WINTER 2012 A PUBLICATION OF MAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE & FOUNDATION FOUNDING FATHER Our Annual HOT FLASHES Doc Delves Into PHILANTHROPY REPORT Aren’t the Half of It CONTRACEPTION CONTROVERSY www.mwrif.org 05 VOLUME 5 | WINTER 2012 MAGEE is published two times a year VISIT OUR WEBSITE for supporters of Magee-Womens Research www.mwrif.org Institute & Foundation (MWRIF). FOLLOW US If you have comments regarding the publication or would like additional copies, please email [email protected]. EDITOR SUBSCRIBE Andrea Romo For the latest women’s health updates, giveaway contests, and upcoming events, visit our website CONTRIBUTING EDITORS and subscribe to our enewsletter. W. Allen Hogge, MD, professor and chairman, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & To receive free issues of MAGEE at home, email Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh [email protected] with your full name, address, and Yoel Sadovsky, MD, scientific director, MWRI phone number. Anna Dubrovsky Please email [email protected] if you no longer wish to receive ADVISORY COUNCIL fundraising materials designed to support MWRI and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Margaret P. Joy, chairwoman, Board of Directors, MWRIF Thank you for your continued support of Arthur M. Scully III, vice president, Development Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation. and Communications, MWRIF DESIGN Wall-to-Wall Studios < COVER: Illustration of James M. Roberts, MD - By David Pohl 10 14 WINTER 2012 02 Magee Newsmakers 10 Founding Father 18 Giving in Action Five years after semi-retiring, Cardio clears patient’s head; patient 03 Recognizing Excellence MWRI’s first director remains rep can empathize; black-tie pool 04 Rising Stars a force in the research world. tourney; sponsor spotlight 05 Hospital Check-In 20 Our Donors 14 The Big Change Hospital expansion; At Magee’s Midlife Health Center, 35 Financial Overview ultimate nursing award hot flashes aren’t the half of it. 36 Happenings 07 Lab Insider Contraception controversy; fetal growth restriction; intern showcase MAGEE: PAGE 2 Magee Newsmakers Welcome Farewell Kui Shen, PhD Jonathan Shepherd, MD Carol Wilson • Research instructor • Assistant professor retired as administrative • Bioinformatics group • Director of Resident assistant to Tony Plant, of Tianjiao Chu, PhD Research PhD, after 26 years with Magee Shines in U.S. News Rankings • Formerly of Precision • Formerly a fellow in the University of Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC broke into the Therapeutics Female Pelvic Medicine Pittsburgh. top five hospitals for gynecology in the most recent and Reconstructive Takuya Mishima, rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital, Surgery at UPMC MD, PhD which previously ranked No. 7 for gynecology, was • Visiting assistant also recognized as one of the top 50 U.S. hospitals for professor orthopaedics (No. 31), diabetes & endocrinology (No. • Postdoctoral associate 32), and cancer (No. 45). Now in their 23rd year, the in the lab of Yoel rankings are based on data for about 5,000 hospitals Sadovsky, MD and surveys of nearly 10,000 specialists. Only 148 • Formerly of Nippon hospitals earned a national ranking in one or more Medical School specialties. In addition to being nationally ranked in four specialties, Magee was identified as “high-performing” MAGEE Magazine Around the World in urology and gastroenterology. “The fact that our ranking keeps improving in gynecology demonstrates that Magee is still true to our women’s health mission,” says Magee president Becky Brandt, a friend Leslie Davis. “We have more than 10,000 babies born of Magee-Womens every year at Magee, but we’ve expanded our services Research Institute & and offer treatment and surgeries for men. Magee is Foundation, posed with a full-service hospital with a very strong emphasis on a copy of MAGEE on the women’s health.” North Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon. Of 42 hospitals in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, We will be accepting photos Magee ranked No. 2 in this year’s U.S. News rankings. like this for future issues. Submit photos with captions The top spot went to UPMC, the nonprofit health system to [email protected]. of which Magee is a part. UPMC also ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 10 in the nation. MAGEE: MAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE & FOUNDATION PAGE 3 Recognizing Excellence Placenta Workshop and the Symposium on Epigenetic Regulation of Fetal and Placental Development at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Sadovsky participated in the Yaacov Barak, PhD, Elizabeth Krans, Yoel Sadovsky, MD, Accelerating Research Richard Chaillet, MD, MD, MSc, scientific director and Development to PhD, Yoel Sadovsky, MD, received a five-year