Stem Cell Clinic

Whitmer axes stem cell research, pregnancy center funding over abortion access concerns – MLive.com

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used her veto pen on the states education budget Thursday to strike funding for pregnancy centers and stem cell research, saying that wording within the bill tried to create a gag rule concerning abortion.

Whitmer gave the final OK to a $19.6 billion K-12 education budget which contained an additional roughly $2 billion to universities and $530.3 million to community colleges, bringing the overall amount of the education budget to $22.2 billion July 14 at Mott Community College in Flint.

Word of her vetoes, however, came not too long after signing the budget and were targeted in two specific areas: stem cell research and crisis pregnancy centers.

RELATED: Whitmer signs $19.6B historic education budget, contains highest ever per-pupil investment

In a letter sent to lawmakers detailing the status of the final budget bill, Whitmer wrote that she was striking the items from the document as they harm womens health care.

These line items would create a gag rule preventing reproductive health-service providers from even mentioning abortion and otherwise make it harder for women to get the health care they need, she wrote. Any efforts to undermine a womans ability to make her own medical decisions with her trusted health-care provider will earn my disapproval. Women and doctors should be making health-care decisions not politicians.

Comprising her three vetoes were two $500,000 funding pots for pregnant and parenting student services, the wording for which put an explicit bar on mentioning abortion as a form of family planning, and $5 million in funding for stem cell/fetal tissue research.

Similar to the pregnancy service centers, wording surrounding the stem cell research grants would require universities agree to not conduct any research on aborted fetal tissue in order to make use of those funds.

On Friday, her administration again defended the move, with Whitmers Communication Director Bobby Leddy saying: While politicians in other states rush to restrict womens health care rights, even in instances of rape or incest, Michigan must remain a place where a womans ability to make her own medical decisions with her trusted health-care provider is respected.

The education budget signed earlier this week possesses the highest amount of per-pupil funding the state has ever allocated at $9,150 a child. Its a $450 increase per child, equaling a total cost increase of $630.5 million from the year prior. Theres also $214 in additional per-pupil funding for mental health and school safety for every child enrolled in a public school district.

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Whitmer axes stem cell research, pregnancy center funding over abortion access concerns - MLive.com

Changing the World Through Philanthropy: UC San Diego Raises $3.05 Billion as Campaign for UC San Diego Concludes – University of California San Diego

From scholarships and fellowships to research to address the worlds greatest challenges, funds from more than 163,000 donors are making a difference locally, nationally and around the globe

The University of California San Diego has reached the conclusion of its landmark Campaign for UC San Diego, raising a total of $3.05 billion in philanthropic support over a span of 10 years. The funds have spurred a significant campus transformation, increased access with scholarships and fellowships for the next generation of leaders and expanded the universitys positive global impact with research that is addressing some of the worlds most pressing concerns.

Founded in 1960, UC San Diego is the nations youngest university to reach a multibillion-dollar fundraising goal in a single campaign, raising $1 billion more than the original $2 billion goal. More than 163,000 supporters designated charitable gifts and grants to over 450 different areas across campus, including UC San Diego Health and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In the final year of the Campaign, which concluded on June 30, 2022, the campus raised a record-breaking $420 million, setting an upward trajectory for continued transformation and impact.

UC San Diego exceeded its initial campaign goal by more than $1 billion, raising a total of $3.05 billion.

The incredible support from our generous donors during the Campaign for UC San Diego has fueled a remarkable physical, intellectual and cultural transformation that has greatly enhanced the experiences of our students, our patients and our greater San Diego community, in addition to benefiting countless lives around the globe, said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. Belief in UC San Diego as a force for change gave us three billion new reasons to keep exploring, to keep discovering and to keep impacting the world around us.

Campaign for UC San Diego volunteer leadership played a critical role in the success of the Campaign. Honorary co-chairs Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Ernest Rady and T. Denny Sanford set the foundation for the Campaigns success with gifts including $100 million from the Jacobs to establish the Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health, a commitment of $100 million from Ernest and Evelyn Rady for the Rady School of Management, and $200 million in total funds from Sanford to establish both the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health and the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion.

In addition, more than 100 alumni and community members stepped up to lead this historic effort as members of the Campaign for UC San Diego Cabinet. Every cabinet member donated to the Campaign, generating support totaling $1 billion. More than half of the cabinet was composed of alumni, including cabinet co-chairs Ken Kroner, PhD 88, and Aryeh Bourkoff 95, who each supported the Campaign with multimillion-dollar gifts. Many members of the Cabinet are also current or former trustees of the UC San Diego Foundation.

Overall, alumni giving also went up significantly. More than 45,600 alumni donors gave $257 million in gifts, representing an increase of 1,300% over the last campaign.

