Vital Signs
By Staff Reporter, Mobile Register, Jul. 5, 1998.
Dr. DAVID A. DEAN, assistant professor of microbiology
at the University of
South Alabama College of Medicine, has been awarded a grant to study
gene therapy and how it can help prevent atherosclerosis and heart disease.
Gene therapy treats diseases using genes and
DNA instead of
chemical drugs.
The four-year grant totals more than $717,000
and is funded
by the National Institutes of Health.
Currently, atherosclerosis affects over 2 million
Americans,
resulting in over 800,000 hospitalizations and 17,000 deaths
per year. This disease can be prevented if we can develop
ways
to inhibit the growth of cells in blood vessel walls,'' Dean
said.
The American Academy of Family Physicians recently
honored
the University of South Alabama College of Medicine for its
efforts
to make family practice a top career choice for graduating
seniors.
Dr. Perry Dickinson, professor of family practice
and director
of educational programs for the USA Department of Family
Practice
and Community Medicine, said, We're pleased to see such a
good
number of our graduates choose to enter family practice in
keeping
with the needs of the state.''
The seventh annual Family Practice Percentage
Award'' was
presented to the USA College of Medicine during the conference
of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in Chicago.
Family physicians are medical specialists trained
in the diagnosis and
treatment of the majority of medical problems for people of all ages and both
sexes, and continue to be in high demand throughout the country.
This article reproduced with special permission
from the Mobile Register.
