September 2021
Welcome to “The Scope,” the newsletter of the ECU Division of Health Sciences.
Welcome to the September 2021 issue of The Scope, the newsletter of the ECU Division of Health Sciences.
From time to time, I’ll ask another leader, provider, educator or other notable member of the DHS community to share a message with you as we celebrate the month’s accomplishments and highlights. This month, we hear from Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the School of Dental Medicine.
Dr. Ron Mitchelson
Interim Vice Chancellor, Division of Health Sciences
Greetings Colleagues,
It has been rewarding to see the Health Sciences Campus filled with students, residents, faculty and staff this fall, hard at work as we welcome a new season. That holds true as well in Ross Hall, in our hospital clinic and in the School of Dental Medicine’s community service learning centers across the state, where students and residents are gaining vital clinical experiences and patients in rural communities are receiving the oral health care they need.
Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the School of Dental Medicine
At the start of this semester, the School of Dental Medicine welcomed its 11th class of dental students, a decade to the day after our very first class of students began their dental school journeys and set the standard for those who would follow in their footsteps. Today, our school’s first alumni are not only accomplished dentists but leaders in their communities and advocates for our school’s mission of service.
At this time of honoring milestones and planning for the future, the School of Dental Medicine has 357 alumni who are working in 63 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Ninety percent of our alumni who have completed residencies and educational requirements are practicing in-state. Faculty and students in our campus and hospital clinics as well as the CSLCs have provided care for more than 82,000 patients, and more than 730 of them have been served through the school’s Patient Care Funds, which fully or partially cover the cost of care for patients who need financial assistance.
Our current student body is 209 students strong, including the Class of 2025, which is made up of 39% underrepresented students. Our students come from 86 of the state’s counties.
We are meeting our mission, and our sights are set on reaching patients in rural communities who are still challenged in accessing oral health care.
Our faculty are pursuing grants — and putting those awards into action — that position our clinics and offices to serve as home bases in establishing programs in rural counties like Bertie and Hyde that serve schoolchildren and other special populations. Our unique and community-centric events are quickly becoming traditions that highlight our commitment to serve patients with special obstacles to care. ECU Smiles for Veterans provides care for U.S. Armed Services veterans on each end of the state, while our inaugural Sonríe Clinic this summer provided a day of care for migrant farmworkers in eastern North Carolina.
Our sense of tradition also includes renewed energy in technology and research. Recently, a dental faculty member processed and fitted our first dentures created using a 3-D printer. Our students are gaining valuable exposure and experience on a national research stage as they present their work and earn awards. Our research efforts continue to inspire discoveries that will improve oral health care for future patients.
The School of Dental Medicine is fortunate to be a part of a Division of Health Sciences that encourages collaboration that aligns with our shared mission of improving access to quality health care for all North Carolinians. This month, several of our faculty members began work alongside Brody School of Medicine co-investigators on a Health Resources and Services Administration grant to explore telehealth capabilities that will impact even more of our remote communities.
It is a promising and hopeful time to be a part of the ECU School of Dental Medicine.
We are pleased with our progress over the school’s first decade, but we are determined to achieve even more in education, patient care, service and research in the coming years. Our alumni and students represent the best of what North Carolina has to offer. They are transforming oral health care for their neighbors and communities because of the experiences they gain as part of a vibrant division and a school committed to their success.
Greg Chadwick, DDS, MS
Dean, ECU School of Dental Medicine
Education
Excellence in education was the theme across campus as colleges and schools across the division settled into the fall semester.
The ECU College of Nursing celebrated nearly 300 new baccalaureate students on Sept. 2, welcoming each with a golden Lamp of Learning pin to wear on their uniforms.
The lamp symbol, harkening back to the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, represents service and light. The symbol also appears as part of the College of Nursing pin that students are eligible to receive upon graduating.
New baccalaureate nursing students recite the Nurse’s Pledge during the Lamp of Learning Ceremony on Sept. 2 at the East Carolina Heart Institute. The pledge emphasizes respecting patient confidentiality, collaborating with other health professionals, advancing the profession and advocating for patients. (ECU Photo by Rhett Butler)
“Service is a very important in our profession,” said Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of the College of Nursing. “Even now, as we face this pandemic, we’re seeing the service that our profession is providing worldwide to help end the pandemic.
“We hope that you’ll find this a meaningful symbol. When you’re in the dark at 5:30 or 6 in the morning trying to get that uniform and put your pin on, just think about that important service that you’re providing for patients and families every day, and what you’ll do when you graduate from our program.”