We are so incredibly proud of how UC San Diego alumni have come together over the past decade to support their alma mater as a collective group, said Kimberley Phillips Boehm 82, UC San Diego Alumni president from 2020-22. This support is driving the universitys upward trajectory as it makes a difference for future generations of students, spurs innovative research, enhances medicine and transforms our campus.

Itzel Guadalupe Jimenez Jimenez 25, a Karen and Jeff Silberman Chancellors Associates Scholar, hopes to pursue a career in health care.

A key priority of the Campaign for UC San Diego was supporting its outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. The campus raised approximately $378 million for student support and success during the course of the Campaign, creating 315 new scholarship funds, including 163 endowed scholarships, which will remain in perpetuity. In addition, 184 new graduate fellowship funds were established, including 66 endowed fellowships.

A vital program established during the Campaign for UC San Diego was the Chancellors Associates Scholars Program (CASP). In addition to providing full tuition, fees and housing for high-achieving students from underrepresented communities, the program supports students with a wide range of services and opportunities to ensure that they thrive on campus and are fully engaged in academics, student life and in university experiences. Supported by $8 million in private support, the scholarship has been awarded to more than 1,800 students.

Itzel Guadalupe Jimenez Jimenez 25, a Karen and Jeff Silberman Chancellors Associates Scholar and Lincoln High School graduate, chose to major in Spanish literature, recalling a childhood memory of being in an emergency room while her mother struggled to overcome language barriers. She plans to pursue a career as a translator in the health care industry with the goal of helping all patients get the care they need.

The Chancellors Associates Scholarship has given me a chance to study and pursue my dream career, said Jimenez Jimenez. Receiving this scholarship really means a lot to me because it is one less thing my family has to worry about.

Jacobs Fellow Marwa Abdalla is a doctoral candidate focused on anti-Black and anti-Muslim racisms.

In 2021, Chancellor Khosla announced the Chancellors Scholarship and Fellowship Challenge to boost funding for students on campus. Gifts to undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships and health-related professional school scholarships were matched 1:2 by the chancellor. At the close of the challenge, a total of $21 million was raised in gifts and matching funds.

Jerri-Ann and Gary E. Jacobs 79, pledged a total of $2 million to student support as part of the challenge, including adding $1 million to the existing Jerri-Ann and Gary E. Jacobs Endowed Fellowship Fund. Jacobs Fellow Marwa Abdalla is a second-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication whose research is focused on anti-Black and anti-Muslim racisms, media representations of Islam and Muslims, and how legacies of imperialism and Orientalism continue to inform conservative and progressive politics.

Not only is it an honor to be recognized with this fellowship, said Abdalla, but the support allows me to focus on connecting my research to national and local efforts aimed at challenging racism in all its forms.

In addition, several other alumni donors have supported undergraduate scholarships at UC San Diegooften with the goal of boosting equity, diversity and inclusion on campus. Kimberley Phillips Boehm 82 and Marcus Boehm 83 donated $1 million to support the PATHways to STEM through Enhanced Access and Mentorship Program (PATHS), which is structured to provide critical mentorship and financial support for undergraduate UC San Diego STEM students from under-resourced communities.

UC San Diego received the largest scholarship gift for scholar-athletes in its history from LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank founded by alumnus and Campbain Cabinet co-chair Aryeh Bourkoff.

UC San Diego also received the largest scholarship gift for scholar-athletes in its history from independent investment and merchant bank LionTree, which was founded by alumnus Aryeh Bourkoff. RIMAC Arena was renamed LionTree Arena in recognition of the gift.

To learn more about the Campaigns remarkable impact on student support and success, such as contributions to the Triton Food Pantry and more, visit the Campaign website to read about other student support gifts.

Fueled by philanthropic support, UC San Diego ranked 4th among public research institutions in the U.S. by Nature Index for high-quality science, based on research publications in highly selective science journals in 2020. The campus ranked 10th among all U.S. universities. Research is driving innovation and discoveries in a wide range of areas at UC San Diego, from exploring active genetics as a means to control malaria worldwide to developing actionable strategies for adapting to climate change.

Kicking off the public phase of the Campaign for UC San Diego in 2017, alumnus Taner Halcolu 96 committed $75 million to launch the Halcolu Data Science Institute (HDSI) and support data science initiatives on campus. Within the first year, the institute established itself as one of the largest academic data science programs in the nation.

Looking to the sky, scientists are closer to understanding the conditions of the universe moments after its inception, thanks to commitments totaling nearly $100 million from the Simons Foundation over the course of the Campaign. The funds supported design, construction and operations of the Simons Observatory in Chiles Atacama Desert.

The Goeddel Family Technology Sandbox is providing access and training to master leading-edge biotech industry instruments.

In the UC San Diego School of Social Sciences, researchers are working to better understand and address the factors that lead to homelessness. With philanthropic support from Phyllis and Dan Epstein and Hanna and Mark Gleiberman, UC San Diego recently launched the regions first large-scale, university-based research and data hub focused exclusively on homelessness. The Homelessness Hub at UC San Diego will serve as a non-partisan hub for research, education, policy and action on homelessness.

