Hosted by the University of Miami Institute for the Americas (MIA) and the Miller School of Medicine, the third in-person meeting of the Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Control (GAPCPC) took place from August 1-3 in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Fourteen commissioners, including UM President Julio Frenk and ten members of the Commission’s Scientific Advisory Committee, attended the meeting, with representation from Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A joint project with the Harvard Global Equity Initiative and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the commission has made strides in ensuring that the world has access to palliative care and pain control by integrating these treatments into universal health coverage and increasing global recognition that their provision is an essential element of health systems. The commission’s work is leading toward a featured report in The Lancet, one of the world’s most influential journals.

For additional information on the commission, please visit http://www.as.miami.edu/mia/lancet-commission-palliative-care–pain-control/.

Special to UM News

MIAMI, Fla. (August 2, 2016)—Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has again been ranked as the nation’s Best in Ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report in its Best Hospitals 2017 Edition. It is the 15th time that Bascom Palmer Eye Institute-Anne Bates Leach Eye Hospital has been named No. 1 since the publication began surveying U.S. physicians for its annual rankings 27 years ago.

“Receiving the No. 1 ranking again is a great testament to the tradition of excellence that drives every aspect of Bascom Palmer’s operation,” said Eduardo C. Alfonso, chairman of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. “Drawing on their deep knowledge and experience, our dedicated doctors, scientists, nurses, technicians, and support staff provide high-quality compassionate eye care to our Bascom Palmer patients.”

For more than 50 years, Bascom Palmer has been a leader in providing clinical care and community service to the dynamic South Florida region, while building a national reputation for excellence. In addition, its medical training and education programs attract ophthalmologists from around the world, multiplying the institute’s impact on patient care.

Bascom Palmer’s physicians are internationally recognized in every subspecialty of ophthalmology. With four patient care facilities in Florida (Miami, Palm Beach Gardens, Naples, and Plantation), Bascom Palmer is the largest ophthalmic care, research, and educational facility in the southeastern United States. More than 250,000 patients, from infants to seniors, are treated each year for nearly every ophthalmic condition, and more than 18,000 surgeries are performed annually. The institute serves as the Department of Ophthalmology for the Miller School of Medicine, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System.

“All of us at the University of Miami are proud of the extraordinary performance of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute’s physicians, researchers, and staff, year after year,” said Steven M. Altschuler, senior vice president for health affairs and CEO of UHealth. “Their discovery, innovation, and training advance the field of ophthalmology worldwide, and their care changes lives in South Florida and beyond.”

Bascom Palmer researchers and clinicians are at the forefront of precision medicine in ophthalmology, translating basic research from their laboratories into individualized diagnostic and treatment methods tailored to each patient. That collaboration approach has resulted in revolutionary advances in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, retinal diseases, ophthalmic cancers, eye infections, cataracts and diseases of the optic nerve.

Bascom Palmer recently established the world’s first laboratory dedicated to finding cures for diseases of the orbit, the bony structure surrounding the eye. In March, the institute dedicated the Dr. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid Orbital Vision Research Center as the only interdisciplinary, cure-based research center dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with traumatic orbital injuries and malignancies through clinical applications of basic scientific research.

Another milestone will occur this fall with the opening of the Samuel and Ethel Balkan International Pediatric Glaucoma Center at Bascom Palmer. The center is taking a new approach to eradicating pediatric glaucoma by offering genetic research and a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating the debilitating disease in children.

The rankings are accessible online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.

From left are Bascom Palmer Director Eduardo Alfonso; Dr. David T. Tse, the Dr. Nassar Ibrahim Al-Rashid Chair in Ophthtalmology; UM President Julio Frenk; Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid and his sons, Fahad Al-Rashid and Ibrahim Al-Rashid; UM Trustee Ron Stone; and Miller School Dean Emeritus Pascal J. Goldschmidt.

