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News from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
UAMS,
UALR Announce Initiative for New
Collaboration
MARCH
18, 2003 | The University of Arkansas for
Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the University
of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) have
launched a new initiative to collaborate
more closely on joint degree programs and
other projects.
UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., and
UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson, Ph.D., are
meeting bimonthly to discuss ways the two
institutions can work together.
Chancellor Wilson said UALR is
"critical to educational advances in
Arkansas in the 21st
century." He praised Chancellor
Anderson for supporting more collaborative
projects with UAMS. "With UALR as a
close working partner, UAMS will be able
to do even more to serve the state of
Arkansas, which is a key part of our
mission as Arkansas’s only academic
medical center."
Chancellor Anderson commented, "With
state budget cuts, we’re all looking for
ways to work smarter with less. At UALR we
know that partnerships help us achieve
that goal. UAMS and UALR have a solid
record of building successful partnerships
and the economic climate suggests there is
no better time to build upon those
successes. As both institutions become
leading research and educational
institutions, we’re confident our wealth
of expertise can convert to a wealth of
development for Arkansas."
The universities are already partners in
the Arkansas
Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network
(BRIN), which also involves the University
of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in linking
high-powered research laboratories that
will foster more biomedical research at
graduate and undergraduate institutions in
the state.
With funds from the BRIN, UAMS and UALR
are developing a joint master’s and
Ph.D. program in bioinformatics, to be
taught by UAMS and UALR faculty. The
program will include concentrations in
bioinformatics, life sciences,
biostatistics, and information science.
Graduates will be prepared for work with
government agencies, pharmaceutical and
agri-business companies, and academic and
research institutions. The purpose of
bioinformatics is to merge biomedical,
computer and information sciences and
extract usable information that can be
turned into knowledge.
UAMS is a major
sponsor of the UALR radio station KUAR-FM
and produces the educational program
"Here’s to Your Health" which
is broadcast on the station twice daily
Monday through Friday. ("Here’s to
Your Health" can also be heard online
and on other public radio stations around
the state.)
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Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D. of the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Chancellor Joel Anderson, Ph.D., of the University
of Arkansas at Little Rock
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In addition, the two institutions jointly operate the UALR-UAMS
Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, which provides diagnostic and therapeutic
services to children and adults of all ages who demonstrate speech-language or
hearing disorders. The clinic, located on the UALR campus, serves more than 500
clients each year and is part of the Master of Science in Communicative
Disorders program offered by the jointly-sponsored Department of Audiology and
Speech Pathology—probably the longest-standing
collaborative effort between the two
institutions. Department faculty and Clinic staff are employees of both UALR
and UAMS. Clinical services are provided by UALR undergraduate and UAMS
graduate students working under faculty supervisors. Services include
speech-language and audiological evaluations, speech-language therapy, aural
rehabilitation, and hearing aid evaluation.
The universities also collaborate to provide free dental care
to local children. In partnership with the Arkansas Department of Health, UAMS,
local dentists, and other health-related organizations, UALR’s Share America
program provides dental screenings to 2,300 children, performed by students in
the dental hygiene program of the UAMS College
of Health Related Professions, and dental sealants for 200 children,
applied by licensed dental professionals. Local dentists volunteer to supervise
the program, which serves children at Franklin, Bale, Chicot, Wakefield,
Wilson, and Stephens elementary schools in Little Rock and at the UALR
Neighborhood Homework Center.
Individual faculty members at the two institutions already collaborate in many
ways. Many individuals from UAMS and the UALR CyberCollege work on common
research projects throughout the year, including breast cancer research and
data set analysis. Students from both schools have opportunities to take
classes at the other campus. For example, UAMS students are currently attending
a genetics class at UALR.
Several UALR faculty members are adjunct members of the UAMS College
of Public Health. John B. Wayne, Ph.D., is the chair pro tem of the
college’s Department of Health Policy and Management. He is chair of the
Department of Health Services Administration in the UALR College of
Professional Studies. Dan Holland, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an assistant
professor of psychology at UALR and an assistant professor in the Department of
Health Behavior and Health Education in the College of Public Health.
Dr. Holland recently submitted a grant application to the Fulbright Alumni
Initiatives Award program that involves a partnership between UALR and the UAMS
College of Public Health. The proposal is entitled "Promotion of a
Distance Learning Curriculum in Preventive Health for Medical Students in the
Slovak Republic: A Project Uniting the Department of Psychology at the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the College of Public Health at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Jessenius Faculty of Medicine
in the Slovak Republic." The purpose is to draw upon the knowledge of UALR
and UAMS to develop distance-learning courses in preventive health for Slovak
medical students, who currently receive no such content. The plan includes
expanding the project to incorporate more Eastern European medical schools.
Links on This Page
Arkansas BRIN: http://brin.uams.edu/
College of Health Related Professions: http://www.uams.edu/chrp/
College of Public Health: http://www.uams.edu/coph/
Here’s to Your Health online: http://www.uams.edu/htyh/
A Great Day: http://www.uams.edu/today/2002/070202/cphtopping.htm
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: http://www.uams.edu/today/2002/051702/ecoimpact.htm
© 2003 University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences (UAMS). A single copy of these materials
may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "UAMS,"
"UAMS Online," "UAMS Today," "UAMS
Update," "uams.edu," and "Here’s to Your
Health" are marks of UAMS.
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03/21/03 |
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