Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Professors receive awards
for cancer research
Three N.C. A&T State Univensity professors are
among 36 leaders in the minority cancer community
Martin
Rorie
cnosen ror ine Minority-Serving
Institution Faculty Scholars in
Cancer Research Awards, which
were presented at the American
Association for Cancer
Research's Annual Meeting in
Orlando, Fla. in April.
Patrick M. Martin, assistant
professor of biology, won for
for his research, "Inhibition of
MAPK signaling prevents Fra
1 -mediated CD44 expression in
human brain tumor cells;"
Checo J. Rorie, assistant profes
sor of biology, won for "The
differential apoptotic responses
of normal breast cells versus
luminal and triple negative
breast cancer cells to chemother
apeutic agents;" and Shengmin
Sang, research associate profes
sor at the Center for Excellence
in Post-Harvest Technologies in
Kannapolis, won for "Bioactive
phytochemicals in wheat bran
for colon cancer prevention."
The awards are given to scientists who are work
ing at the level of assistant professor or above at a
minority-serving institution and who are engaged in
meritorious basic, clinical, translational or epidemio
logical cancer research.
Doc named state EMS director
The North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical
Services (NC OEMS) has chosen a Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center emergency medicine physician
to be the new director of the State Emergency Medcal
Services.
Dr. James E. 'Tripp"
Winslow HI, associate professor
in the Department of Emergency
Mcdicine, was chosen from
among a competitive group of
physicians, according to the NC
OEMS.
"I am very excited to have
the opportunity to serve the peo
ple of North Carolina in this
role, and I look forward to work
ing with prc-hospital care work
Dr. Winslow
ers throughout the state," said Winslow.
Throughout his career, Winslow has been the
recipient of numerous awards and honors and has pub
lished several articles and abstracts on pre-hospital
emergency medicine, diagnostic radiation exposure and
trauma related research. He currently serves as medical
director for Person County EMS, associate medcal
director for Forsyth County EMS and as law enforce
ment tactical physician for Forsyth County SWAT
personnel .
Phone app for concussions
CHAPEL HILL (AP) - The next tool in the
campaign against concussions might be your smait
phone.
A concussion expert at the University of North
Mihalik
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trauma researchers to develop an
application for mobile devices
that helps determine whether
someone may have suffered a
concussion.
Jason Mihalik of UNC's
brain injury research center
joined Justin Smith of
Psychological Assessment
Resources Inc. and the
Children's National Medical
Center in developing the pro
glUIll.
Smith says it's the first observer-based concussion
app. After the user answers a series of questions, the
app determines the likelihood of a concussion and can
email information to a doctor. Mihalik said last
Thursday that the basis for the app's question flow
comes from materials provided by the Centers for
Disease Control .
Creating a senior-friendly home
The non-profit National Private Duty Association
(NPDA), along with the North Carolina Chapter, has
announced that it will host a consumer education web
conference entitled 'Creating a Senior Friendly Home
to Help Parents Age in Place"
on June 16 at 8 p.m. The event
is free of chaige to participants.
"Aging in place is clearly
more dbsirable for aging parents
and their families," said Sheila
McMackin, president of NPDA.
"Most seniors want to remain
living at home as long as possi
ble. Practicing senior safety at
home can accomplish a sense of
independence and security for
them and peace of mind for you.
McMacUin
I nis program will provide caregivers witn tne tcnowi
ecfee to adckess safety and comfort issues."
The web conference topics include designing a
home for senior safety and comfort, addressing chang
ing health needs, appropriate furnishings and ambient
technology.
Pre-registration for the event is required. Sign up
today by visiting the registration link at
www.privatedutyhomecare.otg.
UNC: Nearly one in five
young adults has hypertension
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The number of young a&ilts in the
United States with high blood pressure
may be much higher than previously
reported, according
to a new siuay oy r
researchers at the *
University of
North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
Researchers j
analyzed data on
more than 14,000
men and women
between 24 and 32
years old in 2008
from the National
Longitudinal
Study of
Adolescent
Health, known as
Add Health, fund
ed by the National
Institutes of
Health. They
found 19 percent had elevated blood pres
sure, also referred to as hypertension. Only
about half of the participants with elevated
blood pressure had ever been told by a
health-care provider that they had the con
dition.
"The findings are significant because
they indicate that many young adults are at
risk of developing heart disease, but are
unaware that they have hypertension," said
Quynh Nguyen, a doctoral student at
UNC's Gillings School of Global Public
Health and the study's lead author.
Hypertension is a
strong risk factor
for stroke and
coronary heart dis
ease, the leading
cause of death for
adults in the U.S.
The findings
were published
online Monday,
May 23, 2011, in
the journal
Epidemiology.
