Volume 6, Issue 12 n June 30, 2011

www.usuhs.mil

The Official USU Newsletter
On the cover

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant 

secretary of Defense for Health Affairs 

discussed health policy within the Military 

Health System and throughout the federal 

government with USU’s Masters of Health 

Administration and Policy (MHAP) 

students during his recent campus 

visit. (See story page 7)

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

Photo by Ken Frager

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 June 30, 2011

	 	 	

With years of training to go, 

students are told their impact on 

patients starts today

by Ken Frager

Army Maj. (Dr.) Aaron Holley (SoM, 2001), addressed students and guests during 

the Class of 2014 White Coat ceremony.

A rite of passage for medical

students, the donning of the white

coat, while symbolic in nature,

provides a psychological transition

that carries significance. At USU,

under crystal blue skies recently,

first year medical students made that

transition, pinning the Gold Seal

of Humanism on their stark white

coats and stepped into the world of

medicine.

“Even though you have years

of training to go, your impact on

patients starts today,” said Army Maj.

(Dr.) Aaron Holley (SoM, 2001),

the guest speaker for the Class of

2014 ceremony. “You need to take

it seriously, because many of your

patients will hang on every word

you say now. Your answers, your

guidance and your overall interactions with them will often be the

most beneficial treatment they

receive during a given visit. You

will shape their perceptions of their

medical care and their personal

health. Doing so appropriately and

effectively,” he added, “is every bit

as important as being technically

precise during a surgery, or following evidence-based guidelines when

prescribing a medication.”

Army Col. (Dr.) Lisa Moores

(SoM, 1989) and assistant dean for

Clinical Sciences, who welcomed

guests to the ceremony, recalled why

the symbolic gesture of the white

coat is so meaningful. “Besides

presenting the opportunity for

students to recite the Hippocratic

Oath for their first time, the White

Coat Ceremony is really a symbol of

the combination of the profession

of medicine. We are scientists, but

we also are humanistic. Finding the

right mix makes us better doctors

and students need to understand

the depth of responsibility they are

taking on.”
As treatments for prostate disease

have advanced over

the past decade,

so has the level of

knowledge in the

medical research

community on the

impact of new therapeutic approaches on disease outcomes

such as quality of life and survival.

Prostate cancer is the leading type

of newly-diagnosed malignancy in U.S.

men but very little is known about its

prevention, and controversy exists as

to whether there is overscreening and

overtreatment of this disease. More

extensive research is needed to understand disease development and better

identify and treat men whose disease

will ultimately act aggressively.

The Center for Prostate Disease

Research, a program of the Uniformed

Services University of the Health

Sciences and the Henry M. Jackson

Foundation, created a multicenter

national database to collect comprehensive data from leading Defense

Department and civilian medical

centers, including Madigan Army

Medical Center, Naval Medical Center

San Diego, Walter Reed Army Medical

Center, and Virginia Mason Medical

Center. The database is designed to

advance knowledge and understanding

of prostate disease, particularly prostate

cancer, and to allow for the development of more effective prevention,

diagnostic and treatment strategies for

this cancer.

“This database has allowed researchers to capture relevant data points and

link them to patient outcomes,” said

Jennifer Cullen, Ph.D., MPH, director of

the Epidemiological Research Program

at CPDR and research assistant professor

in the Department of Surgery at USU.

Congress established the CPDR in

1991 under the leadership of Col. (ret.)

David G. McLeod, M.D., the current

director of CPDR and urologic oncologist at Walter Reed Army Medical

Center, to combat increasing prostate

cancer incidence. This unique center

integrates basic and clinical science

expertise to develop refined detection

techniques and promising treatments

for prostate disease.

The clinical database contains information from more than 25,000 men

who have been biopsied for suspicion of

prostate cancer based on their prostate

specific antigen (PSA) value, DRE result,

and/or symptoms and connects all pieces

of the center, including clinical trials,

basic science and epidemiologic research.

“Ultimately, these data will help us to

focus on quality of life during the survivorship period, as well as other ‘holy grail’

endpoints like patient survival, which is of

enormous interest to us as we support the

military community,” Cullen said.