of Magee-Womens Address the Global and colleagues received a Clinical Research Research Institute, Crisis of Preterm Birth five-year $5.2 million P01 Scholars Program delivered a Provost’s meeting in Seattle grant from the Eunice Institutional KL2 grant Inaugural Lecture in July. Participants Kennedy Shriver National from the University of called “Feto-placental included Melinda Gates Institute of Child Health Pittsburgh Clinical & defense: a macro role of the Bill & Melinda & Human Development Translational Science for microRNAs” on Richard Chaillet, MD, PhD, Gates Foundation; Alan for “Molecular and cellular Institute for “Health care April 12. The Provost’s presented “Genomic Guttmacher, MD, director controls of placental utilization and maternal Inaugural Lecture Series imprinting in mammalian of the Eunice Kennedy metabolism.” and neonatal outcomes features distinguished development” at the Shriver National Institute in opioid-dependent University of Pittsburgh Human PlacentaWorkshop of Child Health & Human pregnant women.” faculty members with and the Symposium on Development; and Joe recent appointments Epigenetic Regulation Leigh Simpson, MD, to endowed chairs. Dr. of Fetal and Placental senior vice president Sadovsky holds the Elsie Development at Queen’s for research and global Hilliard Hillman Chair University in Kingston, programs at the March of Women’s and Infants’ Ontario, Canada, in July. of Dimes. Health Research. He also participated in An international the Maternal, Newborn, expert in the molecular Child Health Summit mechanisms of placental convened by Lee Hood, development and MD, PhD, in Seattle in differentiation, Dr. Jennifer Condon, PhD, July. Dr. Hood, president Sadovsky is a sought- received a three-year and cofounder after speaker. In June $455,000 March of of the Institute for he presented “Placental Dimes grant for “Uterine Systems Biology, is one nutrition: How does quiescence during of the scientists who the placenta get fat?” at pregnancy is maintained invented the DNA the Joint International by caspase-3 activation as sequencer that decoded Congress of the American a result of the myometrial the human genome. Society for Reproductive endoplasmic reticulum Xin Huang, PhD, Immunology and the Dr. Sadovsky and James stress response.” received a four-year European Society M. Roberts, MD, renewed $720,000 grant from the for Reproductive a five-year $2.4 million American Cancer Society Immunology in Hamburg, Building Interdisciplinary for “The mechanism Germany. Research Careers in of miR-210 regulating Women’s Health The following month cellular metabolism and K12 grant. he presented three tumorigenesis.” times at the Human MAGEE: PAGE 4 Recognizing Excellence Cont. Faina Linkov, PhD, James M. Roberts, MD, Gerald Schatten, PhD, Judith Yanowitz, PhD, received the University presented “Preeclampsia received a three-year received a Competitive of Pittsburgh Cancer 2012 and beyond” at $407,000 T15 grant from Medical Research Fund Institute 2011 Junior the Joint International the Eunice Kennedy grant from the University Scholar Award at the Congress of the American Shriver National Institute of Pittsburgh Office Institute’s June 22 Society for Reproductive of Child Health & of Research, Health retreat, where she Tony M. Plant, PhD, Immunology and the Human Development Sciences for “Dissection presented “Cancer received a five-year $2 European Society for “Rehabilitative and of the meiotic crossover prevention through million R01 grant from for Reproductive regenerative medicine checkpoint.” weight loss: What do the Eunice Kennedy Immunology, held in for minority health and we know and where do Shriver National Institute Hamburg, Germany, May health disparities.” we go from here?” of Child Health & 31-June 2. Human Development Rising Stars Dr. Roberts’ “Preeclampsia: for “Molecular bases an endothelial cell committing primate disorder” is the second- spermatogonia most cited article from to a pathway of the American Journal of differentiation.” Obstetrics & Gynecology, according to a study of the 100 most frequently cited articles published in obstetrics and Dr. David Boone, gynecology journals a postdoctoral fellow in since 1956. Published in the lab of Adrian Lee, 1989, the groundbreaking PhD, received a three-year article is the third-most $180,000 Susan G. Komen cited article from all Postdoctoral Fellowship Priscilla McAuliffe, journals in the study. Malgorzata titled “IGF1 regulated MD, PhD, Skaznik-Wikiel, MD, miRNAs in breast was accepted to the received a one-year cancer.” University of Pittsburgh $25,000 grant from the Institute for Clinical Vanessa J. Hux, Aleksandar Rajkovic, American Society for Research Education’s a student at Vanderbilt MD, PhD, Reproductive Medicine RAMP to K Program, University, received a received a five-year $2.6 for “Female fertility which is designed to