Kathleen
Mullan Harris,
Ph.D., Add
Health's principal
investigator, inter
im director of the
UNC Carolina
Population Center
and a co-author of the paper, said the find
ings were noteworthy because they were
from the first nationally representative,
field-based study of blood pressure to focus
on young adults. Other studies have con
centrated on older adult populations, in
which hypertension is more common, or
See Study on A9
Healthy and Hearty
Submitted Photo
Career Center students Corrine Hertz, Hayden Cramer and Isaac Barham
proudly represented the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County School System
in the recent Cooking up Change National Healthy Cooking Contest in
Washington, D.C. They made up one of six teams from school districts
throughout the nation charged with impressing a panel of esteemed
judges with their original healthy school lunch concepts. The team
from Jacksonville, Fla. won the contest. The local students won the
"Outstanding Display" award for their entry of a pulled chicken BBQ
sandwich, baked sweet potato fries and a yogurt-fruit parfait. The event
was sponsored by school meals-provider Chartwells.
Staying Safe
Around Water
Already it is time for spring and summer,
and many families are preparing to enjoy
sunny days at North Carolina's beaches,
lakes, and pools. Unfortunately, sometimes
these happy occasions turn tragic because of
an accident in the water, particularly if some
one downs. According to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) there were more than
3,500 fatal unintentional ckownings in the
United States (US) last year, which means
approximately 10 deaths a day! Did you
know that 1
out of every
4 drowning
victims are
children
aged 14
years or
younger?
And it is
estimated
that for
7kt Ptcplt\ C&iluc:
A North Arolina Minority
Health Education Collaborator
The Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity
www.wfubmc.edu/macht
I Wake Forest
UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL ?fMfcOKINr
every child that dies, four receive emergency
care for water-related injuries! African
Americans of all ages suffer a fatal (frowning
rate of 30% higher than the rate of whites, and
African American children [age 14 and
younger] have a fatal downing rate of more
than 3 times the rate of white children.
What are the risk factors
for unintentional drowning?
According to the CDC, the major risk fac
tors for chilcken are lack of supervision and
lack of barriers (such as pool fencing or
locked bathroom doors). According to the
national Safe Kids Campaign, a study
revealed that many parents who say they are
supervising their chilcken while swimming
are not putting their full attention on the chil
cken and are doing something else, like talk
ing to another person, reading, eating, or talk
ing on the telephone. Among adults, the risk
factor of alcohol use is involved in many
water and boating fatalities. Other risk factors
that can occur in chilcken and adults are:
- Not wearing a life vest / life jacket
- Not practicing safety around recreational
watercraft
- Lack of swimming knowledge - The
CDC has found in a national study, that
African Americans self-report being the most
limited with regard to swimming ability
- Seizure disorders - persons with these
illnesses should be monitored when around
bathtubs, pools, lakes, rivers, the ocean or
any open water.
How can I reduce my
and my family's risk?
NEVER leave children alone in any
water - this means bathtubs, pools, or natu
ral water
See Water on A9
Medical Center invites survivors
to take part in free workshops
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is presenting a
series of workshops designed to help cancer survivors.
The Livestrong Cancer Transitions Program began
on June 2 with a session entitled. "Get Back to
Wellness: Take Control of Your Survivorship."
There will be five more workshops to help cancer
survivors make the transition from active treatment to
post-treatment care. The next one, "Exercise for
Wellness: Customized Exercise," is today, June 9. Like
all the sessions, it will be held at BestHealth in Hanes
\4nll A . in
man iiuiii t.ju
to 7 p.m.
The series
includes exer
cise activities
tailored to can
cer survivors'
abilities, a L
panelist of
BestHealth.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
X
expert physicians, nurses, nutritionist? and fitness spe
cialists from Wake Forest Baptist and tips for relax
ation, stress management and nutritious eating.
Adult survivors age 21 years and older of any can
cer diagnosis who have completed active anti-cancer
treatment within the past 24 months are invited to
attend. A light supper will be provided to attendees dur
ing each session.
The other sessions are:
? June 16, Session 3: Emotional Health and Well
Being: From Patient to Survivor;
? June 23, Session 4: Nutrition Beyond Cancer;
? June 30, Session 5: Medical Management Beyond
Cancer: What You Need to Know; and
? July 7, Session 6: Life Beyond Cancer
To register, contact Many Poletti (336-713-6978)
or Teika Holloway (336-7 1 3-6985) of Oncology
Outreach .
First Lady helps roll out government's
new eating guidelines
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
First Lady Michelle Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and
Surgeon General Regina Benjamin unveiled the federal government's new
food icon, MyPlate, last
week in Washington.
Designed to replace the
decades-old Food Pyramid,
which helped a generation of
Americans make better food
choices, MyPlate strives to
prompt consumers to think
about building a healthy
plate at meal times and to
seek more information to
help them do that by going
t o
www.ChooseMyPlate.gov.
The new MyPlate icon
emphasizes the fruit, veg
etable, grains, protein and
dairy food groups.
"This is a quick, simple
reminder for all of us to be
more mindful of the foods
that we're eating and as a
mom, I can already tell how
much this is going to help
parents across the country,"
said the First Lady. "When
mom or dad comes home
from a long day of work,
USDA Photo
Michelle Obama speaks with
Secretary Vilsack sitting behind her.
we're already asked to be a chef, a referee, a cleaning crew. So it's tough to
be a nutritionist, too. But we do have time to take a look at our kids' plates.
As long as they're half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean
proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden. That's how easy it
Sec Plate on A9