Volume 5, Issue 6 n April 19, 2010

www.usuhs.mil

The Official USU Newsletter
2 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

On the cover

USU alumnus Dr. Damian Rispoli’s “Things 

That We Carry” earned a “Best in Show” 

at the American Academy of Orthopaedic 

Surgeons Wounded in Action art exhibit. 

See story page 6.

CSTS Campaign seeks improved 

communication for caregivers, families

by Ken Frager

Illustration by Dr. Damian Rispoli

Courtesy Graphic

Sharon Willis

Acting Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Ken Frager

Public Affairs Specialist

Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Production Editor

MC1 Chad Hallford

Writer

Christine Creenan

Contributing Writer

Lori Fields

Layout and Design

Production

Editorial content is edited, prepared 

and provided by the USU Office of 

External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Pulse staff may 

include or exclude articles based 

upon news value, impact on the 

university and space availability.

Submissions

The Pulse will be published 

bi-weekly on Mondays. The 

deadline for submissions is at 4 p.m. 

Tuesday prior to the publication 

date. Submissions can be sent to 

usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or by 

calling 301-295-0895.

As of March 2010 more than 36,000 

service members had been injured during 

OIF/OEF. Considering that slightly 

more than half of the active duty force is 

married, many with children, the number 

of families and children who are impacted 

by parental injuries of war is significant.

“Research tells us that military 

children and families are generally 

strong and resilient,” said Stephen 

Cozza, M.D., professor, Department 

of Psychiatry, and associate director for the USU Center for the Study 

of Traumatic Stress, or CSTS. “We 

also know that military families and 

communities face challenges their 

civilian counterparts do not. Parental 

wartime injuries are an example.”

The Child and Family Program in 

the CSTS initiated its Courage to Care 

Courage to Talk campaign on April 

1, 2010, with a goal of facilitating and 

improving communication between 

health care providers and families, and 

within the family itself, especially in 

talking to children about war injuries. 

The hospital-based campaign is 

intended to assist hospital and rehabilitation center staff with connecting 

families to resources and providers 

within the treatment facilities who can 

answer their questions, talk with them 

about their children, or address other 

family or communication concerns 

related to the injury.

The campaign is initially being rolled 

out at a number of the larger military 

treatment facilities throughout the 

United States, along with Landstuhl 

Regional Medical Center in Germany 

and the four primary Veterans Affairs 

Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers in 

Virginia, Minnesota, California and 

Florida where the combat-injured are 

being treated. 

“We found that families of injured 

service members, many of whom visit 

and/or stay in or near hospitals and 

rehabilitation clinics for extended 

periods of time, face a cascade of events 

that can raise family stress, lead to 

additional family separation, and raise 

child anxiety and worry about parental 

health and their own safety,” said Dr. 

Cozza. “Children may visit the hospital 

and need to be prepared for what they 

see. Long term, families may need to 

manage with parental changes because 

of combat stress/PTSD related problems 

or complications related to traumatic 

brain injury. Our goal with Courage to 

Care Courage to Talk was not to create 

additional work for the medical professionals and care teams in these facilities, but more of a resource that families 

would find useful.” 

Courage to Care Courage to Talk 

acknowledges the important role 

families play in the injury recovery 

process and the importance of family 

resilience, sustained parenting and 

appropriate communication about 

the injury with children of all ages to 

ensure their healthy development. 

Additional information about 

Courage to Care Courage to Talk is 

available at www.couragetotalk.org.

The Courage to Care Courage to Talk program 

posters and brochures help spread the word 

about the resources available to military 

members and their families with questions 

about war injuries.
April 19, 2010 3

Campbell Named Among Best Doctors in America

by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine 

USU students volunteer, mentor local teens

by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine 

Army Col. (Dr.) William W. 

Campbell, professor and chair of USU’s 

Department of Neurology, has been 

named one of the year’s Best Doctors 

in America by Best Doctors, Inc.

Campbell has served as chair of 

USU’s neurology department since 

July 2004. He is actively engaged in 

the subspecialties of Neuromuscular 

Disease and Electromyography. 

He is also actively engaged in research 

on ALS, exertional rhabdomyolysis, traumatic peripheral nerve injury, 

peripheral nerve ultrasound, quantitative sensory testing, quantitative sweat 

testing in nerve injury, and peripheral 

nerve compression syndromes. 

Four USU medical students volunteered their time during the Spring Break 

to mentor and inspire local teenagers, 

as part of an ongoing Family Medicine 

Interest Group (FMIG) effort. 