Philanthropic support like this from the Epsteins and Gleibermans is helping drive a wide range of critical work in the social sciencesfrom homelessness to immigration and racial inequitythat benefit our society now and will shape the future for generations to come, said Dean of the School of Social Sciences Carol Padden.

Alumnus David Goeddel 72, and his wife, Alena, established the Goeddel Family Technology Sandbox with a $7.5 million gift. The new, innovative campus facility, also part of a 10-year public-private partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific, is designed to help set UC San Diego graduates ahead in the biotech industry, providing them with access and training to master leading-edge industry instruments which are often cost-prohibitive for college campuses. The Sandbox will drive research, education and innovation in emerging areas including genome engineering, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, light microscopy, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and data science.

The Goeddel Family Technology Sandbox will further enhance UC San Diegos profile as one of the nations top places to study the biological sciences and as the top producer of talent to fuel innovation in life sciences in both academia and industry, said Dean of the School of Biological Sciences Kit Pogliano.

The Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation provided a major gift to the 21st Century China Center at the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) to expand its data-based research, policy engagement and education on U.S.-China relations. The largest donation ever received by GPS and its research centers, the gift provided an endowment that helped cement the center as the leading U.S. academic center and policy think tank that produces scholarly research and informs policy discussions related to China.

The Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation is addressing the effects of climate change, such as flooding in Imperial Beach.

The Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, created in 2015 with a $5 million commitment from Richard and Carol Dean Hertzberg, is focused on a new chapter of climate research that considers how society can address the consequences of climate change that are already unfolding. The center draws on the expertise of climate scientists as well as experts ranging from economists, sociologists and engineers to urban planners and political scientists to document climate change impacts and devise practical solutions.

In 2017, the late Franklin Antonio 74, became the first alumnus to have a building named in his honor after making a $30 million gift to support the Jacobs School of Engineering. Franklin Antonio Hall, a 200,000-square-foot engineering building will open in fall of 2022. The building will feature 13 collaboratoriesspaces that will house multiple professors and their respective research groups to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations to address some of societys most critical issues.

As UC San Diego drives leading-edge innovation and discoveries, the Institute for Practical Ethics was established in the School of Arts and Humanities with $1 million from Joel and Ann Reed to help close the gap between the pace of innovation and societys ability to deal with these advances responsibly.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation granted $1.4 million to study next-generation gene drive systems based on CRISPR technology, which could potentially be used to curb the spread of mosquito-borne pathogens such as malaria. The funding was also designated to help address the social and ethical challenges of moving these techniques from the lab into the wild. In total, the Gates Foundation has provided nearly $62 million in total grant funding over the course of the Campaign to a wide range of campus areas including public health, medicine and education.

During the course of the Campaign, 123 new endowed faculty chairs were established. Increasing the number of endowed chairs is a priority at UC San Diego, as they provide a perpetual source of funds for research and scholarly work by chair-holders, playing an important role in attracting and retaining academic leaders. The effort to grow the number of endowed chairs on campus was bolstered by the UC San Diego Chancellors Endowed Chair and Faculty Fellowship Challenge, wherein Chancellor Khosla matched $500,000 eligible endowed chair gifts. A University of California-sponsored Presidential Match for Endowed Chairs was launched in 2014 and helped grow support for endowed chairs even further. Endowed chairs were created throughout campus including the Dr. Harry M. Markowitz Endowed Chair in Finance and Investing and the Duane A. Nelles Jr. Endowed Chair in Corporate Governance at the Rady School of Management, the Conrad Prebys Presidential Chair in Music, the Edward A. Frieman Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability and many more.

To learn more about the groundbreaking research and innovation taking place thanks to the support of philanthropic partnersfrom the depths of the ocean to the universe above, please visit the Campaign for UC San Diego website.

UC San Diego Health is dedicated to advancing medicine through breakthrough discoveries, including pioneering firsts in surgery, imaging, cancer treatment and cardiovascular care. UC San Diego Health is ranked 1st in San Diego and 5th in California for health care by U.S. News & World Report, positioning it among the nations best hospitals.

During the Campaign, UC San Diego Health went through an immense transformation and expansion. Science research was bolstered by the 2014 opening the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, which translates scientific discoveries into drugs and therapies. Jacobs Medical Center then opened in 2016, followed in 2018 by the Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion, which includes eight surgery suites, basic and advanced imaging, physical therapy and pain management plus infusion and apheresis services.

Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health opened in 2016.

Over the last decade, UC San Diego Health has undergone a tremendous transformation that has benefited patients throughout the region with enhanced treatments and better facilities, said UC San Diego Health CEO Patty Maysent. We are so grateful to our donors who have generously partnered with us in providing the best possible care for patients, from building the leading-edge facilities to recover and heal, to offering new and innovative treatments of promise.

