Alisdair “Rod” Philp, Ph.D., a DMU assistant professor of biochemistry and nutrition, was inspired to help students create the group because of student anxiety over genetics questions on medical licensing examinations. He is an elected affiliated scientist of the ACMG, which enabled the student interest group’s affiliation. Philp says the rapid advancement in genetic knowledge and research, along with DMU students’ interest in both, affirmed the idea for such an organization.

“The human genome project took years, around 20 world-class institutions and 2.7 billion dollars,” he says about the effort, completed in 2003, to identify all the thousands of genes in human DNA. “It revolutionized my job. Nowadays, you can sequence the coding part of the genome with one machine and one person in an off-the-shelf test for around $4,500 in 90 days.

“We are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in how genetics impacts clinicians, from family practice to the specialist surgeon,” he adds. “That’s why we need to cater for students who are interested in this area. We have the opportunity to give our students, from any of our programs, a strong advantage in a competitive field.”

As genetics knowledge expands, health care providers will be expected to translate it to their patients.

The parents of a child who’s losing his eyesight due to a genetic disorder, for example, may be better prepared with accurate prognosis for him as well as the risk for any future children based on correlations of genotypes and phenotypes. Members of a family plagued by diseases such as diabetes may be able to have better crafted medications as scientists discover the subtle genetic changes that influence individual patients’ responses to drugs.

In addition, diseases that were always considered too complicated for genetic analysis, such as coronary artery disease, are rapidly being deciphered. Recent advances in the U.S. and Europe have seen successful gene replacement therapies, based on the accurate identification of the causative gene. And as more companies bypass the physician and diagnosis – “an alarming prospect,” Philp says – with services that genotype individuals’ DNA, health care providers will be asked to analyze and translate their patients’ results.

“Medical genetics is a rapidly expanding field and will likely be integrated into nearly every branch of medicine pursued by DMU students,” says DMU osteopathic medical student Arman Cicic, president of the genetics student interest group (SIG). “By providing comprehensive and up-to-date genetics education, the SIG hopes to keep our students at the forefront of contemporary medicine and maintain DMU’s mission to produce highly competent health professionals.”

The mission of DMU’s SIG, says vice president and student Scott Miller, is to “provide students and staff, along with local physicians and residents, with comprehensive medical genetics education to better serve and advocate for the health of our community.” In addition to providing a forum for students to research topics in medical genetics and present their findings, the group will seek to foster networking among health care providers and researchers at other universities, hospitals and more.

The group also plans to survey DMU alumni in family practice and who are physician assistants in central Iowa to learn the most common genetic diseases they encounter in their practices, what they wished they had learned in genetics and what DMU should teach students about genetics today. That information may lead to enriched curriculum and will allow the SIG to design additional courses and continuing education for those practicing in the field.

“This is a student-driven effort to demystify genetics for students, physicians, residents and others,” Philp says. “The field changes so quickly that many practicing physicians can get left behind by uninformative technical terms. Often it appears that the new advances are very complicated, but the beauty of genetics is that it’s like Legos. It fits together one way; you just need to have someone show you the how the trick works.”

The group is also in the process of arranging a genetics grand rounds that draws together oncologists, pediatricians, surgeons, family practice physicians, genetic counselors, nurses and other interested professionals from local health care institutions, a win-win for those participants as well as DMU students and faculty.

“For a basic scientist, I believe it is essential for us to maintain close contact with the health care professional,” Philp says. “If we do not, we run the risk that what we teach students will be out-of-date and irrelevant. Furthermore, these rounds, I hope, will present the opportunity for practitioners in Des Moines to take a seat at a truly interprofessional forum.”

DMU has the perfect way for pre-med students to get a head start…

The DMU Health Professions Advanced Summer Scholars Program (Health P.A.S.S.) gives them a taste of what it’s like to be a student in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physician assistant or physical therapy.

The FREE three-week program takes place at the end of July and is open to college sophomores and juniors who want to get a taste of what med school will be like and pad their resumes with a little hands-on experience. Enrollment is limited to 10 students and applicants must have a minimum cumulative college grade point average of 3.0.

APPLY NOW!

Are you an undergrad student (or know of one) interested in research or a future career in health or medicine? Then check out the mentored research program. This opportunity gives students one-on-one experience with our research faculty in microbiology, pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry and physical therapy. It’s a 40-hour a week project during the months of June/July with a stipend and tons of hands-on experience.

Space is limited, so get your application in soon!

Many of you have heard me praise the numerous qualities of Des Moines University that drew me here. They include the University’s high academic quality; its rigorous, well-equipped curriculum that supports innovative education; the interprofessional interactions among our students and faculty; and the wonderful work and support of our employees.

Another exceptional aspect of DMU is its commitment to the health of communities in Iowa and literally around the world. From our central philosophy of holistic, preventive care to the volunteer service of our students and employees to our collaborations with entities such as the World Health Organization, we demonstrate our continued leadership in improving the health of all.

These activities and leadership reinforced my decision that our mission and vision needed to better reflect what we hope to become as an institution. As we prepare for the University’s next strategic plan, we must build on your great work, on that of our predecessors, and on our extensive efforts on our self-study for reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. That’s why a new mission and vision were approved on Dec. 3 by the DMU Board of Trustees – to articulate our focus on education, research and service/patient care as well as on leadership in transforming our communities to be healthy and well. I am excited to share with you our new mission and vision.

Mission

To improve lives in our global community by educating diverse groups of highly competent and compassionate health professionals.

