Carly Fleischmann is a girl with autism. She is non-verbal, and didn't learn to communicate until the age of 10. Then, with the help of therapists, she learned to type on a computer, giving her a voice to communicate with the world. In finding her voice, Carly has helped give the world insight into the mind of a person living with autism. Though she is still unable to communicate verbally, in typing she has shown remarkably fluent, eloquent, introspective, empathetic communication. Her parents realized inside was an articulate, intelligent, emotive person that they had never met, and her writing helped them to understand why she does the things she does. Carly has co-written a book with her father called Carly's Voice.
Carly also has become the youngest person to speak on the panel at The Nantucket Project. While using her speech device, she took part in a panel discussion with moderator Tom Ashbrook, Autism Speak's Bob Wright, Marc Sirkin, her aide Howard Dalal and Senator John Kerry (Senator Kerry, who was scheduled to speak afterwards, joined Carly on stage at her request). You can watch the video at http://bigthink.com/collective-intelligence/autism-speaks.
Carly is now 17, and has an IQ of 130. Carly has ambitions to attend college (she has requested Senator Kerry write her a letter of recommendation for Yale), and become a journalist, maybe even the host of her own TV show. Technology has given Carly her voice, and has helped her to find her place in society.
http://carlysvoice.com/home/
http://www.facebook.com/carlysvoice
Technology Week Presentation
We are very excited to announce our first guest speaker of the year! If you didn't already know, October 29th-November 2nd is Technology Week at the U of S. In cooperation with the USST and HIPPI, we will be participating by having a guest presentation on Friday, Nov 2 from 12:30-1:30 in B3. Dr. Daniel Chen will be discussing the field of Regenerative Medicine in the area of Tissue Engineering, with a focus on scaffold designs, advents in Tissue Engineering, current research, and where this exciting field is headed. Dr. Chen is a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at the U of S, and is the head of the Tissue Engineering Research Group. If you wish to attend, please try to RSVP on the calendar at http://www.saskmedstudents.com/ and feel free to invite your friends; this event is open to everyone! And don't forget to check out the other events going on during Technology Week http://www.usask.ca/technologyweek/
Hope to see everyone there!
Hope to see everyone there!
Pitch Party V ft. Brett Wilson
For those of you who are interested in entrepreneurship, the Wilson Centre of Entrepreneurial Excellence is hosting their 5th Annual Pitch Party on Nov 14. Tickets are $30 for students, and includes a free book by Brett Wilson. (Last year, a fellow med student was up on stage talking about his company Glovely and his entrepreneurial experience.) It's going to be a great night!
http://www.usask.ca/wilsoncentre/pitchparty.php
http://www.picatic.com/pitchpartyv
http://www.usask.ca/wilsoncentre/pitchparty.php
http://www.picatic.com/pitchpartyv
tMED Election
It's election time for our group. We already have the President and Vice President positions filled (Adam and Robin, respectively), but there are several other positions we are working to fill to help with group functioning. Listed below are the six positions we have available and a short job description for each one. If you are interested in running for a position, please read the description,
and write a short (max 300 words) statement outlining why you want to run and/or why you believe you are qualified for the position. Nominations are open until Thursday Oct 18, after which elections will take place via SurveyMonkey over the weekend (using the write-ups submitted). Good luck to everyone!
1. Member at Large, Undergraduate In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Member at Large, Undergraduate is the voice of the undergraduate student members. This is basically like an undergrad student rep. Their role is to help guide the direction the group takes through discussions with students, and bring forward ideas and concerns of the student members to the Executive.
2. Member at Large, Graduate In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Member at Large, Graduate is the voice of the grad student members. Their role is to help guide the direction the group takes through discussions with students, and bring forward ideas and concerns of the student members to the Executive. This position will be filled on as-need basis depending on graduate student membership.
3. Liaison to USST In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Liaison to the U of S Space Design Team will act as a liaison between tMED and the USST. They are required to attend all executive meetings of the USST as a representative of tMED, and report on ongoing activities of either group. They will also be responsible to helping to organize events that these two groups are doing together with the help of the Social Director, help with fundraising for either group where needed, and find ways to allow members from both groups to work together on projects that either group is working on.
4. Social Director In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Social Director is responsible for organizing social activities of tMED. This includes organizing presentations and seminars for the tMED group, working with other student groups to organize joint activities, and organize social events for tMED.