Thanks to the support of Irwin and Joan Jacobs, as well as many other generous donors, Jacobs Medical Center has now served the community with specialty patient care for over five years. It is home to the A. Vassiliadis Family Pavilion for Advanced Surgery, the Pauline and Stanley Foster Pavilion for Cancer Care and the Rady Pavilion for Women and Infants.

Alumnus Aaron Sathrum, MS 06, PhD 11, can attest to the impact of the care available at Jacobs Medical Center. All three of his children were born at the facility, but his youngest son, Niels, was born at only 26 weeks in the medical centers Rady Pavilion for Women and Infants. Niels was only 2.2 pounds and suffered from collapsed lungs, an intestinal perforation, a brain hemorrhage, jaundice and a blood infection.

The challenges ahead were great, but with a treatment plan in place, the help of the Jacobs Medical Center team and the resilience of our son, we were released earlier than expected, said Sathrum. Although we spent over half of the year in the hospital, unsure of what was to come next, there is no better feeling than knowing our family is together.

All three of the Sathrum familys children were born at Jacobs Medical Center.

Niels is now over a year old. Every day I look at himIm grateful, said Sathrum.

During the Campaign for UC San Diego, many donors helped advance treatments for cancer. Centers and research initiatives established at UC San Diego Health included the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center, the Dean-Hertzberg Breast Cancer Database System (BCDS) at Moores Cancer Center and the Comprehensive Breast Health Center supported by Rebecca Moores. As a result, patients are better equipped with leading-edge technologies and treatments to overcome cancer.

In addition, donors came together to support ocular health and fight eye disease and blindness. Andrew J. Viterbi gave $50 million to name the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and the Viterbi Family Vision Research Center, which also created six new endowed faculty chairs. The Nixon Visions Foundation, led by UC San Diego alumnus Brandon Nixon 85, and his wife, Janine, established the Nixon Visions Foundation Macular Dystrophy-PRPH2 Research Fund to treat macular dystrophy, a condition for which there is no cure. And, continuing her decades-long legacy of support for eye health, Darlene Shiley gave $10 million for the clinical space expansion of the Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, which will bring a new era of vision care and research with increased clinical capacity and research infrastructure.

The Campaign also ushered in a new era of public health research, education and advances with a $25 million gift from the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation that established the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health is working to promote healthier populations on a local, national and global scale.

Daniel and Phyllis Epstein also recently established the Epstein Family Alzheimers Research Collaborative at UC San Diego and USC, with $25 million going to each institution to spark new collaborative efforts to discover effective therapies for Alzheimers disease.

Philanthropic funds are fueling advancements in treatments and cures for disease that will ultimately benefit people around the world.

Establishing endowed faculty chairs was a key priority of the campaign, with 40 created in the health sciences. Iris and Matthew Strauss, longtime supporters of cancer research and patient care at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health established the Iris and Matthew Strauss Chancellors Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Surgery to support excellence in research, education and clinical care.

Endowed faculty chairs play a critical role in helping to attract and retain the top minds in science and medicine, said Steven Garfin, MD, interim vice chancellor for Health Sciences and interim dean of the UC San Diego School of Medicine. We are so grateful to our donors who have supported UC San Diego in the discovery and development of better treatments and new cures for devastating diseases and medical conditions.

Looking to the future, Price Philanthropies Foundation and the Price family donated $10 million to support a new 250,000-square-foot outpatient pavilion at the UC San Diego Medical Centers Hillcrest campus, which is currently undergoing revitalization. The outpatient pavilion is anticipated to open in 2025.

To read more about the incredible medical advancements made possible with philanthropy, including those to battle conditions such as Parkinsons, traumatic brain injury and more, please visit the Campaign for UC San Diego website.

Over the last decade, UC San Diego has undergone a significant physical, intellectual and cultural transformation, with the goal of becoming a premier destination for students, employees, patients and community members. In 2016, construction started on the 11-mile extension of the UC San Diego Blue Line trolley. When two new trolley stations opened on campus in 2021, the university became connected to the region like never before, and donors have stepped up to help open the campus more broadly to the region.

UC San Diego Park & Market, the universitys long anticipated presence in downtown San Diego opened earlier this year.

In addition to supporting research to address Alzheimers disease and homelessness, Daniel and Phyllis Epstein provided $10 million for the soon-to-be-opened Epstein Family Amphitheater. The new state-of-the-art 2,850-seat campus venue, which is steps from the Central Campus station of the UC San Diego Blue Line trolley, will open in October 2022, showcasing everything from classical performances and theatrical dance to rock concerts.

Steps away from the Blue Line trolleys downtown stop is UC San Diego Park & Market, which opened in spring of 2022. Located on a full city block at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Market Street in San Diegos East Village neighborhood, Park & Market is a social and intellectual hub for civic engagement, learning and collaboration for the entire community.