According to Cullen, some of the

areas already identified as needing

additional study relate to racial/

ethnic disparities in treatment

outcomes, identifying predictors of

metastasis and better understanding

the impact of disease among Asian

and Hispanic Americans.

“Because there is a greater proportion of African Americans in the

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

The Official USU Newsletter 3

Using Technology To Combat Prostate Cancer

by Ken Frager and Jennifer Cullen, Ph.D., MPH military as compared to the nation as a

whole, we can dig deeper and examine

this subgroup in greater detail,” Cullen

said, adding that examining outcomes

such as prostate-specific mortality and

overall survival require a very large

sample size and long-term follow up..

The current data have been collected

since 1992, and provide a breadth of

clinical characteristics.

The database has propelled the

CPDR Basic Science Program in

a leadership role in translational

research focusing on discovery and

evaluation of novel biomarkers and

therapeutic targets much needed

to enhance prognosis and targeted

therapy of prostate cancer.

“The primary strength of the database

is that it is a resource that will help us

answer tough questions about how best

to tailor specific treatments to patients

and provide advice regarding the risk of

prostate disease progression,” Cullen said.

“Without this resource in our arsenal, we

couldn’t answer many of these questions

or address these issues effectively.”

In preparation for the upcoming

deployment to Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pa.,

where medical and graduate nursing

students will participate in the Kerkesner

and Bushmaster Field Training Exercises,

as part of USU’s military unique curriculum, Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant

secretary of defense for health affairs

decided it was time to “get out in the field

with the troops.” After offering leadership advice to the students, and with the

Pentagon and Military Channel cameras

rolling, the Army Reserves Brigadier

General rappelled down the 63-foot

Building A rappel tower.“As a prior

commander, I believe it’s always good to

get out in the field with the troops,” said

Dr. Woodson.“And I think commanders

always need to demonstrate to the troops

that they are willing to do everything you

ask them to do.” Operations Kerkesner

and Bushmaster kick-off July 10 and run

through July 21.

Top DoD physician joins the troops 

by Ken Frager

Army SFC Ronald Wilson, Army Senior 

Enlisted Advisor, inspects Dr. Jonathan 

Woodson’s Swiss seat rappelling 

harness in advance of the DoD’s senior 

physician’s “train-up” experience on the 

USU rappel wall.
4 the pulse June 30, 2011

USU dental program faces injury through artistic methods 

by Christine Creenan-Jones

challenge has been very rewarding for

me, because I’m passing on important

skills to help mend our fighting force.”

Mending them often means not just

providing medically necessary care,

but also finding ways to prosthetically

restore the physical imperfections

that bother servicemembers and their

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

Canadian Surgeon General visit

Commodore H.W. Jung, 

Surgeon General/

Commander Canadian 

Forces Health Services 

Group/Director General 

Health Services, 

presented USU president 

Charles L. Rice with a 

book describing the 

history of the Canadian 

Military during 

Commodore Jung’s recent 

visit to the USU campus.

Lieutenant Commander William

Wilson, D.D.S., a dentist from Charleston, WV, has treated hundreds of

injuries over the years. His patients,

many of them wounded in combat,

have lost teeth, eyes, ears and other

body parts. Making these wounded

warriors whole again is both an art

and science involving skills Wilson has

mastered over the years.

The naval officer, who is part of

a growing field called maxillofacial

prosthetics, has been creating realistic

facial implants from jars of silicone and

tubes of paint for much of his military

career. The complex process is creative

and precise, intuitive and systematic,

with hundreds of work hours going into

each prosthesis.

Though often tedious, Wilson is passionate about his craft and enjoys teaching USU

students his art at the Naval Postgraduate

Dental School in Bethesda.

“Maxillofacial prosthetics is a fascinating subspecialty,” he said. “Experts

in this field work hard to improve

lives and restore confidence to some

of America’s greatest heroes. Educating the new generation to take on this

families. So, Wilson teaches his pupils

to create synthetic ears with realistic

folds, cheek implants that careen “just

right,” and arched noses that mirror

the real thing.

Once finished, the perfectly sculpted

fabrications are held in place by powerful magnets. When done right, prostheses fit like a glove, and the boundary

between flesh and silicone is a nearseamless transition.

