Experts | University of the Sciences

Drug Information Association Provides Great Opportunity for USciences Students

University of the Sciences students benefitted from the University’s relationship with the Drug Information Association (DIA) http://www.diahome.org/ this past year. With support from Mayes College, a DIA student chapter of the Horsham-based group that services professionals in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and related fields, was formed. It marks the first formerly recognized student group by the DIA. Mayes Associate Professor Dr. Danny Benau and PCP Assistant Professor Leonilla Blustein are co-advisors for the group.

In addition, University students were able to attend the DIA 2012 Annual Meeting from June 24-28 in Philadelphia that also included a Mayes College sponsored alumni reception. The following are two students’ reflection of attending the DIA conference:

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DIA 2012 Annual Meeting: Collaborate to Innovate
By: Kyle Flannery

A year ago, I was unaware that The Drug Information Association existed. Last fall, I was surprised to learn not only that DIA was a professional organization, but that they were requesting to form a student chapter on our very own campus. Furthermore, I was presented with an active leadership role as a vice president within the organization. It took a tremendous amount of work to establish ourselves on campus, but I believe that the benefits have been truly worthwhile. Attendance at the DIA Annual Conference has been the most noteworthy benefit of student membership to date.

At first, I was apprehensive about attending the DIA Annual Meeting. Not only was there a large price tag, but attending would mean missing four days of work in the summer. I was also unsure that I would be able to take anything away from the meeting. ‘Who would really want to network with a student?’ I thought. I was scared that I would spend the whole conference going to meetings that were above my scope of understanding and that I would not make any meaningful connections.

A great aspect of DIA’s Annual Meeting was the way they organized the seminars and meetings. In the “Conference Guide” the seminars were clearly grouped into “tracks.” The tracks each represented a different topic within biomedical information. Furthermore, the individual meetings were given a rating of difficulty similar to a ski resort. Three categories (Circle, Square, and Diamond) separated the meetings according to how difficult they were to understand. This system of organization ensured that you attended meetings that were both interesting and also tailored to coincide with your individual knowledge level within that particular topic.

The DIA Annual Meeting allowed for networking experiences which were productive and enjoyable. Attendees were willing to have conversations with strangers and meet new people; this made the event fun. I came home with a huge stack of business cards. Connections can be very important when job searching, and I definitely may have met a future employer. In addition to professional connections, I also got to ask personal questions and hear about firsthand experiences of working in the pharmaceutical sector. You can learn a lot about a career in class but speaking to people actually involved in the profession provides a much more thorough understanding of that field.

I came away from the DIA Annual meeting feeling refreshed and invigorated. I attended useful seminars; I met many students and professionals with common interests; and I got to see things that my classmates will not be exposed to until they graduate. I’m looking forward to attending this conference again in the future and I will be actively advocating that my peers join me.

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Reflective Statement: DIA 2012 Annual Meeting
By Dhaval Patel

There is no shortage when it comes to professional organizations on our campus. This past fall semester, my colleagues and I, along with several faculty members, collaborated to establish a student chapter of the Drug Information Association at University of the Sciences. This organization sets itself apart from the others on our campus in that the focus is to provide students and professionals with access to information that can help them advance their careers, skills, and innovation in pharmaceutics, biotechnology, medical devices, and related fields. I am currently a sixth-year pharmacy student and although our chapter of DIA was established late in regards to my time here at University of the Sciences, I can safely say that I have seen a large benefit to being a part of this organization.

This summer, I had the opportunity to attend the DIA 2012 Annual Meeting which was held right here in Philadelphia. Over the course of four days, I had the opportunity to attend several seminars and sessions and interact with individuals across many different fields. On the first day, I attended a student forum where we learned about and discussed different aspects of applying for jobs, including making a resume. As many students have, I have sat through resume writing workshops on more than one occasion. This workshop, however, was different since it was run by individuals who are involved in the hiring process within the pharmaceutical industry. One tip that I had never previously heard was creating a summary sheet to supplement your resume, listing the companies you have worked for and the therapeutic categories you have worked with.

The first and foremost reason I decided to attend DIA 2012 was for the networking opportunity. Every day that I attended the meeting, I spoke with individuals from different fields within the industry. Everyone was so sociable and interested in hearing about who you are and why you were attending the meeting. Networking is a must when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry. Whether it is through school, internships, or professional meetings, making connections will be very beneficial when you are applying for jobs, fellowships or even looking for an out-of-network rotation during your sixth year if you are a pharmacy student.

DIA 2012 was overall a great opportunity. I attended forums and seminars that I would not have otherwise been exposed to and was able to meet many other students and professionals along the way. I am glad I was offered the opportunity to attend this meeting locally and am looking forward to attending the meeting next year in Boston. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in entering the pharmaceutical industry to attend these meetings for a strong entryway to both learning and networking opportunities. 

Bioinformaticians Have a Leg Up on Data Issue, Standards Needed

Scientists have a problem: there is just too much data being created and not enough structure in dealing with it. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the issue at hand in a Feb. 10, 2011, article titled, “Dumped On by Data: Scientists Say a Deluge Is Drowning Research” by Josh Fischman. The article points the finger at “the lack of data libraries, insufficient support from federal research agencies, and the lack of academic credit for sharing data sets.”