Longtime UC San Diego donor Malin Burnham and his wife, Roberta, committed $3 million to support the partnership between the Burnham Center for Community Advancement and UC San Diego in their creation of a civic collaboratory at Park & Market focused on bringing together great minds to advance the region. David and Claire Guggenheim also gave $1 million to the project, establishing their namesake David and Claire Guggenheim Theatre, a 225-seat black box theater to be used for a wide range of performances and teaching.

The internationally renowned Stuart Collection at UC San Diego also received a $1 million gift from Mary Looker, which established an endowment to help foster the growth of the self-supported collection for years to come. Composed of 22 unique works which have been sprouting across campus over the past four decades, the Stuart Collection represents an impressive assemblage of public art by celebrated contemporary artists such as Robert Irwin, Do Ho Suh, Bruce Nauman and Kiki Smith.

Fallen Star by Do Ho Suh is a part of the unique Stuart Collection, which received $1 million in endowment support.

The arts are deeply rooted in the identity of our university, from our internationally recognized arts departments and highly-ranked degree programs to our affiliations with world-renowned artistic partners, said Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons. We are grateful to our generous donors who have helped us build upon our traditions of aesthetic experimentation and public engagement, establishing our campus as an arts destination and making us a leader amongst our peer institutions.

In support of the UC San Diego Library, which is widely utilized by the local community, UC San Diego Foundation trustee and alumna Sally T. WongAvery 75 donated $10 million through the Avery-Tsui Foundation to support East Asian scholarship and collections. In recognition of the gift, UC San Diego renamed its Biomedical Library as the Sally T. WongAvery Library. In addition, thanks to a $3 million lead donation from the late Audrey Geisel, UC San Diegos iconic Geisel Library is getting a much-needed interior update to enhance the user experience with modern, collaborative spaces.

Furthering the universitys impact in the community and changing the way education is delivered to students living in underserved areas, Robert and Allison Price, through Price Philanthropies, donated $6 million in 2015 to UC San Diegos Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography to establish the Price Philanthropies Ocean Science Education Fund. The endowment created a new education program to inspire student engagement in science and interest in STEM fields, as well as to provide a blueprint for how teachers, informal science educators and scientists can work together to transform science education.

The Price Philanthropies Ocean Science Education Fund is supporting science education programs at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

To read more about the Campaign for UC San Diego and the incredible impact of our donors generous gifts over the last decade, please visit the Campaign for UC San Diego website.

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Changing the World Through Philanthropy: UC San Diego Raises $3.05 Billion as Campaign for UC San Diego Concludes - University of California San Diego

Subang Jaya Medical Centre Applauded by Frost & Sullivan for Its Leadership Position in the Malaysian Hospital Industry – Canada NewsWire

SJMC is well positioned to drive the private hospital space into its next growth phase, capturing market share and sustaining its leadership in the coming years.

SAN ANTONIO, July 12, 2022 /CNW/ --Recently, Frost & Sullivan researched the Malaysian hospital industry and, based on its analysis results, recognizes Subang Jaya Medical Centre(SJMC) with the 2022 Company of the Year Award. The company is accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI) and the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), and its medical laboratories are certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). As part of the Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care Group, SJMC ensures its medical practitioners and administrative staff provide top-notch private healthcare. The multi-disciplinary private healthcare service provider has a capacity of 444 beds, a long history, and remarkable milestones, all contributing to its leadership position in Malaysia's medical industry. SJMC is the first to conduct the following in Malaysia:

SJMC's vision involves developing partnerships to provide the best private healthcare to help patients lead better lives. The company connects deep-seated domain and operational knowledge with advanced services to deliver care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital adapts real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests to reduce the waiting time for patient admission. With Home Connect, home care services are available to patients who cannot commute to the hospital, either because of the difficulty in physically commuting or as a precaution against COVID-19. The service allows nurses or physiotherapists to visit patients in their homes, especially after surgery. In addition, the service includes home delivery of long-term medication. The hospital's Home Connect service is convenient and creates a shift in modern healthcare because it complies with clinical care standards, and provides patients and their families with peace of mind.

According to Siddharth Shah, Research Manager for Frost & Sullivan, "SJMC seamlessly assimilates into the post-pandemic private medical care scene and emerges as a leader in providing contactless home care as a permanent mode of care delivery, an extensive offering unique to the market."

SJMC's selected rehabilitation services, such as physiotherapy and palliative care, are available for home care visits. Its teleconnect center provides 24-hour convenience of obtaining medical advisory services over the phone or through WhatsApp to improve customer service. Moreover, the hospital became the first in the country to offer the latest tomography services for efficient and high-precision cancer treatment as well as digital PET/CT services. It conducts nursing training initiatives to prevent errors in medication and intravenous care, uphold therapy and medication safety standards, and support the continuous development of its healthcare staff. SJMC has a leadership legacy; therefore, its compelling value proposition underpins its sustained success. The company's brand equity, unwavering focus on leadership, best practices implementation, customer-centric focus, and continual and proactive innovation contribute to its sustained success and leading market position.

