News and Research of the University

An Academic Jewel Judaic Studies Center Founded		Scanning Made Simple New Microscope Lab Opens at University
Painstaking Progress Ergonomics Research Helps Injured Workers		Nursing School Turns 50 You've Come a Long Way, Nurses
Bypassing Depression Book Informs Heart Surgery Patients		Diversity in the Sciences Biology Earns Grant for Outreach
How's the Weather?		University Programs Rated Among the Best
An Expensive Habit Proven to be Costlier

Judaic Studies Center Founded An Academic Jewel he University has become one of the first academic teaching and research centers in the United States to establish a Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies. The new center will focus primarily on 20th-century Jewish studies as well as trends affecting the future of Jewish people. "There are places where you can study the Holocaust and issues related to the Jewish experience, and Judaic studies, but a place that covers both the main events and the processes of the 20th century is nonexistent elsewhere in North America," says Haim Shaked, director of the center and the holder of the Dr. M. Lee Pearce Chair in Middle East Peace Studies at the University. The center is also important since South Florida has the second largest concentration of Jewish people in the country, which makes it the third largest Jewish community in the world after New York and Israel, says Shaked. In addition, the center will emphasize dialog with, and outreach to, the South Florida community. "Establishing an academic center dedicated to contemporary Jewish studies has been a dream of ours at the University for many years," says President Edward T. Foote II. "The University of Miami has a long tradition of involvement with South Florida's Jewish community, a large Jewish student population, and strong ties to Israel." The new center will also provide international standards of academic excellence, says Shaked, by incorporating existing relevant activities at the University and striving to expand them in its area of interest. Officials hope that the center will lead to the University offering bachelor's, master's, and possibly doctoral degree programs in contemporary Jewish studies through the University's existing Judaic Studies programs. In addition, lectures and conferences will be held throughout the year featuring political and religious experts from the University, throughout the United States, and abroad. Ultimately, the center will be developed as a resource where current and future generations of students can learn about Jewish politics, history, culture, and religion through traditional and more innovative methods. Other plans for the center include organizing study abroad programs in Israel and expanding the Hebrew language course offerings at the University. The center will have a multidisciplinary focus, sharing affiliation with both the College of Arts and Sciences for studies involving the Holocaust and general Judaic knowledge as well as the School of International Studies for studies focusing on Israel. In addition, a broad spectrum of faculty members from the history, literature, art, music, religion, sociology, geography, political science, and international studies departments will be involved in teaching and researching a wide variety of issues particular to the Jewish culture. "The Jewish community worldwide deserves a resource that will bring outreach, teaching, and scholarship to new levels," says Leonard Miller, chairman of the Board of Trustees. "This is a moment of profound importance for our community and for the University of Miami."

New Microscope Lab Opens at University Scanning Made Simple ith the recent dedication of a $1 million electron microscope laboratory, the University is now one of only three universities in the country to have a research tool of such high caliber. The new Joanne C. and Edward A. Dauer Field-Emission Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope Laboratory features one of the most advanced microscopes in existence. It is the first of its type in Florida and one of only a handful in the world. The new microscope and laboratory are part of the University's Center for Advanced Microscopy, a collaboration of sophisticated microscope facilities on the University's three campuses that is shared by faculty and medical personnel. Pam Reid, a research associate professor at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, who played a major role in setting up the new laboratory, says the microscope is the most sophisticated instrument available. "With this microscope we can conduct dynamic experiments at high resolution," says Reid. "We can observe the smallest details of a subject in its natural state as it undergoes change." The microscope can be used in studies relating to marine ecology, molecular chemistry, bio-mineralization and geo-microbiology, as well as to examine super-conducting materials and climate change, says Reid. It also has industrial applications. For example, pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies can use the microscope to look at samples, such as hair follicles, in their natural state. According to Reid, with traditional scanning electron microscopes, scientists must isolate their subject matter in a vacuum and observe it in a static state. To observe change over time, they must make their observations in time segments, then piece them together to understand the "big picture" change that has occurred. With the new microscope, scientists can observe change as it occurs, similar to viewing a film rather than individual photographs. "One of the most exciting things about this microscope is that the technology is so new, we will be able to define new boundaries for this type of microscopy," says Reid. The new microscope and laboratory were made possible by a $460,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and a generous gift from Joanne C. and Edward A. Dauer (B.S.E.E. '72, M.D. '75).