MIAMI, Fla. (July 26, 2016) —Bascom Palmer Eye Institute—the global leader in eye care, vision research, and ophthalmology education—has launched the Master of Science in Vision Science and Investigative Ophthalmology (MVSIO) program. This innovative, first-of-its-kind program offers comprehensive training in ophthalmic translational research, problem-based learning, management, and a skill set available only at Bascom Palmer.

Led by Bascom Palmer’s world-class faculty and supported by leading-edge technology, the MVSIO program will educate the next generation of global leaders in ophthalmology, including clinicians and vision researchers. The interdisciplinary program focuses on science and laboratory research, research management, and administrative skills to sharpen the critical thinking and communication expertise essential for careers within the realm of ophthalmology.

Bascom Palmer is internationally recognized as an outstanding teaching, research, and patient care center, and its training programs are among the best in the world. As the department of ophthalmology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, it is committed to improving sight, preventing blindness, and advancing ophthalmic knowledge.

This August, five students will begin the two-year MVSIO program. The inaugural class includes medical doctors with degrees from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine; Universidad Iberoamerica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Tripoli University, Libya; and Alexandria University, Egypt.

Much of the MVSIO program takes place within the Dr. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid Orbital Vision Center located in the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Vision Research Center on the Miller School campus.

The center’s facility was made possible thanks to a transformative $10 million gift from Dr. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid and his children: Nourah Caskey, Ramzi Al-Rashid, Salman Al-Rashid, Ibrahim Al-Rashid, and Mohammad N. Al-Rashid. During a recent dedication ceremony of the eponymous center, the Al-Rashid sons, Ibrahim, Mohammad, and Salman, made an additional commitment of $2.5 million to continue to propel the vision research engine.

“The MVSIO program would not be possible without the generosity of the Al-Rashid family,” says Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya, professor of ophthalmology and director of the MVSIO graduate program. “Their support allows Bascom Palmer to attract exceptional graduate students from every corner of the globe to realize their full potential in eye and vision science.”

A longtime UM supporter, Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid received an honorary doctor of science degree from the University in 2008. Two of  his sons are UM graduates, with Fahad Al-Rashid earning an A.B. in Marine Science Affairs in 2005, and Ibrahim Al-Rashid earning a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship in 2006.

Special to UM News

David. F. Ertel

David F. Ertel, the chief financial officer of Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, has been named chief financial officer and chief strategy officer for health affairs.

As CFO, Ertel will be responsible for the business systems of the Miller School of Medicine and UHealth – the University of Miami Health System, reporting to Steven M. Altschuler, M.D., Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and CEO of UHealth.

“The success of the value-based health system we are creating will depend, in part, on the sound financial decisions we make, and David will lead the way in critical areas including contracting, budgeting, prioritizing initiatives and business development,” Altschuler said.

Ertel will also have oversight of short- and long-term forecasting, managed care contracting and other financial operations, such as local health market concentration.

“David’s depth of experience will make him a strong leader for the transformation of our health system,” said Altschuler.

The Einstein network in Philadelphia consists of three acute-care hospitals, a nationally recognized rehabilitation hospital, and a physician network that includes 450 employed physicians. The principal medical center — Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia — is affiliated with Thomas Jefferson University and trains 435 residents and fellows and more than 1,000 medical students annually.

As the CFO of Einstein, Ertel has collaborated on service line initiatives in behavioral health and women’s and children’s health, as well as a restructuring of investments and debt.

Previously Ertel was a managing director at Morgan Stanley and head of the National Health Care Group, advising health systems and academic medical centers in financial and strategic matters. He also worked as Vice President and Director of the Health Care Public Finance Group at PaineWebber. Before his investment banking career, he was Budget Director of the New Jersey State Department of Human Services, managing budget planning and control activities.

As a health system trustee, Ertel helped Princeton HealthCare System grow its clinical footprint, including the development of a new hospital.

Ertel holds M.B.A. and M.P.H. degrees from Columbia University. He will begin his new role in late July.

From left are Ernesto A. Pretto, Jr. and Christopher A. Fraker.

Special to UM News

An innovative anesthesia formulation developed by a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine research team could dramatically improve surgical care around the world.