"SJMC meets with patients to assess their specific needs and develop tailored solutions with roadmaps for seamless execution. This foundational approach establishes ongoing trust with customers for long-lasting relationships extending throughout the service lifecycle," explained Azza Fazar, Best Practices Research Analyst for Frost & Sullivan. "The company remains a trusted partner, earning a reputation for offering the overall best care in the hospital space."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analystscompare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:

Kala Mani. S. P: +603-2023 2037 E: [emailprotected]

About Subang Jaya Medical Centre

The hallmarks that determine the provision of excellent healthcare are the breadth and depth in clinical expertise and the latest in medical technology, top-notch or trail-blazing services, integrated healthcare for end-to-end patient care, high survival rates, best patient safety practices, internationally recognized accreditation, high calibre and well-trained staff and vibrant patient support group activities.

All the above and more is what made Subang Jaya Medical Centre, an award-winning multi-disciplinary and tertiary care private hospital with over 400 beds, a well-trusted and one of Asia-Pacific's most formidable standard-bearers for quality care for well over a quarter of a century since 1985.

SJMC is nestled in the bustling city of Subang Jaya in Selangor Darul Ehsan, a 30-minute drive to the Kuala Lumpur city centre and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport via major highways. Subang Jaya is one of Malaysia's largest cities, in terms of population and economic activity. SJMC provides comprehensive and complex care in all specialties and is a tertiary referral hospital, receiving local patient referrals from within Malaysia as well as international patients from the Asia-Pacific region.

Subang Jaya Medical Centre 1 Jalan SS12/1A Subang Jaya 47500 Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia

T: +6 03 5639 1212 (24-hour Careline) WhatsApp: +6 019 317 1818 (for appointment) E: [emailprotected] Website: http://www.subangjayamedicalcentre.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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Subang Jaya Medical Centre Applauded by Frost & Sullivan for Its Leadership Position in the Malaysian Hospital Industry - Canada NewsWire

Endometriosis in Teens: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment – Healthline

Endometriosis is a condition that can occur when tissue that is normally found lining the uterus, known as the endometrium, begins to grow outside of that organ. With this disorder, the tissue can be found growing around other nearby organs the ovaries, intestines, and even tissue that lines your pelvis.

Because endometrial tissue is affected by hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, its not uncommon for people with endometriosis to experience pain and discomfort just like they would with endometrial tissue in the uterus. And just like that tissue, this tissue breaks down too but isnt expelled.

As a result, endometriosis can lead to the growth of scar tissue, irritation, and even infertility. But while much is known about endometriosis in adult women, the condition isnt as well-researched in children or adolescents.

Officially, there is no known cause of endometriosis regardless of the age at which its discovered. And almost all researchers agree that limited studies in younger age groups, as well as healthcare professionals delaying diagnosis by several years, can contribute to its progression that often leads to infertility and other negative outcomes.

There are a few theories that highlight potential reasons, but no theory has proven to be conclusive yet. Well take a closer look at the best supported theories to-date:

Retrograde menstruation is a condition in which blood that is expelled from the uterus flows back toward the fallopian tubes rather than out of the body through the vagina. This scenario is more common than you may expect, with roughly 90% of women experiencing it at some point during their menstruating lives.

But for some, this backflow can lead to endometrial cells adhering to organs or cavity tissues, or whats known as endometrial lesions. This is why it is currently considered a key factor in developing endometriosis.

A 2013 study conducted in Japan found a link between the incidence of menstrual pain and the need for medical interventions. While the study found that roughly a third of all menstruating Japanese women experienced pain significant enough to require medication, of that group, 6% did not experience any improvement after taking medication.

More importantly, this study found that roughly 25 to 38% of adolescents that complained of chronic pelvic pain were later diagnosed with endometriosis. Meanwhile, the most common solution offered to adolescents is pain medications, which will not treat the cause of the pain.

That same 2013 Japanese study noted that some respondents were diagnosed with endometriosis while having never menstruated (premenarchal). This discovery has encouraged researchers to consider that other underlying mechanisms might contribute to endometriosis rather than retrograde menstruation.

Some researchers further hypothesized that endometriosis diagnoses in premenarchal participants could be caused by stem cells that later develop into endometrial tissue and are later activated when menstruation begins.

While we often think of endometriosis as a condition exclusively impacting women, the reality is that it can also develop in nonbinary or transmasculine (people assigned female at birth that later transition to boys) adolescents as well.

A 2020 study reviewed previous research that focused on 35 trans participants ages 26 and younger that were diagnosed with dysmenorrhea (or menstruation-related pain) and treated for that condition. Of the 35, seven of the patients were evaluated and found to have endometriosis some of which were diagnosed after transitioning and included one participant that had already begun testosterone treatment.

