A place created for the healthcare community to collaborate, learn and thrive. Hosted by the Office of Continuing Education at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences located in Yakima, Wa. Quarterly sessions are developed and delivered based on local, national and community requested trends to support improved outcomes for patients.
During the first quarter of 2021, we will take a deep dive into the science of fast-tracked vaccine development, COVID -19 clinical trial data, and rural community health concerns. Each session is fine to attend independently but, we highly encourage you to attend all four in order to get the most out of the information provided. The fourth and final session of this series on April 15, 2021, will focus on a panel discussion with all of the series speakers along with additional invited health experts to answer YOUR burning questions regarding COVID-19 science, vaccine data, and rural community health.
January 14, 2021 – How did we get here so fast? –Julie Randolph – Habecker, Ph.D.
Focusing on development, clinical trial process & manufacturing of the vaccine.
Dr. Randolph-Habecker has over 25 years of histology and pathology experience. She earned a Master’s of Science in Clinical Chemistry and Ph.D. in Pathology from The Ohio State University. Julie did her postdoctoral work in Transplantation Biology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle before transitioning to the Director of Experimental Histopathology Shared Resources for over 13 years. She is now an Associate Professor of Pathology at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. She has collaborated in many areas including cancer, infectious disease, chronic illnesses, vaccine development, stem cell biology, and developmental biology. In addition to her research pathology knowledge, she also has extensive experience in laboratory operations, supervision of staff, study design, sample acquisition, and data analysis. Julie has a long history of providing training and educational opportunities for learners ranging from grade school to undergraduate and postgraduate level, including physicians, scientists, technicians, non-scientific staff, patients and their families, and the community. Dr. Randolph-Habecker has also contributed to the implementation of a histopathology infrastructure in low resource and medically underserved areas.
February 18, 2021 – What does the data show us? – William Elliott, MD, Ph.D.
Focusing on what we do and do not know from prelim vaccine studies.
William J. Elliott, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Preventive Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Pharmacology, Chief of the Division of Pharmacology, and Chair of The Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, WA. After receiving the B.S. (summa cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame, he earned the M.D. and Ph.D. (in Bio-Organic Chemistry) from the University of Chicago. He trained in Internal Medicine and Pharmacology at Barnes Hospital and Washington University—St. Louis, and served as a member of the faculty of the University of Chicago from 1985-92. During the next 17 years at RUSH Medical College, he practiced, taught, and did research on cardiovascular clinical pharmacology, focusing on epidemiologic studies of risk factors (including diagonal earlobe creases), laboratory investigations, federally-funded cooperative clinical trials, and many industry-supported endeavors, serving as principal investigator for about 200 clinical trials of new drugs. Dr. Elliott holds Board Certification in both Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology. One of the inaugural “Specialists in Clinical Hypertension” and Fellows of the American Society of Hypertension, he contributed on five topics to JNC VI, as well as to the “long version” of JNC 7. Some of his recent publications include meta-analyses of clinical trial results, putative risk factors for cardiovascular disease, cost-containment, pharmacoeconomics, and the assessment and enhancement of medication adherence. Dr. Elliott belongs to many professional societies interested in clinical pharmacology and in hypertension, including a fellowship in the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Council. He has lectured on five continents, participated in the review process for many journals, societies, study sections, and funding agencies, and served as editor or co-editor for many books, monographs, and symposia. Among his honors are 29 awards for teaching excellence.
March 11, 2021 – Three months in review and three months into the future – Kimberly Taylor, Ph.D.
Focusing on the last three months of vaccine data and what do we expect in the next three months
Dr. Kimberly Taylor is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Chief of the Division of Microbiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, WA. Dr. Taylor is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the American Medical Schools Microbiology, and Immunology Chairs Association, and is an Associate Faculty member of the Columbia University Seminars on Pollution and Water Resources. Dr. Taylor’s research interest has historically rested in the area of global climate change and its impact on the communicable disease with a particular emphasis on the occurrence and distribution of vector- and water-borne pathogens as global warming advances. However, most recently, she has begun research addressing the newly identified odontopathogen Scardovia wiggsiae and its role as an infectious agent of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) or “bottle caries” – an element of the most common chronic disease of childhood: cavities. Dr. Taylor is also interested in community education regarding the prevention of ECC and working toward the goal of decreasing the rate of this infectious disease in children in Yakima County. She and her family proudly serve PNWU and its mission in the Yakima Valley area, as well as the Pacific Northwest as a whole.