Associate Professor Dr. Randy Zauhar, who is the Graduate Program Director for Bioinformatics at University of the Sciences, understands the issue first hand:

"In general, Bioinformatics has done a better job of data standardization than other disciplines. There are several reasons for that - first it included computer scientists at the beginning, and they are much better than biologists (or even physicists) in keeping raw data systematized. (Biologists did a great job with taxonomy, but that developed a long time ago, and it was in Greek and Latin, not binary!) Second, the raw data has a simple format (just text strings). 

"That said, Bioinformaticians struggle today in dealing with the sheer volume of data generated by contemporary sequencing methods. A more pressing problem in my view is moving away from the raw data (where standardization is easy) and into the world of annotation, where you attach meaning to the raw data. Here there is much less uniformity, and that has prompted interest in development of ontologies (essentially controlled vocabularies). If standard ontologies can be agreed on, there may be some hope to better systematizing ALL the information being generated. However, given that one of our major resources, NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) has actually become LESS friendly to the end user over the years, I do not feel very optimistic."

Ethics in Computing

Ethics in Computing. During a class discussion in our Information Technology (CS-250) course at The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia we were examining the ethics of computing. History has shown us that the use of technology can be for good or for bad intentions. For example, nuclear technology provides us with medical therapies and clean energy but has also been used as a weapon of war. The automobile has provided society with an easily accessible travel vehicle but also results in many deaths each year and degrades the environment. Computers and the Internet have had profound impacts on society.  Many positive changes to business, entertainment, and social networking have been due to computer technology.  But there are also negative aspects to the computer revolution. As a professional computer scientist or computer engineer, you should help advance the field of study by adhering to a set of ethical standards that illustrate the positive aspects of modern computer technology.  Computer scientists need to be at the forefront of identifying unethical uses of computer technology. We came up with the following list of intentional unethical uses of computers. Can you identify any others?

1. Hacking

2. Spam

3. Phishing

4. Pirating 

5. Stealing Data

6. Identity Theft

7. Cyber Bullying

8. Spreading Viruses

9. Cyber Snooping

10. Online Gambling

11. Online Illegal Solicitation

12. Cyber Squatting 

Dr. Jim Pierce Talks Electronic Medical Records with KYW Radio

There is more and more discussion about the prospect of electronic medical records becoming reality here in the US. Dr. James Pierce, chair of the bioinformatics and computer science department at the University of the Sciences, talks about some of the challenges of making this a reality. Read the full story by KYW’s Matt Leon at KYW Newsradio.

Listne to a full podcast of the interview: http://www.kyw1060.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3700747

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The Department of Health Policy and Public Health at the University’s Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy is proud to present a unique forum for policy dialogue on the Future of Health Information Technology.

Thursday, May 14, 2009, from 5-7 p.m.
Reception to follow in the McNeil STC Atrium

Learn more: http://www.usp.edu/symposium/

Electronic Medical Records: Challenges to the President’s Plan to Digitize Healthcare

Reposted from HealthNewsDigest.com - Philadelphia, Pa.– Ready or not, electronic medical records (EMRs) are coming to a hospital near you. President Barack Obama has devoted $20 billion to healthcare IT in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and in February 2009, he announced his aspirations to have an electronic health record for each person in the U.S. by 2014. Dr. James Pierce, chair of the Bioinformatics and Computer Science Department at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, notes that a nation-wide implementation of EMRs comes with considerable challenges, as well as tremendous advantages.

“Digitization of the healthcare system will be much more efficient and cost-effective, and will enable easier communication among different parts of the system, simpler manageability, and less storage compared to paper records,” explained Dr. Pierce. “EMRs allow healthcare providers to send queries electronically, which is expected to decrease the errors that are made on paper and ultimately, save lives.”  Read More

Research Day Showcases Faculty and Student Research

From metabolic engineering to computational chemistry and from structural prediction of proteins to rational design of new therapeutics, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia showcased the diversity and growth of research pursuits on campus during its 7th Annual Research Day starting on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Posters representing approximately 120 topics were on display.

Research Day recognizes undergraduate and graduate student research efforts, and highlights aspects of faculty scholarly activity to encourage and promote communication and collaboration among investigators. The University is distinctive in that most undergraduate students conduct research with faculty early in their academic careers.

The diverse research activity on display spans several aspects of the University’s scholarly pursuits, including:

• Biological Sciences: Dr. Jennifer Anthony’s research involving the metabolic engineering of E. coli for the production of vitamin A.
  • Chemistry: Dr. Randy Zauhar’s use of computer-aided drug design to identify new antimicrobial lead compounds.
• Pharmaceutical Sciences: Dr. Bin Chen’s evaluation of the effects of vascular-targeting photodynamic therapy on prostate cancer metastasis.
• Physical Therapy: Dr. Therese Johnston’s usage of treadmill training for children with cerebral palsy.
• Social Sciences: Psychology major Mark Paullin’s (Philadelphia, Pa.) study of mild cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Health Policy: Master in public health major Sekinat Kekere-Ekun’s (Deptford, N.J.) work on the descriptive epidemiology of viral hepatitis in methadone maintenance clients.
• Pharmacy Practice: Doctor of pharmacy students Neha Patel (Fairless Hills, Pa.), Puja Patel (Hillsborough, N.J.), and Isha Shah’s (Bensalem, Pa.) analysis of the usage of ondansetron in non-chemotherapy patients at a community teaching hospital.