“If proven safe and effective in clinical trials, this new formulation could revolutionize the delivery of general anesthesia,” said Ernesto A. Pretto, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., professor and Chief of the Division of Solid Organ Transplant and Vascular Anesthesia in the Department of Anesthesiology.

Unlike conventional anesthesia systems that vaporize liquid anesthetics into gas and then deliver it to the bloodstream through the lungs, the new formulation would allow this class of anesthetic drugs to be injected directly into the bloodstream.

“This is potentially an easier, safer and faster way to deliver anesthesia in a low-cost, portable format, improving access to surgical care for patients in developing countries, soldiers on a battlefield or patients in traditional hospital settings,” said Christopher A. Fraker, Ph.D., a research assistant professor who developed the formulation in the Bioengineering Laboratory of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), whose support comes in large part from the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.

U Innovation, which protects, transforms and guides the University of Miami’s intellectual property, recognized the potential of this breakthrough discovery. Its Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research funded work on the technology and provided guidance toward commercialization.

On April 14, U Innovation’s Office of Technology Transfer signed a license agreement with The Medicines Company, a global provider of solutions for acute cardiovascular care, surgery and perioperative care, and serious infectious disease care. The agreement will allow The Medicines Company to develop and hopefully market the new formulation, said Pretto.

“This is a platform technology with many potential applications,” said Daniel J. Catron, senior licensing associate at the Office of Technology Transfer. “This innovative formulation is ideal for resource-limited medical settings. It could also be applied to veterinary medicine, providing potential benefits when sedating and treating large and small animals. The Medicines Company understands our vision and has the ability to take this development forward. This commercialization partnership can help patients on a global level, while also benefiting our University.”

The University is negotiating a Sponsored Research Agreement with a collaborative research team from the Department of Anesthesiology, the Diabetes Research Institute and the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida. That team includes DRI Director Camillo Ricordi, M.D., Stacy Joy Goodman Professor of Surgery, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology, and Director of the DRI’s Cell Transplant Center, Fernando Garcia-Pereira, D.V.M., from the University of Florida, and Behrouz Ashrafi, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology, as well as Pretto and Fraker. The agreement will help The Medicines Company advance the technology through additional pre-clinical testing needed to enable clinical trials, Pretto said.

“The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is a world-class institution, and the opportunity to work with some of its most talented and innovative clinicians and scientists is an exciting, albeit humbling, opportunity,” said Jason Campagna, M.D. ’96, Ph.D. ’97, Vice President and Global Medical Lead for Surgery and Perioperative Medicine at The Medicines Company. “There are more than 300 million surgical procedures annually around the world, and the need for new anesthetics and ways to deliver anesthesia care safely has never been greater.”

Fraker said the anesthesia breakthrough originated with studies on how to protect insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells during transplantation to patients with life-threatening diabetes.

“I had studied fluorocarbon emulsions that carry oxygen to the blood, and was brought into an ongoing collaborative DRI/Department of Anesthesiology project by Dr. Antonello Pileggi,” Fraker said. “Dr. Pileggi was the initiator of many collaborative efforts and was adept at bringing in the right people to form teams that would accelerate and increase the chances of project success. We serendipitously found that mixing the anesthetic with a carefully developed emulsion could create an injectable that was safe and highly effective in sedating animals in the laboratory.”

This novel emulsion technology, made possible through the multi-year funding that Fraker and Pretto received from the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, received a patent this year.

Looking ahead, Fraker said that injecting the anesthesia medication directly into the bloodstream has multiple benefits in clinical care.

“You can use a lower dosage to accomplish the same result, increasing the safety profile,” he said. “You can also bring patients out of anesthesia more quickly.”

The new anesthesia platform would also allow combat medics to sedate wounded soldiers, slowing the blood flow and the onset of shock while the patient is transported to a field hospital, as part of a regimen being called emergency preservation and resuscitation, Pretto said.

“Our team presented a prototype to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and it was well received. Because of its self-contained portability, this formulation could even be taken into space.”