January 2007
Geno Merli, MD, Named Chief Medical Officer, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
(Published 1-2-2007) Thomas J. Lewis, president and chief executive officer of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has named
Geno Merli, MD, FACP, as its new Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Merli replaces Jonathan Gottlieb, MD,
who left the post to be the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs at the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis,
Missouri. Dr. Merli will begin his new responsibilities on February 1.
Jefferson Scientists Find Guardian Gene’s Choices Crucial to Stopping Cancer Process
(Published 1-4-2007) Scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have uncovered
a novel pathway by which the anti-cancer
gene p53 springs into action, protecting a damaged cell from becoming cancer. The gene
can either halt the cell’s growth or send it spiraling toward certain death. How this choice
is made, the researchers say, could have implications for future strategies in
chemotherapy drug development.
The Gross Clinic Goes on View at Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday, January 5, as Fundraising Continues
(Published 1-5-2007) Thomas Eakins’ 1875 masterpiece, The Gross Clinic, goes on public view at 4 p.m. today at the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, and in early March will hang at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. It is on loan to the Museum from
Thomas Jefferson University until it is sold later this month by the University to the Museum and the Academy, which have
joined in an extraordinary ongoing fundraising effort.
Jefferson Cardiologists Fix Broken Heart
(Published 1-8-2007) Unexplained chest pain after a heart attack might be more dangerous than many physicians originally think.
In a case study to be published in the January issue of the international journal
Clinical Cardiology, physicians at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia report on a seemingly healthy 55-year-old
man who had a silent heart attack and subsequent unexplained chest pain.
Free Quit-Smoking Program
(Published 1-15-2007) The Tobacco Intervention Program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is offering a free group quit-smoking
program in North Philadelphia for adults. The program will be held on Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m., from February 7 to March
14. It will be held at the Nicetown-Tioga Library at 3720 N. Broad Street.
Jefferson Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons Offer Newly FDA-Approved Radiesse
(Published 1-15-2007) The FDA recently approved Radiesse for the long-lasting correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles
and folds. The product has been used by the Head and Neck Surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital since 2002 to help
patients with vocal fold paralysis. By augmenting the vocal fold, speech and voice deficits improve.
Jefferson Researcher Awarded $1.6 Million to Study Mechanisms of Gastrointestinal Disorders
(Published 1-17-2007) Gastroenterology researcher Satish Rattan, DVM, professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College of
Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, has been awarded $1.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to study
the molecular mechanisms involved in maintaining smooth muscle tone of the internal anal sphincter (IAS), which is crucial
for normal bowel functioning.
Novel Therapies in Kidney Disease Is Focus of new Jefferson Initiative
(Published 1-17-2007) Building on the success of its Center for Translational Medicine, the Department of Medicine at Thomas
Jefferson University has created the Center for Novel Therapies for Kidney Disease, a program to combine basic research, clinical
research and care for patients suffering from diabetic kidney disease.
Jefferson’s New Aortic Center Provides Most Advanced Technologies for Treatment of Aortic Aneurysms
(Published 1-23-2007) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has opened a new center that will provide patients access to the
most advanced technologies available in the treatment of aortic aneurysms, dissections and other maladies anywhere in the
body.
The Aortic Center at Jefferson is made up of a multidisciplinary team of surgical and medical specialists focused on preoperative
and postoperative care, making for a strong blend of surgical expertise, technology and quality bedside care.