This semester’s Lamp of Learning Ceremony was held at the East Carolina Heart Institute Auditorium with an audience of family and friends attending virtually. The biannual event marks the official beginning of the students’ journey to becoming a nurse.
Brown joined College of Nursing faculty and students in reciting the college’s pledge, which emphasizes respecting patient confidentiality, collaborating with other health professionals, advancing the profession and advocating for patients.
Admission to the College of Nursing’s BSN program is very competitive. In addition to meeting the university and college requirements, student scores on a required national pre-admission exam are considered along with GPA, enrollment status and other factors. The 272 new students admitted into the program this fall had an average GPA of 3.75.
Service & Care
From serving the community to honoring faculty and welcoming vital resources for students to the Health Sciences Campus, the division continues to prove that it is here to improve the quality of life for all.
Students and faculty in the ECU College of Allied Health Sciences’ Department of Occupational Therapy provided free screenings, educational games and activities to children on Saturday, Sept. 18, during the Fun Fair for All at Boyd Lee Park in Greenville.
ECU occupational therapy students worked with kids during a variety of fun activities during the Sept. 18 Fun Fair for All at Boyd Lee Park in Greenville. (Contributed photo.)
The occupational therapy department partnered with Kinetic Pediatric Therapy, a Greenville-based company that offers a variety of family-focused therapies. Students from Pitt Community College’s occupational therapy assistant program joined the other sponsors in offering occupational therapy, speech and physical therapy screenings as well as games and activities geared toward kids of all ability levels.
“Service is the core of who we are as occupational therapists,” said Dr. Denise Donica, associate professor and chair of ECU’s occupational therapy department. “Here at ECU, we try to offer opportunities where our students not only get to see this in action but get to be a part of it. Events like these further the mission of ECU, CAHS and the Department of Occupational Therapy.”
The event gave occupational therapy students a chance to interact with the community outside the classroom.
“We spend a lot of time in the classroom, and doing something like this gives us a chance to work with people,” said second-year ECU occupational therapy student Leah Whitehurst.
ECU’s Department of Occupational Therapy offers a master’s degree; curriculum follows guidelines established by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The curriculum is designed to provide students the opportunity to integrate classroom learning with clinical experience.
Donica said events like the fair allowed students to navigate unpredictable experiences that can arise during client interactions.
“It also allows them to be involved in servant-leadership,” she said. “As occupational therapists, our graduates become leaders and are viewed as experts by the families whom they serve.”
Second-year ECU occupational therapy student Christine Johnson said providing education to area children was about teaching them about lifelong healthy habits, but also about equipping them for a better quality of life within their reach.
“We’re doing more than helping them — we’re empowering them,” she said.
A valuable resource in decreasing food insecurity among ECU students officially opened at the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) Students Center on Aug. 31.
ECU’s Purple Pantry has provided students a place to collect their most needed food and hygiene items since opening on Main Campus in 2018. The newly opened location on ECU’s Health Sciences Campus will make this important service even more accessible to students in need.
“On college campuses, in general, a lot of people don’t think that students experience food insecurity, when in reality, sometimes the highest stress point that students face is where their next meal will be coming from,” said Lauren Howard, assistant director of the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Food insecurity was already a prevalent issue at ECU that was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard said, and students on the Health Sciences Campus, many of whom are seeking advanced degrees, were no exception.
“We’ve been experiencing that need from different departments on this campus, during the past year, who were asking for our Pirate Packs for students,” said Howard, of the bags provided by the Purple Pantry that are filled with 10-15 pounds of food and hygiene items. “That is why we are excited to be on this campus and to be a resource for these students who people don’t think need help, but they do.”
The new Purple Pantry location is housed in Room 122A on the first floor of the Health Sciences Student Center, which sits directly in the center of the Health Science Campus.
Laupus Library is partnering with organizations across the state to promote the importance of digital inclusion and the impact it has on the health of migrate farm workers, who are vital contributors to our economy and to our food systems. Because of the conditions they work in, they often experience higher rates of health disparities related to everything from pesticide exposure and heat stroke/stress to incidences of diabetes, food insecurity, and more. The Laupus Health Sciences Library Diversity Committee, NC Farmworker Health Program, ECU College of Health and Human Performance, Student Action with Farmworkers,and the N.C. State Agromedicine Extension will present an educational webinar series about digital inclusion efforts and migrant farmworker health in North Carolina and nation.
