Volume 6, Issue 16 November 7, 2011

www.usuhs.mil

The Official USU Newsletter
On the cover

A memorial to honor Lt. Col. (Dr.) 

David Cabrera by the ANSF Combined 

Assessment Team Validation Transition 

Team, Afghanistan. (See story page 3)

Photo provided by The Afghanistan National Security Force 

Combined Assessment Team (ACAT) Validation Transition Team 

(VTT) A memorial to a fallen hero

Sharon Willis

Deputy 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-Jones

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.

2 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

USU MedPix® gets HONCode 

compliance re-certification 

by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine 

The USU MedPix® Radiology web 

site recently earned Health On the 

Net (HON) code re-certification. 

The HONcode – the oldest and most 

used ethical and trustworthy code for 

medical and health related information available on the Internet – was 

created by the Health On the Net 

Foundation, which is a non-governmental organization, internationally recognized for groundbreaking 

efforts in the field of health information ethics. 

“Re-certification is a validation 

that we are meeting these international standards for providing health 

information over the web,” said James 

Smirniotopoulos, M.D., Professor of 

Radiology, Neurology, and Biomedical 

Informatics and Chief Editor, MedPix 

Teaching File.

The HONcode is designed for 

three target audiences: the general 

public, health professionals and web 

publishers — actively involving the 

sites in the process of certification. 

Having this unique certification 

demonstrates the intent of a web 

site to post and publish quality 

objective information. 

Since the HON Foundation can not 

guarantee the accuracy of medical 

information presented by an individual Web site, the HONcode seal 

allows a site to declare its intention 

to contribute to the highest quality 

of medical information through the 

posting of objective and transparent 

information in strict adherence to 

requirements of certification.

This certification means that the 

web site will be subjected to periodic 

monitoring. These visits begin a 

year after the initial certification, 

following a complaint or a technical 

malfunction detected by HONcode 

monitoring services. Site monitors 

also rely on user reports that allege 

non-compliance with 

the HONcode. 

Any health or medical web site 

intended for patients, health professionals or the general public, can apply 

for HONcode certification, even if 

it does not have a strictly health or 

medical focus. 

Each certification request is 

reviewed by a committee, which 

includes medical professionals. The 

HON then thoroughly inspects the 

Web site and verifies that all eight 

ethical principles are honored. If some 

principles are missing, HON and the 

site owner work together to bring the 

site into compliance.

Once a web site is fully compliant, it 

is given a unique seal, directly linked 

to a HONcode certificate located 

on the HON Web site, which specifies how the site complies with the 

HONcode principles.

Aside from the recertification 

MedPix® achieved another milestone 

recently, presenting the 600th consecutive week of online AMA PRA 

Category 1 CME.

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

James Smirniotopoulos, M.D.
On Saturday, October 29, 2011, 

Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) David E. Cabrera, 

41, a licensed clinical social worker 

and Assistant Professor of Family 

Medicine at the USU, was killed in 

action in Afghanistan. 

Dr. Cabrera’s humor, easy-going 

nature and infectious smile made him 

popular with staff, faculty, students 

and patients alike. His dedication to 

the troops he served throughout his 

career was evident in his caring and 

compassionate approach to his work. 

Dr. Cabrera’s research interests also 

conveyed his commitment to improving the lives of our service members, 

veterans and their families. 

“Lt. Col. Cabrera was a soldier’s 

soldier,” said Navy Capt. (Dr.) Mark 

Stephens, chair, USU Department of 

Family Medicine. “He was professionally happiest when in the field with his 

troops. His sense of service, love of 

God, family and country are an inspiration to us all.” 

“We never want to hear that any 

service member has been injured or 

killed, but when one of our own makes 

the ultimate sacrifice the pain is amplified,” said USU president Dr. Charles 

L. Rice. “Dr. Cabrera had not been at 

USU for very long, but he touched so 

many lives and will be sadly missed by 

all of us in the USU community. Our 

thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go out to his family.”

November 7, 2011 3

Remembering a USU friend and fallen hero

by Sharon Willis and Ken Frager

Dr. Cabrera came to the University 

from Heidelberg, Germany, in February 

2010. He was actively involved in the 

University community as a member of 

the Family Medicine clinic staff, USU 

faculty and military Brigade. Most 

recently, he was asked to serve as “battle 

captain” for USU’s annual field training exercise, Operation Bushmaster, the 

practicum for the Military Contingency 

Medicine course. Dr. Cabrera’s role was 

to assist the course director in overseeing and synchronizing the exercise 

operations, combining his background 

in operational medicine with the 

school’s educational mission.

On September 1, 2011, surrounde d 

by his family and University colleagues, 

then-Major Cabrera was promoted to 

Lieutenant Colonel. On September 30, 

he left the U.S. for his voluntary deployment to Afghanistan. 

