe the kinds of tools she’s developed and the way of thinking about interdisciplinary research-based problem solving will be of interest and value to the people in our region who are dedicated to protecting water quality,” Appel said.

Colwell was the first woman to lead the National Science Foundation, serving as director from 1998 to 2004. She was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2006 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2010.

She has a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology, master’s degree in genetics and doctorate in oceanography. She holds distinguished professorships at both University of Maryland at College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

More than 150 fourth-year medical students at The University of Toledo will learn on Friday, March 15, where they will carry out their residencies on the way to becoming attending physicians.

The annual Match Day event is a highly anticipated ceremony for graduating medical students across the country. At precisely noon, UToledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences students will join thousands of students from other medical schools across the country in tearing open envelopes that contain their match.

“Match Day is very exciting for our students and the faculty and staff who support them,” said Dr. Christopher Cooper, dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. “It is the culmination of four years of intense training and now the graduating seniors find out where their next phase of residency training will occur.”

The 2019 Residency Match Reception will begin at 11 a.m. at the Stranahan Theater’s Great Hall. The event is by invitation-only.

Medical students spend months interviewing with hospitals and universities across the country to determine where they want to spend the next three to seven years of their medical training.

Students rank their top institutions, and academic and community-based health systems rank their top student choices. A computer algorithm administered by the National Resident Matching Program then matches students and residency programs together.

Residents are licensed physicians who care for patients under the supervision of attending physicians while they continue to train in their chosen specialty.

Last year, 157 UToledo fourth-year medical students matched into positions in 23 medical specialties.

Dr. Gary Pollack has been selected to lead The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Pollack joins the University with more than 30 years’ experience in higher education, most recently at Washington State University where he has served as dean of the College of Pharmacy since 2010. His appointment is effective Aug. 15.

“I am excited that Dr. Pollack will be joining us here at The University of Toledo. He is a respected scholar and successful leader who brings a notable breadth of experience that will benefit the College and the University as we continue to move forward,” said Dr. Karen Bjorkman, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Dr. Gary Pollack

Prior to joining Washington State, where he also serves as a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and was the university’s vice provost for health sciences from 2011 to 2013, Pollack spent 26 years at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served as UNC’s executive associate dean of the School of Pharmacy, chair and professor of the Division of Pharmaceutics and chair and professor of the Division of Drug Delivery and Disposition (formerly Pharmaceutics).

“The UT College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is one of those rare pharmacy programs with a truly comprehensive mission: undergraduate, professional, and graduate education, coupled with faculty-led research and patient care,” Pollack said. “Leading this vibrant community of educators, scholars and clinicians is an exciting prospect. I am very much looking forward to joining The University of Toledo and the broader Toledo community.”

His research is focused on how drugs and toxicants affect the central nervous system, making major contributions to our understanding of opioid tolerance. Pollack is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.

Pollack serves currently on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Experimental Pharmacology, and served from 2002 to 2006 as Associate Editor of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also serves as a reviewer for numerous journals in his field, and as an ad hoc reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the Health Effects Institute.

Pollack earned his doctorate in pharmaceutics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and bachelor’s degree in chemistry/psychology from Knox College.

Bjorkman also thanked Dr. Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, interim dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, for her leadership during the transition. She will return to her role as dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs, effective Aug. 15.