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	Grant boosts Vannie E. Cook clinic efforts
	Treatment helps overcome disease of doubt, fear
	Hamilton named chair of molecular physiology

Grant boosts Vannie E. Cook clinic efforts

A generous grant from The Meadows Foundation will significantly boost the efforts of the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children's Cancer and Hematology Clinic to provide state-of-the-art care to children battling cancer in the Rio Grande Valley.

With the three-year $275,000 grant, the clinic will be able to add three members to the medical staff.

"Since the opening of the clinic in June 2001, we have treated many more children than we ever anticipated," said Juan Carlos Bernini, MD, clinic medical director. "It has been clear for some time that expanding our clinic staff is the only way we can meet the needs of all the children who come to us for treatment of cancer and blood disorders. This very generous grant allows us to do that."

The Vannie E. Cook Jr. Cancer Foundation joined Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital to establish the first state-of-the-art clinic dedicated to providing comprehensive care to Rio Grande Valley children. Prior to the opening of the clinic three and a half years ago, children with cancer and serious blood disorders had to travel hundreds of miles from home in order to receive state-of-the-art cancer treatment.

The Meadows Foundation, established in 1948 by Algur H. and Virginia Meadows, is a private philanthropic institution that assists the people and institutions of Texas in order to improve the quality and circumstances of life for themselves and future generations.

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Treatment helps overcome disease of doubt, fear

A comprehensive hospital treatment program, like the one available at The Menninger Clinic, an affiliate of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston can help obsessive-compulsive disease patients successfully manage their disease.

"Obsessive-compulsive disorder causes anxiety provoking thoughts or urges, known as obsessions," said Joyce Davidson, MD, medical director of the Menninger Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Treatment Program. "These thoughts compel individuals to perform time-consuming rituals, known as compulsions, in an attempt to ease the anxiety."

Although Menninger's OCD Treatment Program uses a variety of research-proven techniques to help fight the disease, one approach, known as Exposure and Response Prevention, is very effective. This intensive behavior therapy allows patients to confront their obsessions head on while overcoming the urge to perform rituals.

Beyond comprehensive behavior therapy, the program's treatment also includes:

• Individual counseling
• Group therapy sessions
• Family education and support
• Medication management
• Treatment for coexisting disorders such as depression

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Hamilton named chair of molecular physiology

Susan Hamilton, PhD, has been named chair of the department of molecular physiology and biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine. Hamilton had served as interim chair of the department since 2000.

"Dr. Hamilton has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills during her tenure as interim chair of the physiology department," said Peter G. Traber, MD, BCM president and CEO. "Her vision for future development of the department and the advancement of translational research is an important asset for the college."

Hamilton foresees more integrated collaborations both within and beyond the department in the wake of recent genomic discoveries. The mission, she says, is to facilitate the emergence of physiology while bridging basic and clinical sciences.

"I see this department as being oriented towards understanding the mechanisms of human disease and helping to lead in preclinical trials to develop therapies," Hamilton said. "We would like to aggressively recruit faculty to physiology who are interested in integrated function, trained in molecular sciences, and focused on the disease process."

Hamilton also serves as editor-in-chief of the nationally ranked science journal Physiology Reviews. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Indiana and earned a PhD in biophysics at the University of Colorado Medical Center.

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