Ergonomics Research Helps Injured Workers Painstaking Progress ack pain. Blurred eye sight. Carpal tunnel. At some point in our lives, all of us will have experienced some sort of ache or injury related to the workplace. But thanks to the science of ergonomics and a professor's 25 years of research in this area, you can breathe easier. Now there are ways to prevent such workplace injuries from reoccurring, and in some cases, even prevent certain injuries from happening in the first place. Tarek Khalil, professor of engineering and director of the Division of Ergonomics and Bioengineering at the Comprehensive Pain and Rehabilitation Center, specializes in the area of ergonomics associated with musculoskeletal injuries and repetitive trauma disorders such as carpal tunnel. An internationally renowned expert in ergonomics, Khalil recently presented his group's research findings on the use of ergonomics in post-injury management at the National Meeting of Occupational Injury Research. The study has proven to be an important tool for finding improved ways to approach job-related injuries resulting from poor ergonomic workplace design. "If you want to prevent disability, you have to use a holistic approach based on three levels of intervention," says Khalil. The first step, known as primary prevention, requires a basic understanding of what caused the injury to begin with through engineering analyses of workplace situations and the human body. Once the cause has been determined, an ergonomics-based design is used to prevent the injury from occurring, says Khalil. The next step, known as secondary prevention, allows for the quick restoration of a person's physical abilities. "We look at the human body as a machine. We assess what needs to be fixed, how it (the body) operates, and then try to figure a way to restore its ability," says Khalil. The third level-known as tertiary prevention-is the ability to prevent injuries from reoccurring once the person has gone back to work. At this critical stage, the specialist has to ensure that the individual is returning to an acceptable environment and will not be exposed to higher levels of stress or risk getting another debilitating injury. Using this three-pronged, coordinated approach, post-injury management programs can help people return in full function to the job more quickly and with less pain. And for the thousands of workers who have ever been injured on the job, that's a big relief.

You've come a Long Way, Nurses Nursing School Turns 50 he nursing profession has come a long way since the days when nurses merely took temperatures, changed bedpans, or performed routine blood pressure readings. In fact, when the University first began offering a baccalaureate degree in nursing in 1948, many believed the nurse's primary function was to assist the physician in such mundane tasks. "We had to take patients' temperatures whether they ran a fever or not-up to four times a day," says Sima Gebel (B.S.N. '53). Over the past 50 years, nurses have widened their sphere of influence. Today, nurses direct patient care and serve as advocates for their patients. They research the latest clinical and health-related data on-line by using cutting-edge technology. These industry-wide changes have created an increased demand for better skilled nurses with advanced degrees. "Nurses continue to be the central caregiver for a patient," says Linda Palewicz (B.S.N. '78), an information systems coordinator at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. "Using a PC now is like a paper chart when I was in school. The surge in technology that nurses use today has freed the nurse up to spend more time with the patient and less time filling out paperwork." The School of Nursing has also come a long way in the last 50 years. The first school in South Florida to offer a baccalaureate degree in nursing, the School of Nursing has been training family nurse practitioners since 1972. In 1976, the school began offering a master's degree in nursing, and in 1978 it added nurse-midwifery and psychiatric-mental health options to its curriculum. In 1985, the University became the first in Florida to offer a Ph.D. program in nursing and in 1992 began offering this program on weekends-the first of its kind in the United States. Under Dean Diane Horner's eight-year tenure, the School of Nursing has significantly increased its presence in South Florida. Last summer, the school won a federal grant to expand services at a local community health center. The center provides affordable health care to the surrounding community and, in turn, offers the school a real-world setting for students and faculty to learn and conduct research. Dramatic changes in the profession are further evidenced in the number of minorities and men enrolled at the School of Nursing. Currently, 69 percent of the undergraduate and 42 percent of the graduate students are minorities, and nearly 10 percent of the undergraduate and 7 percent of the graduate students are males. As the school celebrates its golden anniversary, it also looks forward to beginning its next 50 years in a new building. The school, which is currently in the midst of a $10 million fundraising campaign, will soon break ground on a modern, state-of-the-art facility. The building will house a lecture hall, computer and research laboratories, student seminar rooms and learning centers, as well as faculty and administrative offices. The new school will also feature live, interactive nursing "informatics" through satellite connections, allowing for the sharing of nursing knowledge.

