Nursing Science graduate student, Christina "Tina" Pettey, receives NIH fellowship

Tina began pursuing a Ph.D. in Nursing Science at UAMS in 2008 and has been a Clinical Assistant Professor in the UAMS College of Nursing since 2007, teaching in the Family Nurse Practitioner program. In 2010 she was selected to attend two training programs through the National Institutes of Health: the Summer Genetics Institute and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Translational Health Disparities course. Tina was recently awarded a pre-doctoral NRSA fellowship through the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH/NINR) entitled “Factors affecting hypertension treatment adherence among African Americans.” (No. 1-F31-NR012347-01A1). Her sponsor for this application which is funded from 2011-2013 is Jean C. McSweeney, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN. Tina’s interest in genetics and health disparities has grown out of her clinical experiences as a volunteer family nurse practitioner at a local, free clinic.

Health Systems Research student Patricia Wright to attend Addictions Health Services Research conference

Patricia B. Wright, doctoral candidate in the Health Systems Research program, has received a junior investigator travel award for the Addictions Health Services Research conference to be held October 4-5, 2011 in Fairfax, VA. The award is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research. Ms. Wright will be presenting a poster at the conference from her dissertation research and will have the opportunity to meet with a NIDA representative during the conference to discuss a research concept paper she submitted that could lead to a grant application. Drs. Geoffrey M. Curran and Katharine E. Stewart are her advisors.

UAMS Commencement 2011

The 2010-11 UAMS Commencement ceremony was held on Saturday, May 21. Every year the Graduate School hosts a brunch for graduates and their families just prior to commencement activities. This year we had a wonderful event at Embassy Suites. Brunch pictures can be viewed here. The Graduate School celebrated the awarding of 3 certificates, 33 M.S. degrees, and 17 Ph.D. degrees. Dr. Brooke E.E. Montgomery (shown above), the inaugural graduate of the Health Promotion and Prevention Research, was this year's graduating student speaker. She did a fantastic job. Congratulations to all of our graduates!

Graduate Student Association Spring Announcements

Dear Fellow Graduate Students,

As the end of the semester draws near, I wanted to remind you of several things to keep on your calendars!

· April 13 is Donut Wednesday! Krispy Kreme donuts will be available for your enjoyment at ~ 8 AM at ACH, in the student room on the 4th floor of Biomed. II and in the Graduate School office. Be sure to thank Steven Smith for picking them up!

· Thursday, April 14 is the Graduate School Spring Reception. It’s being held in the Helen Guinn Adams Atrium in Biomed. I from 3:00 – 4:30PM.

· Friday, April 15 is the “Spring Fling” event. It’s being held in the Hospital Lobby Gallery from noon to 1PM. Food will be provided for the first 200 guests, and our very own Dr. McGehee is the Master of Ceremonies! Also there will be a performance by the student dancers, which includes some of our fellow graduate students, so be sure to come support them!

· Saturday afternoon, April 30 your GSA is hosting a Crawfish Boil, and you and your family/significant others are invited! This is also open to all faculty, so be sure to let your advisor or favorite professors know you’d love to have him or her there! More details will follow soon, but go ahead and mark your calendar for this fun event!

· Elections for GSA Officer positions will be held May 5 – May 8. Please consider running for one of the positions, which include: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, ASG Representatives, and Recycling Coordinator. Send a statement why you’d be a great officer for the position of your choice to GSA@UAMS.EDU to be included on the ballot!

· Graduation is Saturday, May 21! Congratulations to everyone graduating this semester!

· Your GSA officers are coordinating the annual Spring Canoe Trip, to be held Saturday, June 4! Mark your calendars and look for more details soon!

Hope you have a great Spring!
Jennifer Watts
GSA President

Graduate Student Receives ASN Young Investigator's Educational Enhancement Award

Hamdan Hamdan, a Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics PhD graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Patricia Wight, received the American Society for Neurochemistry’s prestigious “Young Investigator’s Educational Enhancement” (YIEE) travel award. The purpose of the award is to support the development of young investigators by facilitating their attendance and active participation at the 42st annual ASN meeting, which was held March 19-23, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to the $500 YIEE travel award, Hamdan also received free registration to attend the pre-meeting workshop on “MicroRNA: From Theory to Practice.”

Ben Davis to Speak at UAMS on March 3

Ben Davis of Little Rock, whose video documenting his 120-pound weight loss garnered him national attention and speaking engagements, will discuss his weight loss journey at UAMS at noon, Thursday, March 3 in the Wilson Education Building Lecture Hall 126. A reception with a light lunch will be held after the event.

Hosted by the UAMS Graduate School and Graduate Student Association, the 24-year-old will talk about starting to run at a time when he weighed more than 350 pounds. On his blog, Davis says, “On Christmas Day, 2008, I made a promise to my grandmother to get a grip on my obesity, my depression, and my life. I've lost 120 pounds, run marathons, and finished an Ironman.”

In addition to his speaking engagements, he is now a contributor to active.com, a fitness website. Read more about him – and watch the video that started it all – on http://bendoeslife.com/.

Updates from the GSA President

The GSA would like to announce upcoming events:

• As a reminder from your ASG representatives, Letha and Omar: Don’t forget about the Chancellor’s student forum Monday, February 28 at noon. It’s being held in IDW 126, and lunch will be provided for the first 200 students. This is a great chance to hear Dr. Rahn address concerns held by students campus-wide, including health insurance and the student health clinic fees.
  
• Ben Davis, a Little Rock native with an amazing story to share about how he got fit, will be here March 3. Brought to you by the graduate school and GSA, there will be a reception following his presentation. Be sure to join us Thursday in IDW 126.
  
• Doughnut Wednesday is March 9. We’ll have Krispy Kremes available in the student room on the 4th floor of Biomed. II, at ACH, and in the graduate school office on the west side of campus ~8AM.
  
• On Friday, March 11, GSA would like to invite you to join us downtown at Second Friday Art Night. We’ll meet at the Arkansas Historic Museum at ~5PM. The address is 200 E. 3rd St. There is free parking directly across the street from the museum. Come take advantage of art, refreshments, and friends at this fun event! Let me know if you need a ride downtown. http://www.2ndfridayartnight.com/
  
• Abstracts for the campus-wide student research day to be held April 1 are due March 11. You may present a poster that you used for past meetings, so take advantage of this opportunity to share your work with the entire campus! Let me know if you need more information or missed the emails about this event.
  
• We’re currently working to schedule a fun night of either karaoke or comedy at the Looney Bin! Look for more information soon. Also, later this spring, we’d like to hold a crawfish boil! If you or someone you know has a house with a backyard that would accommodate this event, please let me know. We’re working on a location and would like to consider several options in addition to local pavilions.
  
• The graduate school has an intramural softball team! We’re interested in having as many students play as possible, so if you’d like to participate, even if you can’t commit to every game, please sign up with me or Chad Cragle ASAP! Even if you don’t want to play, feel free to come out and support the team at games. The first one is scheduled this Sunday at 1PM at Benny Craig Park (4610 Gum Springs Rd).
  
• Thanks to all of the students who participated in judging at the science fairs this month. I’ve been told by representatives of both schools that you did a great job and you’re time was really appreciated!
  
  Happy Friday Everyone!
  
  Have a great weekend,
  Jennifer Watts
  President, Graduate Student Association