Digest — U.Va. Top News Daily

Health System again named to “America’s Best Hospitals” list
The Health System has once again been named as one of America’s best hospitals in five medical specialties — endocrinology (6); gynecology (25); ear, nose and throat (26); cancer (30); and heart (50) — in the 17th annual survey of “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. “As a premier medical research center in Virginia, we are committed to finding new treatments, tests and technologies that benefit our patients from the commonwealth and beyond,” said R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer of U.Va.’s Medical Center. (July 11)

Health System researchers develop a model for AIDS-related cancer study
Kaposi’s sarcoma, the most common cancer occurring in AIDS patients worldwide, is caused by the KSHV virus. Health System researchers, led by Dr. Dean Kedes, associate professor of internal medicine and microbiology at U.Va., have developed a model system using mice that successfully mimics viral replication seen in human patients, including infection of white blood cells with the expression of structural proteins required for assembly of whole virus particles and spread of the infection. Addition of human immune cells to the model resulted in the production of KSHV-specific antibodies found in the serum of mice indistinguishable from those found in the serum of human patients infected with the virus and suffering from Kaposi’s sarcoma. (July 6)

U.Va.’s Center for Global Health selects 26 students for scholarship program
Twenty-six graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Virginia have earned a place in the U.Va. Center for Global Health’s 2006 scholarship program. The awards, which vary from $1,800 to $3,000, will provide funding for the scholars’ research projects that will help address health issues of the underprivileged in countries around the world, including health concerns such as women’s reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, diabetes and the effects of family dynamics on health. “These remarkable young stars bring their dedication from a marvelously diverse array of backgrounds and interests to address growing issues of health disparities,” said center director Dr. Richard Guerrant. (June 22)