Of the seven patients, treatment varied from oral contraceptives, testosterone treatment, and other drugs such as danazol and progestins. The study found that results were mixed. While some respondents found success with testosterone therapy for resolving symptoms, this wasnt the case for everyone.

Ultimately, the study recommended that trans masculine people experiencing dysmenorrhea symptoms should be screened for endometriosis, and that testosterone therapy alone isnt necessarily a complete solution.

Although less is known about endometriosis in adolescent or teenage populations, symptoms tend to be consistent with those found in adult women. These include:

If you or your child is experiencing symptoms of endometriosis, keep reading to learn about getting diagnosed.

Consistently, the research and medical communities agree that early detection of endometriosis is the best way to prevent acute spread which can lead to infertility. Checking for endometriosis on your own is not possible. But letting your doctor know that youre experiencing chronic pelvic pain, heavy or long periods, or any of the other common symptoms associated with endometriosis is important.

Your physician might start the diagnostic process by performing a pelvic ultrasound to ensure that any other underlying conditions or infections arent causing your symptoms. Usually, endometriosis is diagnosed with laparoscopy. This is a minimally invasive procedure where your physician inserts a thin tube with a light and lens through a small incision into the lower abdomen. With this procedure, they can look for endometrial lesions to determine if endometriosis is present.

Unfortunately, its common for period pain to be dismissed as a regular part of life, and for many people it can take more than a decade to receive a proper diagnosis. If this is the case for you, dont hesitate to advocate for yourself and seek a second opinion if youre unable to find a treatment plan that works for you.

Currently, there is no cure for endometriosis. However, just as in adults, the goal of treating adolescent endometriosis is to control and prevent disease progression, provide symptom relief, and preserve fertility.

Several treatment methods may be recommended depending on the amount of endometrial tissue that is present (disease progression).

Treatment options can center on hormonal therapy to control estrogen levels a key factor that influences endometrial growth. For some patients, this might include taking oral contraception, or a progestin-only agent to prevent or minimize the onset of periods, as well as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain management.

Be aware that you might need to try several different types of hormonal therapies before you find the right option that controls your condition.

Some patients might also be prescribed Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy. But this is usually reserved for adults, because research suggests that this treatment can impact bone mineralization in adolescents.

Surgery is often used for both diagnosis and treatment. While some surgeries can remove endometrial lesions, this is not a permanent solution for everyone.

Research has proven that even with surgery, endometrial lesions can return.

Most endometriosis conversations center around female patients. But its important to remember that trans men as well as those born male are also at risk of developing this disease.

Once thought to only be an issue for menstruating females, research suggests that endometriosis can also be detected in premenarchal youth.

Theres no cure for endometriosis. But experts, advocates, and the medical community agree that early interventions for the condition are critical for limiting its spread, controlling symptoms that can impact everyday life, and preserving fertility especially in adolescents.

Original post:
Endometriosis in Teens: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment - Healthline

Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease | Penn Today – Penn Today

Fibrosis is the thickening of various tissues caused by the deposition of fibrillar extracellular matrix (ECM) in tissues and organs as part of the bodys wound healing response to various forms of damage. When accompanied by chronic inflammation, fibrosis can go into overdrive and produce excess scar tissue that can no longer be degraded. This process causes many diseases in multiple organs, including lung fibrosis induced by smoking or asbestos, liver fibrosis induced by alcohol abuse, and heart fibrosis often following heart attacks. Fibrosis can also occur in the bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside some bones that houses blood-producing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and can lead to scarring and the disruption of normal functions.

Chronic blood cancers known as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are one example, in which patients can develop fibrotic bone marrow, or myelofibrosis, that disrupts the normal production of blood cells. Monocytes, a type of white blood cell belonging to the group of myeloid cells, are overproduced from HSCs in neoplasms and contribute to the inflammation in the bone marrow environment, or niche. However, how the fibrotic bone marrow niche itself impacts the function of monocytes and inflammation in the bone marrow was unknown.

Now, a collaborative team from Penn, Harvard, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and Brigham and Womens Hospital has created a programmable hydrogel-based in vitro model mimicking healthy and fibrotic human bone marrow. Combining this system with mouse in vivo models of myelofibrosis, the researchers demonstrated that monocytes decide whether to enter a pro-inflammatory state and go on to differentiate into inflammatory dendritic cells based on specific mechanical properties of the bone marrow niche with its densely packed ECM molecules. Importantly, the team found a drug that could tone down these pathological mechanical effects on monocytes, reducing their numbers as well as the numbers of inflammatory myeloid cells in mice with myelofibrosis. The findings are published in Nature Materials.

