tuesday, february 10, 2004
news
the university daily kansan 5A
Study: Minorities under-represented in medical field
By Matt Rodriguez
mdrroguez@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
America's minority population is not being represented enough in the medical field, according to a report issued last Thursday by the Institute of Medicine.
The report's findings did not surprise Patricia Thomas, associate dean for the Office of Cultural Enhancement and Diversity.
"It didn't take the institute to let us know what we already know," Thomas said.
Representatives of health pro-
tessions have had limited success recruiting minorities, according to the report, which defined minorities as Native Americans, Latinos and African Americans.
For the past six years the Office of Cultural Enhancement at the School of Medicine has worked on promoting the importance of diversity through recruitment and education programs, and not just to college students.
Health Professions Pipeway Initiative is one of the projects designed to increase participation in math and science of underrepresented minorities. The program targets minority children in the third, sixth and ninth grade.
Thomas said diversity in the medical field is needed to ensure a connection between under-represented groups and their doctors.
"Sometimes it's not the most technically efficient doctor that can do the best good," Thomas said. "It takes that personal connection to really help a person."
Rachel Banks is in her fourth year of medical school. The Jackson, Miss., native decided to pursue diversity training on her own.
so she contacted the Office of Cultural Enhancement and Diversity.
"Diversity training has made me less judgmental towards others and allowed me to train myself to understand a person's differences," Banks said.
Students are also learning how to develop a personal connection with a more diverse population through the Nicodemus Project.
Nicodemus is the only surviving African-American settlement from the reconstruction period in the West. On the last weekend of July, students, physicians and cultural enhancement officers travel to the small town in western Kansas to provide free health screenings for about 100 settlement descendants, who still live in Nicodemus.
The project exposes some students to cultural differences and under-serviced populations for the first time, said Karen Rayford, senior coordinator for Health Careers Pathways Program.
Rayford said some people from Nicodemus don't have a regular physician, meaning that the July screenings are the only opportunity they have to see a doctor.
In addition to promoting minority recruitment, the Institute of Medicine's report also recommended Congress increase funding for programs such as the Nicodemus Project that promote diversity.
In December of 2003, the University's School of Medicine received a $3.75 million two-year grant from the National Institute of Health's National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities.
—Edited by Joe Hartigan
Mars findings interest local scientists
By J.T. Mitchum
jmitchum@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Two solar-powered rovers the size of go-carts whir and hum 162 million miles away, collecting data and taking pictures of Mars. Closer to home, a pair of scientists in Lawrence are speculating on what these images and data from the Red Planet might mean.
Where the untrained eye sees only dust and rocks, the eyes of these scientists see the future of space exploration and the distant past of the red planet.
Tom Armstrong, retired professor of physics and astronomy, said landing the two rovers on Mars was one of the greatest accomplishments of un-manned space flight.
"It's really where space exploration needs to go," he said.
Armstrong has worked at NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratories and on other deep space exploration missions. He is the owner and vice-president of development for Fundamental Technologies.
Armstrong said Spirit and Odyssey, the two rovers, may not resolve the issue of whether life existed on Mars, but probably will determine the history of water on the planet.
He has worked on projects such as Galileo, Voyager I and II, and currently awaits the arrival of a probe to Saturn.
Randall Van Schmus, professor of geology, said one of the roles of geology is understanding ancient environments. His background in meteorites and geology of ancient rocks is what sparked his interest in the Mars missions.
Van Schmus patiently waits for more measurements and pictures that will help him and his students make increasingly reasonable claims about the history of Mars. He teaches classes in geochemistry and tectonics.
"Everything we study in history is preserved in rocks," Van Schmus said.
Scientists remain cautious about making predictions of water or life on the Red Planet. Icecaps at the poles of Mars are elementary features, but it was geological observations that raised the question of whether water ever ebbed and flowed on the surface of the planet.
"The best way to prove possible extra-terrestrial life, which is mostly likely past life, is to find evidence of water," Van Schmus said. Extra-terrestrial life, or more likely its remnants, would help explain life's beginnings on Earth, Van Schmus said.
Van Schmus geology and other fields of science, such as biology, can work together to develop an idea about how life began. Van Schmus looks at near-ray data from NASA's Web site, which he says is sent out with relatively little interpretation.
The search for the right environment to allow extra-terrestrial life to form, either past or present, is the driving force in this mission. If or when a manned space mission ever lands on Mars, a geologist should be on the crew, Van a ticket to Mars if I could," he said. Schmus said.
Courtesy of KRT Campus
An illustration of NASA's Mars rover. Two of the rovers have been exploring Mars since January.
Armstrong agreed. "I'd buy him — Edited by Joe Hartigan
CONGRATULATIONS!
The HAWK Link program would like to recognize the following students on their successful first semester at KU
Phyllis Adebanjo
Devin L. Archie
Kenneth Arnason
Kajuan Auld
Timothy Jon
Baker
Tamisha Banks
Courtney Bass
Caylon Bello
Josette Berryhill
Sapna Bharati
Eve Bonner
Christina Bowden
Loren
Breckenridge
Carrie Bronn
Brandon
Buchanan
Lynnore Burnham
Channell Butts
Young Byun
Christopher
Carter
Jeremy Case
Tiffanie Chambers
Amanda Chavez
Daniel Chon
Shaheryar
Choudhury
Courtney Cobb
Dominic Collins
Deidra Collins
Andrew Cook
Patrick Cowens
Doneisha
Crowder
Teresa Cuevas
Toni Dawson
JoAn Del Rio
Candace Dowd
Edwin Dunson
Bianca Edwards
Lauren Ervin
Brandi Evans
Ehren Feldmeyer
Andrea Florez
Ragan D.