“Experts in my field have done

an amazing job at hiding some

pretty severe injuries,” Wilson said.

“Through this work – this art – we

are returning dignity and function

to patients who have had theirs

taken away.” Wilson adds that his

team, which also sees patients with

facial differences from oncologic

(cancer) treatments or congenitally, are successful because of their

team-focused approach to care,

and includes an extremely talented

enlisted staff.

But Wilson has discovered

that a warrior’s pride isn’t always

expressed through traditional

mediums. Some patients showcase

their injuries like prizes and request

an ornamental prosthesis like

silicon eyes emblazed with service

emblems or sporting logos.

“We’ll do pretty much anything for

our patients,” he said. “Sculpting a

whimsical piece is our way of decorating a hero.”

His designs –whether natural or

fanciful – create a higher quality of life

for servicemembers while putting a

new face on modern dental medicine.

Lieutenant Commander William Wilson, 

D.D.S., chairman of the Maxillofacial 

Prosthetics Program at USU’s Naval 

Postgraduate Dental School is part of 

a unique specialty designed to treat 

patients with large oral defects or 

extraoral defects. Typical prosthetic 

devices replace missing eyes, ears, 

noses, jaw bones, etc.

Photo by Ken Frager
The Official USU Newsletter 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.

Type of self-talk impacts 

performance

Many studies have found that

“self-talk”—words or phrases about

yourself that you state in your

mind—significantly impacts performance, for better or worse. In a

study to be published in Perspectives

in Psychological Science, researchers

looked at various types of self-talk

and how they affected subsequent

performance. They found that

instructional self-talk, such as telling

yourself “elbows up” while you’re

swimming, works best when you

are trying to improve a technical

aspect of a task. For tasks requiring

endurance, strength, or confidence,

motivational self-talk such as “I can

do it!” is most effective.

Sleep Apnea and Athletic 

Performance

Sleep apnea is a disorder caused

by the decrease or pause in the

airflow or breathing during sleep.

It can lead to daytime sleepiness,

fatigue, and cognitive impairment,

all side effects that could negatively

impact athletic performance.

NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal

recently announced that he will

retire from professional basketball

after 19 seasons and four championship rings. In addition to that

announcement, O’Neal announced

via a YouTube video that he, like 12

million other Americans, had been

diagnosed with sleep apnea.

According to his girlfriend, the

seven-feet-tall, 300-plus-pounds

center snored excessively during

the night, and she noticed that his

chest would often cease movement

entirely. After participating in a

Harvard University–sponsored sleep

study, he was diagnosed with a mild

case of sleep apnea and was advised

to begin wearing a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) mask,

a respiratory ventilation therapy that

assists the wearer’s breathing while

asleep. O’Neal’s story has a happy

ending—because of the recent diagnosis and subsequent treatment, O’Neal

reports that he feels more energetic

and that his overall quality of life

has improved. He is also happy and

comfortable with the treatment. Other

professional athletes suffering from

sleep apnea have not been so fortunate. In 2006, Reggie White, defensive

end for the Philadelphia Eagles and

Green Bay Packers—one of the greatest

players in football history—reportedly

died from causes related to sleep apnea.

What exactly is sleep apnea? And

how does it affect athletic performance?

People with untreated sleep apnea stop

breathing repeatedly during their sleep,

sometimes hundreds of times during the

night and often for a minute or longer.

According to the American Sleep Apnea

Association, there are three types of

apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed.

Of the three types, obstructive sleep

apnea (OSA) is the most common.

Weight can contribute to sleep apnea.

In 2009, a study by Sweden’s Karolinska

Institute showed that overweight and

obese men who lost weight during a

calorie-restricted diet over nine weeks

had major improvements in their sleep

apnea symptoms.

Other risk factors for obstructive

sleep apnea include certain physical

attributes, such as having a thick neck

(which describes many athlete body

types), deviated septum, receding chin,

and enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Allergies or other medical conditions that

cause nasal congestion and blockage can

also contribute to sleep apnea.