Book Informs Heart Surgery Patients Bypassing Depression t seems an unlikely pairing. June Pimm, an associate professor of pediatrics, has coauthored a book for heart surgery patients on how to reduce post-surgical depression. Created with health writer Carol Cohan and cardiologist James Jude, the book is entitled Coping with Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression: A Family's Guide to the Medical, Emotional, and Practical Issues. "It's really a manual for families and patients who are experiencing heart surgery. It deals with all phases of the recovery process-medical as well as psychological," says Pimm, a developmental psychologist whose daily work involves caring for high-risk infants at the Early Intervention Program in the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine. Pimm's interest in heart surgery and depression emerged in the late 1970s. "I knew someone who had undergone successful bypass surgery, and his wife confided in me that he was extremely depressed," Pimm recalls. "I was astonished. By all appearances, he seemed okay." Pimm asked Jude if he had heard of depression among successful bypass surgery patients. "He told me, 'It's one of the best-kept secrets. We don't know why it is or what to do about it,'" Pimm says. Following Jude's advice, Pimm contacted the American Heart Association in Miami to explore research funding. Soon she had a grant and designed a study using crisis intervention, which strives for balance in life through proper coping mechanisms. "When things go a little out of balance, our usual coping strategies are sufficient to put things back in order," Pimm says. "But when a crisis occurs, we flounder." At this point of "disequilibrium" crisis intervention counseling is key, Pimm says. "If the crisis isn't resolved then, the person will make an adjustment, often a maladaptive one." The study involved two groups of male bypass surgery patients, one offered individual crisis intervention counseling and the other, the regular preoperative preparation and postoperative care. Prior to their surgery, Pimm was surprised to find that nearly a third of the patients were clinically depressed. "No one had noted that before," Pimm says. "Now, it's common knowledge." Three months after surgery, the intervention group had significantly reduced depression, while the control group remained depressed. Three years later, depression in the control group actually increased, while depression in the treatment group decreased. Since publishing the study's findings, Pimm has collaborated on three editions of the book for patients. Using the first edition, Pimm replicated the study to compare the effectiveness of the book to that of counseling. "We demonstrated that using the book was even more beneficial," Pimm says. In essence, the book equips patients and their families with crisis intervention skills, while encouraging patients to use their own coping strategies in the recovery process. "Everybody's recovery is an individual matter," Pimm says. "The whole maxim of crisis intervention counseling is you do what you want to do-whether you choose to take antidepressant medicine or rearrange your business to work less. But first, acknowledge that you don't feel better because of an emotional reason, and second, recognize that there's something tangible you can do about it."

Biology Earns Grant for Outreach Diversity in the Sciences he University is helping to attract more minority students into the sciences, thanks to a second $2 million grant to the Department of Biology from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The grant renewal, which was presented to the department for its outstanding work over the past four years, will be used to expand research opportunities for undergraduates, update science curricula, attract new faculty in emerging science fields, and modernize laboratories. "The goal of the program is to increase the number of underrepresented students in the sciences," says Michael Gaines, professor and chair of the biology department in the College of Arts and Sciences. "We also recruit exceptional students directly into the University as freshmen with scholarships." The funding will also make science courses more interesting by updating the equipment for two new labs the department is currently developing-one in genetics and one in ecology. Computer hardware and software also will be upgraded. With the first $2 million grant, the department established a computer resource center for biology students at the Cox Science Center. Now the department is working to maintain and supplement that foundation. The new grant will allow the department to continue its partnership with Miami-Dade Community College to recruit high school students to attend the University's program there. If students satisfactorily complete the program, they can later enroll at the University free of charge. Another aspect of the department's community outreach program is its association with local public middle schools, where students and teachers are invited to do research at the University for six weeks. In this setting, middle school students and teachers will work alongside a faculty member, a graduate student in biology, and an undergraduate majoring in education, to provide them with vital hands-on experience in the sciences through teamwork, says Gaines.

How's the Weather? eather prediction just became more precise. A team from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science is using scatterometry, an important remote sensing tool, to measure global surface winds for use in global weather prediction models. This pivotal research recently merited the team a Group Achievement Award from NASA. Members of the team include Hans C. Graber, associate professor and director of the Radar Oceanography Program/OSCR; Mark A. Donelan, professor; and Kristina B. Katsaros, director of the Atlantic Ocean Marine Laboratory of NOAA and an adjunct professor, all from the Division of Applied Marine Physics. In the future, the research team plans to develop an advanced forecast system for the prediction of storm surge associated with tropical storms. This prediction system will serve as an operational tool for the Hurricane Research Center to complement its warning notices to the public.

University Programs Rated Among the Best n recent surveys by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Miami figured prominently within the magazine's rankings. The "America's Best Hospitals" edition rated the University's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute as the best eye hospital in the country. Five other University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center programs appeared in the rankings: pediatrics (16th), gastroenterology (18th), gynecology (27th), neurology/neurosurgery (34th), and cardiology/cardiac surgery (40th). The magazine's "1999 America's Best Colleges" edition listed the University as tying for 10th place in terms of campus diversity among undergraduates, in 40th place as a "best value," and tied for 8th place for having the largest proportion of international students studying at the undergraduate level.

An Expensive Habit Proven to be Costlier f you're thinking about lighting up, think again. According to a recent study conducted by researchers in the Department of Orthopaedics at the School of Medicine, not only is medical treatment for smokers more expensive than for non-smokers, the time it takes to perform surgery on patients who smoke usually takes signif-icantly longer than if the very same operations were performed on non-smokers. The study examined 216 patients who had been admitted to Cedars Medical Center to undergo joint replacement surgery. The results revealed that smokers' hip and knee replacement surgery averaged about $37,756 compared with $30,937.63 for non-smokers. "This is the first time that we've exam-ined the amount of indirect dollars that smoking costs society," says Carlos Lavernia, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and biomedical engineering and director of the Division of Arthritis Surgery. Also, although the smokers in the study were younger than the non-smokers examined, their surgeries often took an estimated 43 minutes longer to perform compared to the non-smokers.

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