Air Force Lts. Amanda Elam and 

Kallyn Johnson, Army Lt. Alicia Scribner 

and Navy Ensign John Roman, spent time 

with 59 ninth and tenth grade students 

from Wheaton High School’s Biosciences USU Volunteer Continued on page 5

Academy to encourage their continued 

interests in science and medicine.

The academy’s mission is to bring 

“students together from diverse cultures 

and learning styles to unite them through 

shared experiences that challenge them 

to think about their future.” It tries to 

prepare students for the challenges of 

college and the many rapidly expanding 

careers in biomedical science.

Best Doctors, Inc. was founded by 

two Harvard medical school physicians 

to help make the best medical expertise 

available around the world. Over the last 

decade, Best Doctors has developed a 

database of more than 35,000 specialists 

in the United States, in 44 specialties and 

more than 400 subspecialties of medicine. 

Physicians are selected through a 

peer-review survey, and are included 

in a database of subject matter experts 

who serve as independent medical 

resources for more than 10 million 

people in 30 countries. 

“The notifying letter said only 5 percent 

of docs in the USA are selected,” Campbell 

said. “I am honored and humbled.” 

Over the past several years, Campbell 

has remained a competent clinician 

while at the same time producing a 

respectable body of research and intellectual work including 68 full length 

articles in refereed journals and three 

books. Most notably this past year, he 

helped establish an independent Neuroscience Center of Excellence at USU. 

And while being noted as one of 

the best doctors in America through 

his continuing and varied efforts, 

Campbell attributes the key to his 

success as one thing. 

“Perseverance,” he said. “You can’t 

be afraid to take on a challenge or not 

be willing to take on new things.”

The academy uses a variety of 

in-depth learning activities to both 

motivate and educate its students. And 

one of its most valuable assets is USU 

medical school volunteers. 

“They are absolutely fabulous,” said 

Heather Carias, the Biosciences Academy 

director. “There are about a dozen USU 

volunteers that come to our school 

regularly on Saturday mornings to tutor 

our students. Your (USU’s) medical 

students are wonderful. They have really 

mentored our students and supported us.” 

The four USU volunteers accompanied the academy students to the 

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology’s National Museum of Health and 

Medicine. The students visited with the 

volunteers over lunch, met with Navy 

Capt. (Dr.) Mark Stephens, the FMIG 

advisor, and then toured the museum 

with Elam, Johnson, Scribner and 

Roman, who offered their expertise and 

unique insights to the BA students.

“These volunteers demonstrate 

many good academic qualities to our 

students, like the importance of good 

study habits,” Carias said. “We can tell 

them, the students, that studying is 

Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Navy Ensign John Roman talks to a student from Wheaton High School’s Biosciences Academy 

during their visit to the National Museum of Health and Medicine’s Armed Forces Institute of 

Pathology. Roman was one of four USU medical student volunteers to educate and mentor the 59 

teens who attended the event. 
4 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

Dr. Marian Tanofsky-Kraff Named 

2010 Leonard Award Recipient

by Sharon Willis

Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Ph.D. is an 

Assistant Professor in the Department 

of Medical and Clinical Psychology at 

the Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences, and is the recipient 

of this year’s Leonard Award for Clinical Research. She is also a Researcher 

in the Unit on Growth and Obesity at 

the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 

Institute of Child Health and Human 

Development where she did her postdoctoral fellowship. 

Prior to receiving her Doctor of 

Philosophy degree in Clinical Psychology from the Catholic University of 

America, Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff was a 

Research Associate at the Yale Center 

for Eating and Weight Disorders at 

Yale University where she coordinated 

a comparison psychotherapy trial for 

the treatment of binge eating disorder 

in obese adults. 

Her research program at USU 

involves the intersection of obesity and 

eating disorders in pediatric samples 

and addresses questions about the risks, 

protective factors, maintenance, consequences, and prevention of childhood 

eating disturbance and excess adiposity, 

with a particular focus on loss 

of control eating. 

Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff has 

extensive experience in the 

assessment of disordered 

eating patterns in youth, 

ranging from structured clinical interviewing to carrying out laboratory feeding 

paradigms. Currently, she is 

conducting a randomizedcontrolled, NIH-funded trial 

to examine the effectiveness 

of using interpersonal psychotherapy for the prevention of 

excess weight gain in adolescent girls at high risk for 

obesity. She has published more than 

50 peer-reviewed articles and chapters 

on disordered eating and obesity. 