In describing their 

remembrance ceremony 

to honor fallen heroes 

held by the Afghanistan National 

Security Force 

Combined 

Assessment Team Validations Transition Team, with whom Dr. Cabrera 

was deployed, Lt. Col. Richard E. 

White said, “There were numerous 

speakers as you would expect. Once 

they were done, for the next hour 

and 42 minutes I stood and watched 

as man after man filed by to render 

a farewell salute and touch David’s 

helmet. Some left their unit coin or 

patch as a token upon the stand that 

held his boots, rifle, and helmet. 

All but one. I intend to render my 

respects to David’s memory in person 

at his grave upon my return from 

Afghanistan.”

Used with permission of Associated Press

Photo by Ken Frager
4 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

USU alumnus (SoM ‘94) Lt. Col. 

(Dr.) Dan Bruzzini boarded Delta 

Flight 0750 on Sept. 1, tired from 

presenting at a five-day surgery conference in Biloxi, but eager to get home to 

his wife and children in St. Louis. 

Halfway through his trip – 

somewhere between Mississippi and 

Georgia – Bruzzini’s attention was 

diverted from the book he was reading 

to the midsection of a massive Airbus 

320 filled to capacity. 

“Is there a doctor onboard?,” a flight 

attendant asked with trepidation. 

Bruzzini, a neonatologist by training, 

quickly stepped up.

“I volunteered and so did a 

paramedic sitting in front of me,” he 

said. “At the time, I didn’t know what 

was going on, but wanted to help out 

any way I could.”

Bruzzini soon discovered a dire 

situation. An elderly passenger named 

Tom, on the way to his grandson’s 

wedding, was fighting for life. His pulse 

was irregular and his skin was turning 

blue, he was disoriented and his vision 

was gone. 

Barely holding on, Tom was having 

a massive heart attack – 35,000 feet in 

the air. 

“Conditions were bad. There wasn’t 

much space to move around inside the 

cabin and the plane’s life support equipment wasn’t up to par either,” Bruzzini 

said. “Still, we made do the best we 

could, because dwelling on the circumstances wouldn’t help Tom. He was 

fading fast, and we had to act quickly if 

there was any hope of saving his life.”

Bruzzini -- trained by USU and the 

Air Force to practice medicine in tough 

situations like this – began supplementing Tom’s oxygen and monitoring his blood pressure, but there were 

problems. 

“The K tank adapter to the oxygen 

mask was missing a linking lock, so we 

had to manually apply pressure to get it 

working properly,” he said.

A flight for life 

by Christine Creenan-Jones

Their hands-on approach worked. 

Tom’s vital signs began improving, 

but he was still experiencing chest 

pain. Once it was safe, Bruzzini gave 

Tom two doses of nitroglycerine. This 

medication helped regulate his blood 

pressure and pulse. 

Once Tom was stable, Bruzzini had 

to make another tough call. Delta’s 

pilots asked if they should divert the 

plane to the nearest small-town airport 

or continue on to a major thoroughfare. 

“When the flight attendant told me 

we were 15 minutes from Atlanta, I 

knew we’d have enough oxygen for Tom 

to complete the trip,” said Bruzzini, 

a CCATT-trained flight surgeon. “I 

also knew a large metropolis would 

have sophisticated procedures and 

transportation in place for seriously ill 

passengers.”

Bruzzini continued monitoring Tom 

until the plane landed in Georgia and 

local paramedics took over. 

“I didn’t expect any of this to 

happen when I boarded my flight that 

morning, but I’m happy Tom survived 

his injury and I had the right kind of 

training to help,” he said. “I’ve had 

many great instructors over the years 

who taught me to never let an imperfect situation stop me from practicing 

good medicine.”

Courtesy Photo

Lt. Col. (Dr.) Dan Bruzzini holds the hand of a pediatric patient during a recent air 

evacuation. The SOM graduate draws on his USU education and Air Force training in 

emergency and critical care air transport situations.
November 7, 2011 5

HPRC Health Tips

The Human Performance 

Resource Center Health Tips is a 

new column intended to provide the 

USU community with information to 

help develop and maintain a healthy 

lifestyle. Check out the HPRC website 

at: http://humanperformancere

sourcecenter.org.

Learn to cope with rejection

Being accepted is a fundamental part of human happiness and 

survival. When we experience 

rejection, there are physical and 

psychological responses that can 

threaten our overall well-being. 

Experts suggest that the pain from 

loneliness and rejection can be 

thought of as if it were physical 

pain.

 An article from the American Psychological Association

describes a two-step process that 

can help you cope with rejection. It involves first realizing that 

everyone experiences rejection; it’s 

impossible to always be accepted, 

and everyone must deal with these 

feelings at one point or another.