April 15, 2021 – Community Health Panel Discussion
All three of the above-named speakers and invited health experts will create a space for attendees to ask questions regarding COVID-19 science, vaccine data, and rural community concerns.
Community Connection Series
Osteopathic Precepting
Contact Information
Office of Continuing Education
200 University Parkway
Yakima, WA 98901
CME@pnwu.edu
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September 24, 2020 – New Approaches to Primary Care – Flexibility in a changing environment- Russell Maier MD, FAAFP
Focusing on the Impact of Covid on Primary Care Spring of 2020.
Dr. Maier is a family physician with over a quarter-century of experience in graduate medical education. He taught within a CHC owned program, where he led the program as director for 15 years. During this time the residency increased from 18 to 30 residents, receiving two HRSA Teaching Health Center Grants, and developed a novel three-year integrated rural training track. The program was also a leader in developing integrated behavioral health and dramatically increased the diversity of its faculty. He currently is a clinical professor in Family Medicine at PNWU and the University of Washington School of Medicine and works as Associate Dean for GME at Pacific Northwest University. He sees patients in Naches, WA, and is married to another family physician, has three grown children and two dogs, all of whom he spends time with outdoors.
The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease – Kimberly Taylor Ph.D
Focusing on principles of the microbiome in health and Summarize qualitative and quantitative changes to the microbiome in at least two acute or chronic states of illness.
Dr. Kimberly Taylor is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Chief of the Division of Microbiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, WA. Dr. Taylor is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the American Medical Schools Microbiology, and Immunology Chairs Association, and is an Associate Faculty member of the Columbia University Seminars on Pollution and Water Resources. Dr. Taylor’s research interest has historically rested in the area of global climate change and its impact on the communicable disease with a particular emphasis on the occurrence and distribution of vector- and water-borne pathogens as global warming advances. However, most recently, she has begun research addressing the newly identified odontopathogen Scardovia wiggsiae and its role as an infectious agent of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) or “bottle caries” – an element of the most common chronic disease of childhood: cavities. Dr. Taylor is also interested in community education regarding the prevention of ECC and working toward the goal of decreasing the rate of this infectious disease in children in Yakima County. She and her family proudly serve PNWU and its mission in the Yakima Valley area, as well as the Pacific Northwest as a whole.
October 22, 2020 – Pandemics, Epidemics, and Health Crises: Navigating Opioids, Pain Management and Substance Use Disorders in 2020 – Edward Bilsky Ph.D
Focusing on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Review of some of the virology and epidemiology. The Impact of COVID-19 on the management of substance use disorders and chronic pain.
Dr. Edward Bilsky currently serves as the Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.
He received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1996, with a concentration in opioid pharmacology, pain, and addiction. As an assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado, he received that institution’s highest honor, the Faculty Member of the Year in the spring of 2001, for his outstanding teaching, research, and service to students. In the fall of 2001, he joined the faculty at the University of New England where he became a tenured Professor of Pharmacology and was the founding Director of the Center of Excellence in Neuroscience (CEN). The CEN incorporated research, education, and outreach into its mission and vision and has created a robust community of neuroscientists and other scholars who are making meaningful contributions to their discipline, institution, and community. More recently, he served as the Vice President for Research and Scholarship at UNE from 2011-2016. Under his leadership, UNE substantially grew the amount of external funding and scholarly output of the faculty and students, including major NIH and other health-related grants.
Dr. Bilsky engages a broad group of audiences on a variety of topics related to the neurobiology of pain, pain management, and addiction to students in colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Dental Medicine, Health Professions, Arts and Sciences, and Pharmacy. He was awarded the 2011 AOA Research Mentor of the Year Award, was a finalist for the 2014 Council on Undergraduate Research Fellows award, a recipient of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2014 Patient Advocacy Award from the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Dr. Bilsky’s laboratory conducts translational research in the areas of pain, addiction, and other neurological disorders. He has received over 6 million dollars in extramural funding to his own laboratory through a variety of federal, state, and private grants and contracts including the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research, and biotechnology/pharmaceutical companies. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals and has presented nationally and internationally in a variety of different venues. Dr. Bilsky co-founded two biotechnology companies that developed novel analgesics and other drugs to help manage opioid side effects. Part of this work brought a novel opioid antagonist into clinical trials. Both companies received SBIR phase I and II funding, and Dr. Bilsky has reviewed SBIRs and U grants for NIH study sections. As an expert in opioid pharmacology and early-stage drug discovery and development, he collaborates with scientists around the world and frequently consulted and conducted contracted work with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies that have programs in analgesia and pain medicine.