Signs of sleep apnea include loud

and chronic snoring, choking, snorting,

or gasping during sleep, long pauses

in breathing, and daytime sleepiness

regardless of how much time you spend

sleeping. Other common signs and

symptoms of sleep apnea include

waking up with a dry mouth or sore

throat, morning headaches, restless

or fitful sleep, insomnia or nighttime

awakenings, going to the bathroom

frequently during the night, waking

up feeling out of breath, forgetfulness

and difficulty concentrating, moodiness, irritability, or depression.

Untreated, sleep apnea can cause

high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, memory problems,

weight gain, impotency, and

headaches. Moreover, left untreated,

it may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes.

In terms of athletic/sports performance, sleep apnea is a major

concern because sleep apnea causes a

disruption to healthy sleep patterns,

which in turn can affect physical

performance. According to a 2007

Stanford University study of sleep and

athletic performance, athletes who

extend the amount of sleep they get

and reduce their sleep debt are more

likely to improve their performance.

Conversely, if an athlete does not get

a good night’s sleep, then the next

day he/she is tired, sleepy, or irritable.

In such cases, physical performance

also is impaired, since there is limited

energy reserve due to the lack of

adequate or good-quality sleep.  Sleep

apnea not only has an impact on

athletes—it affects the military, as

well. According to a 2010 article in

Military Times, data from the Armed

Forces Health Surveillance Center

show that 3,563 active-duty members

had the disease in 2000, while 20,435

were diagnosed in 2009.

So what can you do if you suspect

that you or your sleep partner has

sleep apnea? The only way to be sure

is to undergo a sleep test, which is

done in a sleep lab where patients

sleep in a special bedroom with

electrodes and other sensors attached

to various parts of the body. There,

you will be monitored throughout the

night to keep track of whether and

how often you stop breathing, how

low your O2 sat (oxygen saturation)

goes, and what your brainwaves are

doing while you’re sleeping.
6 the pulse June 30, 2011

USU faculty member awarded The Legion of Merit

by Ken Frager

That’s a wrap: USU Audio/Visual

by Chad Hallford

Retired Army Colonel (Dr.) Jeffrey

L. Jackson, was awarded the Legion of

Merit medal by USU president (Dr.)

Charles L. Rice, on behalf of U.S. Army

Surgeon General Eric B. Schoomaker.

The Office of the Vice President for

External Affairs, which includes University Media Services, provides a range

of video and audio services, thanks to

the team of Willie Allen (retired Navy

Photographer’s Mate 1st Class) and

Army Spec. Ernest Sivia, III.

“The University faculty, staff and

students may not realize the capabilities we have available to help create

The presentation was made at the

Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs

Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisc.,

where Dr. Jackson is currently director

of the General Medicine section.

training videos, informational

documentaries, or story telling,” said

Allen. “We can work with you, discuss

the projects in depth and develop a

vision for the end product.”

Along with video support, the team

can develop products for use as inserts

in presentations, provide mass duplication of media, media conversion,

“A prolific publisher in internationally recognized and peer-reviewed

journals and publications, Col.

Jackson’s leadership and knowledge

helped to strengthen USU’s reputation within the civilian and military

medical research communities,” said

Dr. Rice. “His contributions and

commitment won’t soon be forgotten.”

Col. Jackson was recognized for

exceptionally meritorious service

between September 1999 and

October 2009, culminating as director, Division of Internal Medicine

at USU. Col. Jackson has been a

highly valued faculty member and

full professor of Medicine at the

USU and at the Walter Reed Army

Medical Center, establishing a

national reputation as an exemplary

scholar and medical educator. He is

also a 1996 graduate of USU’s Master

of Public Health program.

and audio (live speaker) output and

recording capabilities.

“We can provide an 8-microphone

set up with quality speaker sound and

recording for transcript capabilities,”

said Allen. “This is ideal for board

meetings or small conferences where a

clear recording is desired.”

“Our end product often tells USU’s

story from an educational or historical perspective,” said Sivia, whose most

recent assignment was with the 55th

Signal Company (Combat Camera) at

Ft. Meade, Md. “When we can accomplish this for our customers, it reflects

back on us in such a rewarding way,”

If you have an assignment or would

like to discuss a project contact the

Multimedia team at 295-9395 or stop

by their ground floor location in room

G070.