The series titled, “Those who Feed Us: Migrant Farmworkers, Health Disparities, and Digital Inclusion for Better Health,” will begin with a keynote address held on October 20, and focus on the work of Laupus Library’s grant project and other successful projects to address health disparities by providing access to internet and other information sources when digital inclusion has become vitally important for us all in providing telehealth and education. More information including registration is available at https://hsl.ecu.edu/2021/08/06/those-who-feed-us/.
ECU’s Mobile Health Screening Van is making a house call to the Country Doctor Museum. The museum will host the van on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021 from 2:30 p.m. until 7 p.m., when health care providers will be on hand to give free health screenings for heart, kidney and diabetes risk factors. COVID-19 vaccines will also be available free of charge. The museum will offer free guided tours during the event. No appointment or advanced registration is required; just stop by the museum to be screened.
Made possible through CARES Act funding, the Mobile Health Screening Van is part of ECU’s effort to bring health care to people in rural communities who may have more difficulty accessing the care, resources and information they need to live a healthy life. Results from screening tests will be available within 15 minutes, and health care providers will be able to discuss the results and potential risk factors with each patient at the event. Screening tests include body mass to assess for obesity, A1c for diabetes, lipids for cardiovascular health and urine protein and creatine for kidney disease.
As part of their visit, guests may take a free guided tour of the Country Doctor Museum. The museum tells the stories of country doctors who provided care to rural families and communities during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Exhibits about nursing, pharmacy, home health and transportation are also included as part of the tour. This health screening event is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the history of rural health care while learning to improve your own health. The Country Doctor Museum continues to honor the work of rural physicians and hopes to enlighten and inspire guests about the rich history of country doctors. The Country Doctor Museum is located at 7089 Peele Road, Bailey, NC, 27807. Please call the museum for more information at 252-235-4165.
Research
Research breakthroughs and the dedication of newly named campus resources support the division’s reputation as a top-notch team focused on discovery and technology.
As project leader for a recently renewed National Cancer Institute Program Project Grant focused on exploring therapeutics for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Dr. Myles Cabot brings another perspective of national research collaboration to the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
Cabot answered five questions about his latest leukemia research venture.
Cabot is a professor in Brody’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute.
Dr. Myles Cabot, a professor in Brody’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is leading a National Cancer Institute Program Project Grant aimed at exploring therapeutics for an aggressive type of leukemia. (ECU Photo by Rhett Butler)
Cabot’s lab is continuing the ongoing research led by the University of Virginia that also includes Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the University of New Hampshire. Their combined work has resulted in current and future clinical trials for treating AML, a particularly aggressive blood cancer.
Cabot, a lipid biochemist and cancer cell biologist, has published extensively on the development and reversal of multidrug resistance in cancer. Research in his lab focuses on sphingolipid metabolism, an area of cancer research that has risen to clinical prominence. Ceramide, the aliphatic backbone of sphingolipids, acts as a powerful tumor suppressor, whereas its glycosylated product, glucosylceramide, catalyzed by the enzyme glucosylceramide synthase (GCS), is anti-apoptotic and a biomarker of chemotherapy resistance, as discovered by Cabot and colleagues.
An ECU faculty scientist delved into the intricacies of messenger RNA this summer to learn more about how it gets sorted, stored and translated into proteins during gamete and embryo development to discover the causes of infertility and birth defects.
Brett Keiper, an associate professor and graduate director of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU, spent six weeks in July and August at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratories in Bar Harbor, Maine. A three-year, $263,000 Mid-Career Advancement Award from the National Science Foundation is funding the work for himself and a doctoral student through 2024.
mRNA carries short bursts of genetic information from DNA in a cell nucleus to the main part of the cell — the cytoplasm — where proteins are made from its code. The cellular machinery then builds the proteins from the mRNA, as encoded by the DNA, that are right for that time and place in a cell to help it change to new types, as happens in an embryo. The translation factors also give the cell a way to control the rate of protein production — turning the mRNAs “on” or “off” as needed.
mRNA instructions are timed to self-destruct, like a disappearing text or Snapchat message. Once the instructions vanish, protein production stops until the protein factories receive a new message for a new fate.
At Mount Desert Island, Keiper worked with Dustin Updike, an associate professor and program coordinator of Maine INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence), a National Institutes of Health institutional development and student education and training program.