 Second, seek the comfort of 

groups and friends in which you’re 

accepted. Your close friends and 

family may be able to relate to 

your feelings and provide you 

with support. The pain of rejection shouldn’t be ignored, but 

learning to cope in healthy ways 

to something that’s quite normal 

is important to help you move 

beyond that pain.

Prayer – A mind tactic for 

performance optimization

Time and again we see athletes 

raise their arms overhead and 

look upwards after making a score 

that wins the game. In interviews, 

many attest to the power of prayer 

in helping them achieve success 

on (and sometimes off) the field. 

And according to research, they 

are not too far off. Prayer is often 

used to help cope with the stress 

and anxiety of high-performance 

situations. Whether it’s praying for 

strength or protection, it may help 

ease the stress when the pressure 

to perform is high. So don’t rule 

out this Mind Tactic.

AlternateYou hard and easy 

In any training program, you 

should follow a day of hard, 

intense exercise with one or 

even two days of “easy” training. 

This gives the body and mind 

time to recover before the next 

“hard” day. In addition, this helps 

prevent overtraining and encourages variation in your workouts.

USU Faculty Member 

Named PPAC 

Physician Researcher 

of the Year

Reprinted Courtesy of The Rheumatologist

Captain Lisa Rider, MD, a physician-scientist and clinical researcher at 

the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., 

and an adjunct USU pediatrics faculty 

member, was named 2011 Physician 

Researcher of the Year by the Physicians Professional Advisory Committee of the United States Public Health 

Service. The award was presented in 

recognition of her basic and clinical research into myositis. Her recent 

research findings have included: definitions of improvement as a primary 

composite endpoint for myositis clinical trials, discovery of a novel autoantibody in juvenile dermatomyositis 

and discovery of new immunogenetic 

risk factors for juvenile myositis. Her 

epidemiologic and clinical studies in 

myositis have made substantial contributions to public health practice.

Reprinted with permission from 

The Rheumatologist. 2011;5(9):15.

USU assistant professor of 

Pediatrics, Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) 

Gregory Gorman, served on 

a panel of experts recently 

at the National Press Club 

in Washington, DC, where 

he discussed his research on 

the effects of deployment on 

children of military service 

members. The annual 

Symposium on Policy and 

Health was sponsored by 

the non-profit Population 

Reference Bureau and the 

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 

School of Public Health 

Population Center.
6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

USU School of Medicine Dean 

Larry Laughlin recently announced 

the establishment of the Annual 

Faculty Teaching Awards to recognize exceptional performance by two 

School of Medicine faculty members 

in their role as teachers during the 

preceding academic year (1 July – 30 

June). One winner was chosen from a 

Clinical Science department and one 

from a Basic Science department.

Several outstanding nominees 

for the awards were received and 

reviewed by the selection committee. After scoring and deliberation, 

the Dean was honored to present 

Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Jessica 

Servey (SoM ’95), Department of 

Family Medicine, and Army Col. 

(Dr.) Richard Conran, Department 

of Pathology, with awards.

Dr. Servey has been director of 

the Family Medicine Clerkship 

since returning to the USU in 2009. 

In this role she is responsible for 

managing the educational experiences for 170 students annually in 

family medicine, including 14 clerkship sites across the United States.

Dr. Conran is the second year 

medical student program course 

director in the department of Pathology. A practicing pediatric pathologist, Dr. Conran has served on 

numerous university committees 

since arriving at USU in 1992, while 

remaining active in consultation, 

pediatric research and undergraduate and graduate medical education. 

His current research interests include 

pediatric lung, endocrine and liver 

disease and disorders of the placenta.

Both winners will also be 

recognized by placement of their 

names on memorial bricks in the 

USU Quadrangle.

School of Medicine Annual 

Faculty Teaching Awards

The USU School of Medicine’s new 

curriculum is in place and the Class 

of 2015 began their first integrated 

module in August. In support of the 

new curriculum, the Office of the 

Associate Dean for Faculty designed 

an on-site Faculty Retreat entitled 

‘Boot Camp II’ Strategies for Thriving 

in the New Curriculum.

Distinguished visiting professors, 

including USU faculty, presented 

various seminars in early October, 

including: Outcome based Education 

and Curriculum Design and Team 

Based Learning & Teaching, presented 

by Thomas Viggiano, M.D., Professor of Medicine & Medical Education, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine; 

Changing a Tire at 80 MPH – Leadership in the Face of Change and The 

Art of Herding Cats – How to Run 

Effective Meetings That Are Productive and That All Enjoy, presented by 

Ted Epperly, M.D., Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, University 

of Washington Program Director 

& CEO, Family Medicine of Idaho; 

Small Group Teaching: Strategies & 

Techniques for the New Curriculum, 

presented by Brian V. Reamy, M.D. 

and Cindy Wilson, Ph.D. 