“Marian’s pioneering work has 

concerned the etiology and treatment 

of adolescent eating disorders and the 

prevention of adolescent obesity, both 

enormous public health problems 

in the U.S. population,” said David 

Krantz, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology. “The focus of her research has 

been on the role of Loss of Control 

Eating in the development and treatment of eating disorders and the 

prevention of weight gain in adolescents by treating this characteristic.

“Loss of Control eating refers to 

the tendency to reflexively eat in the 

absence of hunger,” he said. “Largely 

due to Marian’s pioneering work, 

LOC will be recognized as a clinical diagnostic characteristic in the 

upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical 

Manual V (DSM V) of the American 

Psychiatric Association.”

Dr. Tanofsky-Kraff was chosen 

to receive the 2010 Leonard Award 

based on her work, “The FTO Gene 

rs9939609 Obesity Risk Allele and Loss 

of Control over Eating,” and “A Pilot 

Study of Interpersonal Psychotherapy 

for Preventing Excess Weight Gain in 

Adolescent Girls At-risk for Obesity.” 

The Leonard Award 

for Clinical Research

The Leonard Award for Clinical 

Research is named for the founding 

Chair of the Department of Medicine, 

James Leonard, M.D., an internationally-respected cardiologist. 

Dr. Leonard came to USU in 

1976 from the University of Pittsburgh. He was perhaps best known 

for his classic research on the 

physiological basis of heart sounds. 

Dr. Leonard was a leader in cardiac 

research and was instrumental in 

establishing undergraduate clinical education at USU and graduate medical education programs 

at USU-affiliated hospitals. His 

broad view of medicine and his 

open door made him a favorite of 

students and colleagues alike. Dr. 

Leonard retired in 1996 and was 

named Chair Emeritus.

The Leonard Award for Clinical Research was established in 

his honor in 2003. Dr. Leonard 

died in 2005. Past recipients of 

the Leonard Award include Drs. 

Andre DuBois, George Tsokos, 

Mark Haigney, Carol Fullerton, 

Shiv Srivastava, David Tribble and 

Thomas Darling.

Photo by Thomas Balfour

Photo by Ken Frager

Lisa Ranzenhofer, MA, a third-year civilian 

graduate student in medical/clinical 

psychology and Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Ph.D., 

(pictured on right) review some of the latest 

research on loss of control eating in teens.

Dr. James Leonard
April 19, 2010 5

UIS changes its name

by MC1 Chad Hallford

important, but for them to hear that 

from these volunteers and then see their 

dedication and the importance of a 

good education is outstanding.”

And the volunteers did make a positive 

impact on each ninth grade student. “They 

are very helpful and informative,” said 

Jessica Medrano, a ninth grade student 

in the WHS Biosciences Academy. “They 

made this tour very interesting. I hope they 

come visit again soon.”

Whether providing their personal 

expertise or a living dynamic to the 

field of biomedical sciences, USU’s 

student volunteers are making a difference for the next generation. 

“Our students get the opportunity 

to see people now who are doing what 

they want to do and be where they want 

to be in the next six to eight years,” 

Carias said. “These volunteers are great 

examples for our students.” 

Continued from page 3

USU Volunteer

Neuroscience ‘Superstar’ delivers 25th Annual 

Packard Lecture

by MC1 Chad Hallford

The Faculty Senate and USU President Dr. Charles L. 

Rice sponsored world renowned neuroscientist, Dr. Floyd 

E. Bloom as the 25th annual David Packard Lecturer, 

March 31.

Bloom’s lecture focused on research of norepinephrine 

and the evolution of the understating of the neurological 

and psychiatric diseases of today.

Bloom, a Professor Emeritus at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., is a leader in neuroscience research, 

focusing on neurotransmitter systems and their relevance 

to brain functioning, mental health and addiction. Bloom 

pioneered the use of molecular biological techniques to 

examine molecules and genes relevant to brain function.

 “Of all the activities and opportunities one has as the 

president of the Faculty Senate, the greatest honor is to 

help arrange for and invite a superstar to come address 

the faculty, staff and students of the University,” said Dr. 

Neil Grunberg, president of the Faculty Senate.

Bloom joins an elite group of Packard lecturers that 

includes 2002 Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Sydney Brenner 

and Dr. Francis Collins, current director of the National 

Institutes of Health who was the leader of the Human 

Genome Project that, in 2003, completed the sequencing 

of the human DNA instruction book.