Specifically, Keiper learned to streamline the CRISPr-Cas9 engineering process by adapting the Updike lab methodology. CRISPR stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. It can precisely target a designed edit in one gene out of the entire genome. Crispr is the premier gene-editing tool and is particularly versatile for animal model systems where such experiments are ethical and feasible.
DHS Spotlight
In the spirit of excellence in education and a collaborative campus, we will be highlighting a variety of students, staff and faculty who represent the colleges and schools in the Division of Health Sciences.
This month, we meet Merdi Lutete, a student in the Brody School of Medicine Class of 2023.
While Merdi Lutete was a student at Enloe High School in Raleigh, her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. That experience — and watching how her father’s surgeon, nurses and others cared for him, as well as her mother, who drove back and forth daily from her job in Raleigh to the hospital in Chapel Hill with children to care for at home — brought clarity.
Merdi Lutete founded I Am First, a student group for first-generation medical students at ECU. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
“I found a new love and appreciation for medicine — not just because of him going through that, but it was a desire I never had before,” she said. “I really appreciated the way his physician took care of him. And she always made sure my mom was OK too. That spoke volumes to me, and I really wanted to do something similar for other families as well.”
Lutete is in the Brody School of Medicine’s Class of 2023 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies with a concentration in neuroscience and a minor in chemistry in 2017 from ECU.
Lutete’s mother worked in health care for many years as a midwife in the Democratic Republic of Congo before her parents moved the family to the United States to provide a better future for their children. Her father is a pastor.
“They’re my biggest inspiration because to move from one country to another, where you don’t know the language and to leave a job you love — it’s an experience some people may not understand,” said Lutete, the youngest of seven children.
Each of her siblings went on to college, but she is the first to attend medical school.
It’s one of the reasons Lutete helped start I Am First, a student group for first-generation medical students at Brody. While working as a research assistant at another university before starting at Brody, Lutete read an online article about the importance of mentors for medical students.
After enrolling at Brody, Lutete asked about getting a mentor, and began to think about how to make the process available to more students. She pitched the idea in December 2019 to Dr. Cedric Bright, who told her to find a few other students who wanted to be involved and he would be the group’s adviser. She talked with two classmates, and the idea resonated. In just over a year, I Am First has grown to 80 students with 110 physician mentors.
“One thing that I’m very thankful for are the classmates who are working with me because you can have an idea, but if you don’t have people to work with you, it’s really nothing at all,” Lutete said. “I’m blessed and thankful that they took something that wasn’t their vision, but they took it on as their own.
“To see the impact the group has had in a such a short amount time; it will continue to grow with each new group of students.”
Philanthropy
Charles Baldwin — “Chuck” as he was known to family, friends and colleagues at ECU — loved to learn. As the son of two educators, Baldwin believed in the value of a formal education. He also took the opportunity throughout his 20 years as an information technology professional with ECU to learn from the gifted faculty, staff and students that he worked with every day.
Although Baldwin passed away in a tragic motorcycle accident on April 18, 2020, his loved ones have ensured that his legacy will help students pursue their own passion for learning by raising scholarship funds and dedicating the College of Nursing’s IT suite in his name.
Melanie Baldwin, wife of the late Chuck Baldwin spoke at the Baldwin Suite naming ceremony dedication on Aug. 27. Photo contributed by Jeremy Smith.
After spending 14 years as a technician in the College of Health and Human Performance and completing a certificate program, Baldwin sought an opportunity to build his skillset and found it with the College of Nursing’s IT team in 2016.
The money raised to dedicate the suite in Baldwin’s memory will provide scholarships for nursing students through the Beacon Scholars program so that they too can focus on their love of learning.
“The College of Nursing — what they do for eastern North Carolina is really incredible, and if we can help with that scholarship process at all, I know Chuck would be very pleased with that,” Sartore-Baldwin said. “I wanted something that would be lasting for him, and I wanted a way to give back to the College of Nursing for providing a place for Chuck to be happy and enjoy every minute he was at work.”
The College of Nursing hosted a ceremony for the dedication of the suite on Aug. 27. Beyond his love of learning, Baldwin is remembered as kind, caring, quick-witted and dedicated to his work.
“He genuinely enjoyed each day,” said Karl Faser, the college’s former IT director who spoke at the suite’s dedication. “He made the tech team better, he made the College of Nursing better, he made me better.”
Learn more about ways you can support the College of Nursing through University Advancement.