Courtesy Photo

Photo by Ken Frager
The Official USU Newsletter 7

Technology Update

by Dennis Stutz 

During his recent visit to USU, Dr.

Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary

of Defense for Health Affairs, imparted

some wisdom related to health policy

in the Military Health System and

throughout the federal government on

the Masters of Health Administration

and Policy (MHAP) students.

“We have benefitted from several

major visits recently,” said Navy

Cmdr. Glen Diehl, assistant professor and program coordinator. “These

senior leaders, who cross all branches

of service, provide background and

guidance directly related to our

Military medical leaders share wisdom 

with graduate students

Ken Frager

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

The OCIO is currently working on

the following items and wanted to

bring you up to date on our progress.

1. Sakai/Blackboard 

On June 2, 2011, the USU formally

ended our use of Blackboard. More

than 1,500 courses and 8,000 students

and faculty used Blackboard since GSN

pioneered the system.

Since November 2010, the Sakai

Migration migrated/created 389 new

course sites and 94 new project sites to

support students and faculty at the USU.

The migration accounts for all active

sites on Blackboard and the last version

of a course. The remaining sites will be

archived and stored at USU.

There are now 242 Sakai course directors and 647 faculty accounts. There also

are 1,172 student accounts, with courses

or project sites for medical courses and

all GSN, PMB, MPO and BID students.

Thanks to faculty and students

who supported the transition to

Sakai, along with Mr. Hanson and

the Sakai team (Tony Chen, 1LT Sean

Baker, Bob Shimokaji, Jeb Miller,

Willy Connor, Meredith Seibert), and

kept everything on schedule. Their

effort and input continue to improve

the product.

We will announce a series of new

features over the coming months and

work aggressively to integrate Sakai

with current and future USU Registrar functions.

2. IATO/ATO

USU has a signed Interim Authority

To Operate (IATO) in place as of June

13, 2011. DISA FSO has a team on site

until July 1. During this assessment,

NOC, ATD, and CSD personnel may

be pulled away from routine support

calls to facilitate DISA inspector needs.

Every effort will be made to minimize

customer impact. This final assessment and mitigation will result in USU

obtaining a full Authority To Operate

(ATO) in mid-August. With Blackboard

to Sakai migration complete and a

DIACAP ATO in-hand, the OCIO will

then focus on the third and final major

project for 2011, .edu migration.

3. Using AKO for File Storage

Did you know that in Organizational

areas in AKO you have unlimited file

storage space and you can drag and

drop multiple files and folders into your

AKO files area?

Using the AKO WebDAV feature,

you have your own virtual drive, similar

to a network drive, where you can

access the entire AKO file structure.

You don’t need to be logged in to AKO

and no longer need to use the AKO files

interface to place documents into your

AKO folders. WebDAV allows users to

collaboratively edit and manage files on

remote Web servers. AKO also provides

a central resource for documentation.

To learn how to take advantage of this

feature, read the document at https://

www.us.army.mil/suite/doc/30139673

4. Discounts

Discounts are available for USU

faculty, students and staff to purchase

Microsoft and Adobe software for

personal or home use at significantly

reduced prices. Information can be found

at: http://e5.onthehub.com/Portal/PortalSelectInstitution.aspx?p=95ad5269-86e1-

dc11-8873-0030485a6b08&JSEnabled=1

You must register using your USU

email address at http://usuhs.onthehub.com. 

If you have any problems, Mr. Dennis

Stutz, Director, Customer Service, is

acting as an ombudsman to help communicate issues. He can be contacted at

301-295-9560 or dstutz@usuhs.mil.

programs, which will be invaluable to

our students in their careers.”

Other recent visitors included Brig.

Gen. Michael Miller, chief of the Air

Force Medical Service Corps and Rear

Adm. Michael Mittelman, U.S. Pacific

Command Surgeon.

Students also received a Tricare

Management Activities Defense

Health Information Management

System (DHIMS) brief. MHAP

students provided a presentation to

DHIMS leadership on challenges and

opportunities involved in executing

their program.