The University Information 

Systems department has changed its 

name to Network Operations and 

Communications. 

“The new name more appropriately reflects the functions and 

services staff and students can expect 

relating to network connectivity 

and telecommunications requirements,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Eduardo 

Macalanda, deputy chief information 

officer (CIO) for the USU. 

The change from UIS to NOC is 

part of a bigger reorganization of 

information technology assets within 

the Office of the CIO along four broad 

service lines: Centralized Customer 

Support, Information/Knowledge 

Management, Network/Infrastructure 

Support and Library Services. 

To help maintain a seamless transition, Mr. Edmund Jackson remains as 

the Infrastructure division head, assisted 

by the following branches and chiefs, 

respectively:

n Systems Support — Martin Cisna

n Information Assurance — Joel 

Robertson

n Telecommunications — Marv Gilbert

n Network Operations (USU) — 

Steve Davis

n Network Operations (AFRRI) — 

Gary Robey

“Each has been charged to ensure the 

delivery of the highest quality service 

in the most efficient, customer friendly 

manner possible,” said retired Army Lt. 

Col. Timothy Rapp, Vice President for 

Information Technology and CIO.

Office locations and contact information for the above personnel will 

remain unchanged and customers 

should expect additional services, with 

no loss in current capabilities.

Dr. Floyd Bloom delivers the 25th annual David Packard Lecture, March 31. 

Bloom’s lecture focused on research of norepinephrine and the evolution of 

the understating of the neurological and psychiatric diseases of today.

Photo by HM1 Michael Oliver
6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

Dr. Damian Rispoli’s “Things That We Carry” was awarded a “Best of 

Show, Orthopaedic Surgeon” ribbon by the Orthopaedic Research 

Society recently during the Wounded in Action: An Art Exhibition 

of Orthopaedic Advancements. Rispoli was one of eight award 

recipients at the AAOS’ Wounded in Action art exhibit during their 

2010 annual meeting in New Orleans.

Courtesty Photo

Artwork by several graduates of the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) will be 

featured in a public display in the Russell Senate Office 

Building, Washington, D.C., as part of the American 

Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) “Wounded 

in Action: An Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements,” April 26-30.

‘Wounded in Action Art’ (www.woundedinactionart.

org) celebrates those heroes who have had orthopaedic 

injuries as a result of serving their countries in war. The 

art celebrates the strength and spirit of injured troops, 

wounded civilians, and their families, as well as the 

commitment of the orthopaedic surgeons who assist 

them on their journey to recovery. 

The artists include military personnel who live with 

orthopaedic injuries and family members who helped them 

through their recovery process. Orthopaedic surgeons who 

treat wounded military and civilians and whose lives have 

been affected by war and their own experience with such 

injuries are also artists in this exhibition.

Four alumni of USU are among the surgeons whose 

works will be displayed in the Capitol Hill exhibit: Army 

Lt. Col. Anthony A. Beardmore (SoM ‘95) and Col. James 

R. Ficke (SoM ‘87, along with his daughter, Heather), 

Navy Cmdr. and USU Commandant Patricia L. McKay 

(SoM ‘93); and Air Force Col. Damian Rispoli (SoM ‘92). 

Retired Army Lt. Col. Roman A. Hayda, a USU alumnus 

(SoM ‘88), and Navy Lt. Michael Sracic (SoM ‘08) also 

contributed to the AAOS display, but theirs will not be 

among the artwork featured in the Russell exhibit.

Scracic also currently has artwork featured in the 

“Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century 

Chesapeake” exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum 

of Natural History in Washington, D.C. (http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/). 

“This exhibit provided an opportunity to support the 

AAOS while sharing, through the artwork, some of the 

emotion and personal experiences of war,” said McKay. 

“The artwork captures memorable moments or feelings that 

can be difficult or impossible to express with words. Seeing 

the exhibit and reading the artists’ stories helped to put the 

experience of war into a broader context and has enhanced 

my understanding of the perspective of others who have felt 

the profound impact of war.”

After the Russell showing, the artwork will be divided 

and placed on display in several locations, including Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center and the University of Maryland, 

Baltimore, from Memorial Day through Veterans Day. With 

the exception of Hayda’s, all of the USU alumni art will be 

available for viewing at these sites. 