We found that stiff and more elastic slow-relaxing artificial ECMs induced immature monocytes to differentiate into monocytes with a pro-inflammatory program strongly resembling that of monocytes in myelofibrosis patients, and the monocytes to differentiate further into inflammatory dendritic cells, says co-first author Kyle Vining, who recently joined Penn.More viscous fast-relaxing artificial ECMs suppressed this myelofibrosis-like effect on monocytes. This opened up the possibility of a mechanical checkpoint that could be disrupted in myelofibrotic bone marrow and also may be at play in other fibrotic diseases. Vining will be appointedassistant professor of preventive and restorative sciences in theSchool of Dental Medicine and the Department of Materials Sciences in theSchool of Engineering and Applied Science, pending approval by Penn Dental Medicines personnel committees and the Provosts office.

Vining worked on the study as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard in the lab of David Mooney. Our study shows that the differentiation state of monocytes, which are key players in the immune system, is highly regulated by mechanical changes in the ECM they encounter, says Mooney, who co-led the study with DFCI researcher Kai Wucherpfennig. Specifically, the ECMs viscoelasticity has been a historically under-appreciated aspect of its mechanical properties that we find correlates strongly between our in vitro and the in vivo models and human disease. It turns out that myelofibrosis is a mechano-related disease that could be treated by interfering with the mechanical signaling in bone marrow cells.

Mooney is also the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at Harvard and leads the Wyss Institutes Immuno-Materials Platform. Wucherpfennig is director of DFCIs Center for Cancer Immunotherapy Research, professor of neurobiology at Brigham and Harvard Medical School, and an associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Mooney, together with co-senior author F. Stephen Hodi, also heads the Immuno-engineering to Improve Immunotherapy (i3) Center, which aims to create new biomaterials-based approaches to enhance immune responses against tumors. The new study follows the Centers road map. Hodi is director of the Melanoma Center and The Center for Immuno-Oncology at DFCI and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The mechanical properties of most biological materials are determined by their viscoelastic characteristics. Unlike purely elastic substances like a vibrating quartz, which store elastic energy when mechanically stressed and quickly recover to their original state once the stress is removed, slow-relaxing viscoelastic substances also have a viscous component. Like the viscosity of honey, this allows them to dissipate stress under mechanical strain by rapid stress relaxation. Viscous materials are thus fast-relaxing materials in contrast to slow-relaxing purely elastic materials.

The team developed an alginate-based hydrogel system that mimics the viscoelasticity of natural ECM and allowed them to tune the elasticity independent from other physical and biochemical properties. By tweaking the balance between elastic and viscous properties in these artificial ECMs, they could recapitulate the viscoelasticity of healthy and scarred fibrotic bone marrow, whose elasticity is increased by excess ECM fibers. Human monocytes placed into these artificial ECMs constantly push and pull at them and in turn respond to the materials mechanical characteristics.

Next, the team investigated how the mechanical characteristics of stiff and elastic hydrogels compared to those in actual bone marrow affected by myelofibrosis. They took advantage of a mouse model in which an activating mutation in a gene known as Jak2 causes MPN, pro-inflammatory signaling in the bone marrow, and development of myelofibrosis, similar to the disease process in human patients with MPN. When they investigated the mechanical properties of bone marrow in the animals femur bones, using a nanoindentation probe, the researchers measured a higher stiffness than in non-fibrotic bone marrow. Importantly, we found that the pathologic grading of myelofibrosis in the animal model was significantly correlated with changes in viscoelasticity, said co-first author Anna Marneth, who spearheaded the experiments in the mouse model as a postdoctoral fellow working with Ann Mullally, a principal investigator at Brigham and DFCI, and another senior author on the study.

An important question was whether monocytes response to the mechanical impact of the fibrotic bone marrow niche could be therapeutically targeted. The researchers focused on an isoform of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-gamma protein, which is specifically expressed in monocytes and closely related immune cells. PI3K-gamma is known for regulating the assembly of a cell-stiffening filamentous cytoskeleton below the cell surface that expands in response to mechanical stress, which the team also observed in monocytes encountering a fibrotic ECM. When they added a drug that inhibits PI3K-gamma to stiff elastic artificial ECMs, it toned down their pro-inflammatory response and, when given as an oral treatment to myelofibrosis mice, significantly lowered the number of monocytes and dendritic cells in their bone marrow.

This research opens new avenues for modifying immune cell function in fibrotic diseases that are currently difficult to treat. The results are also highly relevant to human cancers with a highly fibrotic microenvironment, such as pancreatic cancer, says Wucherpfennig.

Adapted from a press release written by Benjamin Boettner of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

Other authors on the study are Harvards Kwasi Adu-Berchie, Joshua M. Grolman, Christina M. Tringides, Yutong Liu, Waihay J. Wong, Olga Pozdnyakova, Mariano Severgnini, Alexander Stafford, and Georg N. Duda.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (Grant CA214369), National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (grants DE025292 and DE030084), Food and Drug Administration (Grant FD006589), and Harvard University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (Grant DMR 1420570).

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Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease | Penn Today - Penn Today