Foreman
Addam Fulson
Megan Gigante
Brittany Gilbert
Slovvon Gordon
Amanda Grubbs
Rahul Gupta Tiffanee
Adam Hannaford McKenzie
Sophia Hawkins Jamela
Nancy Heffner McPherson
Shod Peng Lim LaFlorida
Nicholas Munroe Minggamery
Michael Hanna Vanvorm Morgan
Antolinette Graw Mountain
Holland Brandi Munoz
Ron Horton Chuang Murphy
Kevin Huang Shilpa Nagarajan
Alphonso Hutton Sau Nguyen
Jodi Hyland Phuong Nguyen
Yalanda N. Andre Norris
Jackson Anastasia Nuss
Mohammad Vinh Christie Omon
Lauren Jenkins Shakolia Owens
Liz Jensen Seve W. Palacioz
Hassan Johnson Krystal Parker
Fayonda Jones Abigail Parra
Nita Lad Tristan Penn
Matthew Brittani Perry
Landavazo Katherine Phillips
Lauren Landry Julien Portillo
Terry Lau Willie Haswood
Jeisun Lavine Victoria Prince
Sang Lee George Quileson
Ashley Ralph
Littlejohn David Rodriguez
Solomon Lu Sandrey
Tiffany Logan Martin Jr.
Anna James Begier
Louanglath Emma Rieper
Stephanie Louis Justin Rife
Adam Lovelace Dalia Roman
Deon Lowery Amber N. Ross
Thomas Loya Laya Roullins
Dennis Lu Ashley Rudd
Ricky Julio P. Sanchez
Luangphitheack Barrett
Billal Mahbub Saumlara
Fiza Mahmond Erica I. Scott
Teressa Tramaine Sellars
Martinez Amanda Sellers
Joseph Mavungu Veronica Shaw
Delena May Robert Shin
Stacie McAfee Briana Singleton
Rick McClure Carly Slavin
La-Pourchea Shayla Smith
McConico Era'ma Spearman
Ivan McGary Susan S. Brissisay
Byron McIntosh Jason Standley
Reggie McKeithen Christian Stokes
Jamie Swenson
Kourtenay Taylor
Krystina' Tongson
Matt Townsend
Jameson Tracy
Bazigha Tufai
Zachary Turner
Kong Vang
Angie Verbenec
Penny
Vongnarath
Darrell Walker
Zachary Webb
Jo Weroha
Florence West
Chanel Wheeler
Derek R. Williams
Serrgio Wilson
Shamara
Winchester
Antwan Winkfield
Steven
Witherspoon
Tony Wu
Shoua Xiong
Mark Yu
Tera Zenon
Wan Na Zhao
Chris Zotos
Ashley N. Bass
Reyes J.
Carmona
Richard Chase
Lakeitha Corbett
Eric Dickson
Somer
Easterwood
Matthew
Escalante
Larisha Graves
Brea Hall
John Heath
Erika Hernandez
Earnest Jackson
LaJolie Louis
Brandon McDowel
Melanie Moore
Regina L. Ott
Ronnie Page
Hetal Patel
Joshua Person
Karlo Ponce
Elena Reyes
HAWK Link would like to give special recognition to the following students for their high academic achievements during the Fall 2003 semester:
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Jonathan Ashley Kayron Kelly David Tran
Melvin Beltran Erica Kimmel Michelle Tran
Jheri Bermudez Margaret Vaibhav Trivedi
Lashanna Kobawoo Christina Turk
Brunson Stephanie Kot Julie Vinh
Marland Chang Wing Yan Leung Viet Vo
Shu-Li Chih Angela Liu David Wise
Steven S. Choi Teresa Lo Tamla Wright
Jennifer Cox Alicia Lopez Matthew Yip
Andy Dang Oliver Lu Wei-Fan Yu
Ebony D. Deanes Ricki Mann Jason Arribas
Dhara Desai Morgan Monico Blair Donovan
Amy Do Lewis Lacey Ann Gillette
Tammy Duong Robert Miller Halle Gotfredson
Sadie Espinoza Matthew M Royce Jackson
Brandon Ford Moreno Nga Le
Elis Regina Ford Ninja Mosallasi Ribecca Mann
Mary Garavaglia Duyen Nguyen Marla Nguyen
Janice Gatson Thao Nguyen Annabelle Park
YoditGebremaniam Suong Nguyen Demetrius
Sumandeep Gill Loc D. Nguyen Peterson
Maria Gonzalez Rebecca Orozco Miriam Saliba
Gayana Grigoryan William Osbourn Afton Sumler
Erkan Gungon Alyssa M. Padilla Emily Seay
Derek Gustafson Dyneshia Patrick Tammy Ngo
Garrett Guzman Robin Rahardja Kelly M. Sands
Layla Habibi Rona Remmie Jonte White
Marie Hampton Jessica Rieper Monet Williams
Stephen Hardimon Mariza V. Rosales Edward Maltos
Jay Harig Galo Salcedo Matthew Herrera
Aaron Hood Gabriel Schmidt Tamara Whitaker
Neesa Hussain Fatima Sediqzad Kevin Walker
Christina Huynh Rahul Sharma Kathy Nguyen
Felicia Impson Neha Sharma
Pervez Kanchwala Joel Simone
Leah Smith