The week-long series of activities 

also included New Faculty Orientation 

Day, hosted by the USU Faculty Senate, 

and a Town Hall meeting addressing 

Curriculum Reform, presented by Air 

Force Col. (Dr.) Arnyce Pock.

Seminar presentations and corresponding handouts will be posted 

on the Associate Dean for Faculty 

(Faculty Development) webpage 

http://www.usuhs.mil/medschool/

deans/associatedeans/faculty/facultydevelopment.html

“Boot Camp II” 

Strategies for 

Thriving in the 

New Curriculum

Faculty Development Pearl – Student Advising

All faculty serve as formal or informal student advisors. While different 

situations call for distinct strategies, there are some general principles that 

are foundational to skilled advising that cross the boundaries of different 

specialties and terminal degrees. Summarized below are 5 principles 

modified from Martin & O’Donnell, (Fam Med 1999;31(9):614-5).

• Do not assume all students progress at the same pace, but always promote 

paced change and growth.

• Be available to students and 

be willing to listen and explore their concerns.

• Be willing to be vulnerable and to share how we ourselves learned 

from our own mistakes.

• Don’t forget to give positive feedback when it is earned.

• Help students move towards independence as self-directed learners and 

prepare them for life after medical school.

Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) 

Jessica Servey

Army Col. (Dr.) 

Richard Conran
November 7, 2011 7

Nominations being 

accepted for annual 

USU research awards

The Leonard and Wu Awards for 

Excellence in Research will recognize 

faculty members and AFRRI scientists who, in the estimation of their 

peers, have made the most significant published scientific contribution to translational/clinical and basic 

biomedical research respectively, 

during the past three years. 

The recipients of these two 

awards will give his or her award 

lecture named in honor of Drs. Wu 

and Leonard during the University 

Research Days. Each recipient will 

receive a memento and a cash award 

of $2,500. 

The Wu award recognizes excellence 

in the Basics Sciences and the Leonard 

award excellence in the Translational and 

Clinical Sciences.

Any Uniformed Services 

University faculty member, staff, or 

student may submit nominations 

for the Awards. The nominee must 

be either a member of the full-time 

faculty or an AFRRI scientist at the 

University. The nomination should 

include:

• brief statement outlining the significance of the published research. 

This research should have been 

published (a) within the last three 

years, (b) while the nominee has 

been at the University and (c) the 

nominee should be first or senior 

author on the paper. The nomination letter should be signed by the 

person submitting the nomination.

• A copy of the nominee’s curriculum 

vitae and a copy of the selected paper 

(Published after January 2008) upon 

which the nomination is based. 

The closing date for nominations is 

Monday, January 30, 2012. 

The recipients of the Awards will be 

announced no later than February 29, 

2012. Previous holders of the award are 

not eligible following the first three full 

years of their last award. 

Briefs

Applications should be submitted 

to the Office of Research, attention 

Dr. Susan Rasmussen (srasmussen@

usuhs.mil). 

Using Computer Resources

Security incidents continue to be 

a drain to limited USU Information 

Assurance manpower. The followinghighlight current DoD policy and best 

practices: Personnel must not install 

self-coded 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 

government-owned or governmentoperated system or program; access 

online gambling, games and social 

engineering sites, dates or times.

Help Desk Closure

The Customer Service Division 

(CSD) Help Desk is closed for staff 

meetings and training on Thursdays 

from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM. Online 

services are still available during this 

time. Utilize the USU Service Desk 

(https://usuca/CAisd/pdmweb.exe) 

to enter your request and it will be 

serviced accordingly.

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 dates or times. 

Haffner awarded Commissioned 

Officers Association honors

USU faculty member Capt. (Dr.) 

William Haffner, (USPHS, Ret.) 

was presented with the 2011 RADM 

Robert Brutsche Award recently by 

the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) 

Commissioned Officers Association 

(COA). Since retiring from the PHS, 

Dr. Haffner has been a member of 

the USU faculty and editor of the 

Association of Military Surgeons of 

the United States (AMSUS) journal, 

Military Medicine. Dr. Haffner 

completed two three-year terms 

as COA director and as a trustee 

for the Commissioned Officers 

Foundation in June 2011.

A physician and OB/GYN, Dr. 

Haffner began his career in the 

Indian Health Service in New 

Mexico and later became the Chief, 

Professional Office for the Physician Category in the PHS. He is 

a fellow and past president of the 

Association of Professors of GYN 

and OB of the American College 

of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, 

where an award has been established in his name.

The Brutsche Award is named 

in honor of Rear Admiral Robert 

Brutsche, USPHS (ret.), a legendary 

leader in the PHS Commissioned 

Corps and in the COA.