MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP The Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh (Hillel JUC) honored Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg and Carnegie Mellon University President Jared Cohon (pictured right and left, respectively) during the organization’s annual community event May 7. Hillel JUC—the umbrella organization for Jewish campus life in Pittsburgh—praised Nordenberg and Cohon “for fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between the Hillel JUC and the universities they serve, a relationship whose impact is felt far beyond any institutional boundaries.”

• Richard Schulz, Pitt professor of psychiatry and director of the University Center for Social and Urban Research, is editor-in-chief of the fourth edition of The Encyclopedia of Aging, published recently by Springer Publishing Co.

The Encyclopedia of Aging is considered to be the definitive resource for scholars and students in the increasingly interdisciplinary fields of gerontology and geriatrics.

• University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) researcher Suresh Ramalingam has received a Clinical Research Development Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for a study on a small-molecule drug that appears to bolster the effect of chemotherapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

In the study, Ramalingam, a Pitt assistant professor of medicine, examined the effects of three different doses of the drug vorinostat on patients with advanced NSCLC. The drug was administered in 200, 300, and 400 mg doses in combination with a standard chemotherapy for NSCLC. Vorinostat is thought to stop the growth of tumor cells by altering the expression of genes necessary for cancer cell growth.

“Nonsmall cell lung cancer is an extremely difficult disease to treat effectively over time,” Ramalingam said. “Current approaches typically result in average survival of only eight to 11 months for patients with advanced disease. The purpose of our study was to see how safely we could add vorinostat, a novel anticancer agent, to standard chemotherapy. This is the first step in our efforts to determine whether the addition of this agent will improve survival for patients.”

Based on the promising results of Ramalingam’s initial study, UPCI plans to initiate a larger clinical trial for patients with advanced NSCLC using the vorinostat treatment regimen.

• Pitt’s Kuntu Repertory Theatre won awards in 11 categories—including Best Production, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Leading Actresses in a Play and in a Musical—during the African American Council for the Arts’ third annual Onyx Awards ceremony last month, recognizing the best in Black theater in Pittsburgh during the 2005-06 season.

Kuntu Rep won in the following categories: Production of a Play (Seven Guitars); Lighting Design (Jason Peroney, for his work in Kuntu’s production of Little Willie Armstrong Jones); Direction of a Musical (Vernell Lillie, Pitt associate professor of Africana studies and the Kuntu Rep’s founder and artistic director, Mahalia Jackson: Standing on Holy Ground); Set Design/Musical (Kenny Ellis and Diane Melchhitzky, Seven Guitars); Set Design/Musical (Kenneth Ellis and Richard Jackson, Mahalia Jackson: Standing on Holy Ground); Leading Actress (Kimberly Ginyard, Seven Guitars); Leading Actress/Musical (Teri Bridgett, Mahalia Jackson: Standing on Holy Ground); Supporting Actress (Genna Styles, Mahalia Jackson: Standing on Holy Ground); Supporting Actor (Nathan James, Seven Guitars); and Best Equity Actor (Ben Cain, Little Willie Armstrong Jones).

• The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) was one of only 14 hospitals nationwide and the only hospital in Pennsylvania to earn “Honor Roll” status in U.S. News & World Report magazine’s 2006 “America’s Best Hospitals” survey, published July 17.

Overall, UPMC was ranked 14th in the nation and highly ranked in 13 of the 16 medical specialties categorized.

Out of 5,189 hospitals in the nation eligible, one quarter of 1 percent, or 14 hospitals, made the Honor Roll; only 3 percent, or 176 hospitals, ranked in one or more of the 16 specialty areas. Hospitals earned Honor Roll status by listing at or near the top in at least six specialties—“a demonstration of broad expertise,” according to the magazine. This is the seventh time that UPMC has made the Honor Roll.

The medical specialty rankings for UPMC were: 4th in ear, nose, and throat; 11th in pediatrics (Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh); 12th in cancer; 12th in orthopaedics; 12th in psychiatry; 13th in gynecology (Magee-Womens Hospital); 13th in rheumatology; 13th in digestive disorders; 16th in kidney disease; 16th in respiratory disorders; 17th in endocrinology; 19th in neurology and neurosurgery; and 22nd in urology.

• For the eighth year in a row, UPMC has been named one of the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems in the United States, according to the results of the 2006 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study by Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association.

UPMC is one of only seven organizations to make the list eight times. The survey recognizes hospitals that are using information technology to improve quality of care and patient safety, customer service, business processes, and public health.

Over the past five years, UPMC has invested more than $725 million in information technology to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency. In 2005, UPMC began an extensive effort with IBM to re-engineer its hardware, software, and technology processes to make it simpler, faster, and more economical to share and store data. The medical center aims to provide a seamless flow of patient information across its expansive system of 19 hospitals and more than 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices.

The latest survey found that the 100 Most Wired hospitals are increasingly helping consumers take charge of their health care by providing tools via the Internet, including online test results, health coaching, and preregistration services. UPMC has developed a patient portal called HealthTrak, now available to more than 3,300 patients, which offers access to individual personal health information as well as disease management tools for diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Patients also can use it to send routine inquiries to their physicians.