USU Alumni Display ‘Wounded in Action Art’ 

on Capitol Hill

by Sharon Willis

“I’m proud to see so many USU alumni among the artists,” 

said Col. Richard A. Schaefer, chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Norman M. Rich Department of Surgery at 

USU. “The exhibit gave me pause to reflect on my own experiences while serving in a combat zone, and I suspect that is the 

same for other veterans.”
April 19, 2010 7

Briefs

Education Day: 

The USU will sponsor Education 

Day, June 25. 

The theme, “Obstacles and 

Opportunities in Curriculum 

Reform,” was chosen to showcase 

the experience of the USU faculty in 

teaching learners across the spectrum 

of health science education. 

Deadlines are:

n Submission of poster or 

demonstration abstracts are due 

by midnight, April 16

n Nominations for Innovation in 

Teaching Award are due by 

midnight, April 16

n Participation and presentation 

are due by midnight, June 18

Authors whose abstracts are accepted 

and Teaching Award nominees will be 

notified around May 1.

Additional information will be available in future issues of The Pulse and on 

the USU Web site.

Professional activities: 

The Department of Defense 

and USU policy requires that all 

employees, both military and civilian, receive approval for engaging 

in any activity outside their work 

environment, which involves their 

professional expertise or government occupation (whether or not 

compensated), as well as any activity that involves compensation. This 

includes serving on the Board of a 

Non-Federal Organization. 

This approval is required prior 

to engaging in the activity. In order 

to get approval, any employee can 

complete a USUHS Form 1004. This 

completed form must be approved 

and signed by each department chair 

or activity head. 

These forms are available in the 

General Counsel’s office or online at 

the USU OGC Web site. Completed 

forms must be turned in to the General 

Counsel’s office. The form will be 

routed to the appropriate dean, brigade 

commander or USU president.

Once processing is completed, a copy 

of the approved form will be returned to 

the employee for the employee’s records. 

Using Computer Resources: 

Security incidents continue to be a 

drain to limited USU Information Assurance manpower. The following highlight 

current DoD policy and best practices:

Personnel must not install selfcoded or non-licensed software on 

network resources; add, remove, 

configure, or attempt to modify 

USU computer operating systems 

or programs; move audio/visual or 

network cables, computers or attempt 

to connect personal computers to the 

network including MDL and lecture 

hall spaces; connect personal devices 

except for those previously authorized 

by NOC; download pornographic 

material and store or display offensive material, such as racist literature, 

sexually harassing or obscene language 

or material; store or process classified 

information on any USU system.

Personnel must not permit unauthorized individuals access to a governmentowned or government-operated system 

or program; access online gambling, 

games and social engineering sites.

Helpdesk Closure: 

The NOC helpdesk is closed for training on Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. 

During this time, you can leave a 

voicemail message at 295-9800, utilize 

the HEAT Self Service (http://www.

usuhs.mil/uis/forms/trouble.html), or 

email help@usuhs.mil. 

If an emergency should arise, please 

call 295-9870.

Exercise/Fitness Areas: 

Physical Fitness training should be 

conducted in designated areas. 

The only authorized space for PT 

within the university is room G060. 

The campus’ Student Community 

Lounge area is also authorized, but 

only during specified PFT testing 

dates or times.

2010 Antietam Medical 

Staff March:

The Department of Military and 

Emergency Medicine will conduct the 

Antietam Medical Staff Walk at the 

Antietam National Battlefield on April 

29, 2010. The Medical Staff Walk, a 

component of Military Medical Field 

Studies, is designed to give the student 

an appreciation of how historical 

lessons learned have shaped modern 

and future military medicine. This 

year’s medical walk will retrace a Civil 

War casualty’s evacuation route from 

the battlefield to supporting hospitals 

within the area, highlighting military 

medical lessons learned along the way.

Faculty senate members 

needed:

The USU Faculty Senate is looking 

for faculty volunteers to fill upcoming 

faculty senate positions in the upcoming year. 

The Faculty Senate is a representative 

body providing the faculty a way to participate in the governance of the university. 

The senate is an advisor to the president of the university and may pass 

resolutions and recommendations on 

issues such as education, research and 

faculty welfare. 

The following positions will be open 

this coming year:

n Three positions representing the 

clinical department

n Four positions representing the 

basic science departments

n Secretary of the Faculty Senate 

n President Pro-tempore of the 

Faculty Senate. In accordance with 

the USU constitution, this year’s 

selection must be from the basic 

science department. 

The deadline for candidacy nomination is May 10 and elections will be 

held in June. 

Faculty interested in filling one of 

these positions should contact their 

current Faculty Senate representative or 

a member of the Elections and Nominations committee.