Health Sciences.

The Health Sciences Division (HSD) at the 68th Annual Meeting was a success. Two full days of scientific sessions and activities brought together a large group of participants from a broad scientific background. The HSD was entertained with highly structured sessions, including, 1 special symposium; 2 mini-symposium, a poster session, 4 podium presentation sessions and a CPR workshop. The program started on Thursday, February 19, with a mini-symposium, on the History of Mississippi Health Care, followed by podium presentations. The afternoon started with a poster session, where 50 excellent posters from different student categories and a non-student group were placed side by side for competition. Each poster presenter had 5 minutes opportunity to convince the Judges about their high quality research. The afternoon continued with the Human Genomics mini-symposium where the impact of Human Genome Project on Biology, Health and Society was elegantly discussed, and a timeline of landmark accomplishments in genetics and completion of human genome sequence was viewed. The afternoon ended with second series of podium presentations.

The scientific podium presentations continued on second day of the meeting. The afternoon included the CPR course for Family and Friends. "The course was a great success, training 36 people in the lifesaving skills of adult CPR and foreign body airway obstruction," said Karen Yawn Bell the Regional Manager II of AHA. The highlights of CPR workshop are shown bellow.

A special symposium on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in Health Sciences was held as part of the annual meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) on February 20, 2004, Friday, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Special thanks to Dr. Faruque Fazaly, Director of the GIS for his efforts and hard work. The speakers included national experts from government, industry, and academia, and they were invited to the symposium through the UMMC. Attendees included representatives from MDA, US Air Force, NOAA, NASA, different Research Centers/Institutes, Industry, Universities, and Community Colleges. There were 50 participants for this symposium, although the number was not as high as was expected, but for Friday afternoon that was considered a great success. The symposium was a great opportunity for potential collaborations.

At the HSD business meeting, the current vicechair, Dr. Michelle Tucci, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, assumed the chair position and Dr. Audrey Tsao, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, was elected vice-chair for year 2004-2005. The incoming chair will appoint an abstract review committee.

The student participation at all levels from numerous Institutions was highly appreciated. The projects were judged by as many as 8 judges in each student category. Overall, there were 3 high school students; 20 undergraduate; 8 undergraduate/allied health; 12 graduate; 8 graduate/allied health and 5 dental/medical students. Together there were 73 abstract presentations (combined podium and poster) and 10 invited speakers.

The following awards were given with the indicated prize.

High School Category:
Anderson Lampton  1st Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Gwen Ballard      2nd Place(Certificate and monetary award)
David Arrington   3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)

Undergraduate Category:
Laura Franklin    1st Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Kristina Vaughn   2nd Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Rishi Roy         3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)
Crystal Jones     3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)

Undergraduate Allied Health Category:
Nourelhoda Farah  1st Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Russell F. Lyon   2nd Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Stevie Adams      3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)
Shontell Credit   3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)

Graduate Category:
Justin Thornton   1st Place (Certificate and monetary award)
George Howell     2nd Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Quincy Moore      3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)
Tabitha Hardy     3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)

Graduate Allied Health Category:
Joyce Brewer      1st Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Felicia M. Tardy  2nd Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Olivia R. Henry   3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)
Stacy Hull Vance  3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)

Medical/Dental Category:
Sebron Harrison   1st Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Andrea Barker     2nd Place (Certificate and monetary award)
Jay C. Rutz       3rd Place (Certificate and Human Genome DVD)

We would like to acknowledge the co-sponsors: Baptist Medical Center, Jackson MS, DePuy, DBA SYNTHES, Dr. Suman Das, Departments of General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, for their support. We are grateful to Leslie Boyd for his an outstanding audiovisual expertise and his patience. A special thanks to Karen Yawn Bell, Regional Manager II, Mississippi Emergency Cardiovascular Care Program, for coordinating the CPR workshop. Many thanks to the following Instructors from American Medical Response Training Center-Chris Powell, Howard, McDonnell, Mike Albritton, Mark Roberts, Roger Bardwell, Ed Friloux, Colby Snyder, Jimmie Albritton, Mark Bort and Scott Melton.

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