Vision
Des Moines University will be:

• The leader in innovative health education that promotes lifelong learning
• A cultivator of distinctive faculty and student researchers who discover and disseminate new knowledge
• A leader and partner of choice in the delivery of services that enhance health, wellness, and education in our communities
• A policy consultant and catalyst in healthy community transformation

We have been very deliberate in the past few months in working together – the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni – in helping to define who we are and what we hope to convey as our purpose, our core values and our vision for the future. Thank you for your hard work, support and engagement in making these efforts successful, and thank you for all you do to enable Des Moines University to do a world of good.

Are you connected to DMU?

If you aren’t already, head on over to our Facebook page and ‘Like’ us. Alums, check out this page.

Check out our Twitter feed and follow our tweets.

Or there is even the DMU Tube with all of our latest videos.

Are you on campus right now? Check in on Foursquare. Do it enough, and you can become the mayor of DMU!

We also have a fabulous photo gallery. Are you in any of them?

I can understand why they ask this question, as many people have an aversion to feet. My first response is to chuckle inwardly and think about the specialties I could never see myself practicing. I certainly don’t say that to put down other specialties, but we each have our specific areas of interest and strength. While I knew in undergrad that I wanted to go into medicine, I had no idea what area of medicine I wanted to pursue. To learn more about my options, I spent time shadowing physicians in several different fields: family practice, otolaryngology, dermatology, urology, ophthalmology, etc. I found things in each specialty that I liked, but nothing seemed to jump out at me.

While I knew I didn’t have to know exactly what I wanted to do going into medical school, I did want to have a better direction. I just couldn’t see myself waking up every day and looking forward to going to work in each of these other specialties. So as my time in undergraduate was coming to a close and applications for school were coming out, I decided that the next doctor I wanted to shadow was a local podiatrist. I had gone to see him before and also knew him outside the doctor-patient relationship. To be honest, before I went to shadow him I didn’t know that podiatry was a separate degree (D.P.M.) rather than a residency post-M.D./D.O. degree.

DMU's podiatry students learn ways to improve patients' quality of life.

After shadowing him, it was like a lightbulb flipped on in my head. Podiatry had many of the things I wanted in a practice. One of the things I found most appealing is that it focuses on improving one’s ability to move about without pain. To be able to help someone walk with less or no pain is an incredible feeling. You get to walk (no pun intended) through the whole process with the patient, from seeing them come in with pain and walk out at a later visit pain-free. That is awesome. Whether this is done by conservative care or surgery, helping a patient to be able to ambulate easier drastically improves their quality of life.

The practice even has a lot of flexibility with how much office time/surgery one does. Honestly, one isn’t going to know which side of practice they will like better until they get first-hand experience in the office and the OR. Personally, I take a lot of comfort knowing that when I graduate residency, I have a choice of how involved I want to be in both. If I decide that surgery isn’t my thing, I don’t have to do a lot of it. Or, on the other hand, if I absolutely love it, I can do more.

Another one of my desires for a medical practice was to find a specialty that had a wide range of patients not only in age but in background. I didn’t want a practice that was all of one group, e.g., pediatrics, ob/gyn, etc. Podiatry does have a focus on diabetic care (which tends to lend itself to the geriatric population), but it also has an array of other groups such as the pediatric population, adults and athletes. You really get it all. So those of you out there who are still contemplating what you may want to do, go check out a local podiatrist and see what it is really about!

It’s that time of year again – time for the greatest state fair around! Of course I am talking about the Iowa State Fair – what else? Today marks the start of the fair and it runs until Sunday, August 21.

Fondly known as one of the 1,000 places you must see before you die, the Iowa State Fair is fun for all ages. There are so many attractions that one day just might not be enough time to spend on the grounds. Here is the daily schedule to help you pick and choose exactly what you want to see and do. I strongly encourage you to pick this Sunday though, since it’ll be DMU Day at the Fair. We’ll have a booth set up on the grand concourse serving up OMM treatments, giveaways and lots of fun!

Now, anyone who has been to the fair in the past knows all about the wide array of food choices to indulge in, ranging from fried Twinkies to whole turkey legs, but what they may not know is that there are also some healthy choices to be had as well. Check these out:

• Salad on-a-stick at The Salad Bowl (west balcony of the Agriculture Building; Cultural Center) – an iceberg lettuce wedge with carrots and tomato served kabob-style, served with dressing.
• Baked potatoes and corn-on-the-cob at Westmoreland (south of the Anne and Bill Riley Stage)
• Salads at various locations: Campbell’s (Elwell Family Food Center), Diamond Jack’s (west of the Livestock Pavilion), The Salad Bowl (west balcony of the Agriculture Building; Cultural Center), The Greek Garden (north of the Varied Industries Building and southeast of the Administration Building), Master Jack’s (west of the Grandstand) and Steer and Stein (east of the Grandstand)
• Sandwich wraps at The Salad Bowl (west balcony of the Agriculture Building and Cultural Center Courtyard)
• Mixed fruit cups, melon cups and shish-kabobs at Beattie’s Melon Patch (west of the Giant Slide) and mixed berry cups at Stockman’s Inn (southwest corner of the Cattle Barn)
• Veggie corn dogs at Veggie Table (north of the Varied Industries Building)
• Turkey tenderloins at the Iowa Turkey Federation (west of Anne and Bill Riley Stage) – the turkey breast sandwich has less than 5 grams of fat and is low in calories.
• Pork chops on-a-stick at the Iowa Pork Producers Association (main location: east end of Grand Avenue; satellite locations: east of the main stand and on Rock Island Avenue west of the Livestock Pavilion)