5. Treasurer In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Treasurer is responsible for the financial aspect of tMED. This includes applying for funding from the SMSS for tMED events, keeping detailed accounts of receipts and reimbursements, ensuring that all expenditures are authorized by Council, authorizing expenditures along with the President or Vice-President, attending to the payment of all accounts, preserving the financial records, presenting a detailed account of the yearly expenses and income to the active members, and submitting a detailed budget to the SMSS at the end of the year.
6. Secretary In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Secretary is responsible for helping where needed in the general functioning of the group, as well as taking the minutes of the meetings and ensuring they are posted on the tMED Facebook page and/or blog. For group events, they are responsible for contacting the SMSS Student Group Coordinator for arranging room booking.
All members of the tMED executive council are required to attend all tMED meetings.
Because this is the first year this group is operating again, we are going to ask those of you that are elected to prepare a small document outlining your role during the year and useful information for your role. These documents will be used to help guide the creation of a constitution for our group, and to help your replacement next year. Be creative, have fun! These positions are being created for the first time, so you have the ability to make them as exciting as you wish! Feel free to email us if you have any questions, or bring them up at the meeting next week.
1. Member at Large, Undergraduate In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Member at Large, Undergraduate is the voice of the undergraduate student members. This is basically like an undergrad student rep. Their role is to help guide the direction the group takes through discussions with students, and bring forward ideas and concerns of the student members to the Executive.
2. Member at Large, Graduate In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Member at Large, Graduate is the voice of the grad student members. Their role is to help guide the direction the group takes through discussions with students, and bring forward ideas and concerns of the student members to the Executive. This position will be filled on as-need basis depending on graduate student membership.
3. Liaison to USST In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Liaison to the U of S Space Design Team will act as a liaison between tMED and the USST. They are required to attend all executive meetings of the USST as a representative of tMED, and report on ongoing activities of either group. They will also be responsible to helping to organize events that these two groups are doing together with the help of the Social Director, help with fundraising for either group where needed, and find ways to allow members from both groups to work together on projects that either group is working on.
4. Social Director In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Social Director is responsible for organizing social activities of tMED. This includes organizing presentations and seminars for the tMED group, working with other student groups to organize joint activities, and organize social events for tMED.
5. Treasurer In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Treasurer is responsible for the financial aspect of tMED. This includes applying for funding from the SMSS for tMED events, keeping detailed accounts of receipts and reimbursements, ensuring that all expenditures are authorized by Council, authorizing expenditures along with the President or Vice-President, attending to the payment of all accounts, preserving the financial records, presenting a detailed account of the yearly expenses and income to the active members, and submitting a detailed budget to the SMSS at the end of the year.
6. Secretary In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Secretary is responsible for helping where needed in the general functioning of the group, as well as taking the minutes of the meetings and ensuring they are posted on the tMED Facebook page and/or blog. For group events, they are responsible for contacting the SMSS Student Group Coordinator for arranging room booking.
All members of the tMED executive council are required to attend all tMED meetings.
Because this is the first year this group is operating again, we are going to ask those of you that are elected to prepare a small document outlining your role during the year and useful information for your role. These documents will be used to help guide the creation of a constitution for our group, and to help your replacement next year. Be creative, have fun! These positions are being created for the first time, so you have the ability to make them as exciting as you wish! Feel free to email us if you have any questions, or bring them up at the meeting next week.
First Meeting of the Year
tMED is calling the first general meeting of the year for this student group. We are meeting on Wednesday, 17 OCT 2012 in Upper MUMPS. This meeting is to discuss the direction this group is going to go, and to discuss the upcoming tMED election. Please do your best to attend, and bring any ideas that you have. Thanks.
http://www.facebook.com/events/503935922951420/
http://www.facebook.com/events/503935922951420/
50-hour Genome Test
Researchers at the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City recently announced that they were able to sequence a person's entire genome is 50 hours at a cost of $13,500 USD. While this is still quite expensive, compared to traditional methods that take at least a month, and the Human Genome Project that took years and $3 billion, this is quite an accomplishment. Considering there are more than 3500 different genetic diseases out there, this technology could prove very useful in diagnosing and treating genetic diseases and possibly cancers. This technology would be very useful in pregnancy and neonatal periods when having a diagnosis quickly can provide treatment options to save the baby's life.
For more information:
50-hour whole genome sequencing provides rapid diagnosis for children with genetic disorders
For more information:
50-hour whole genome sequencing provides rapid diagnosis for children with genetic disorders
Titanium Jaw
Using a 3D printer, researchers in the Netherlands fabricated a replacement jaw from titanium, and transplanted it into a patient in June 2011. Using a scan of the patient's jaw, succesive layers of titanium powder were fused with a laser, creating the replacement jaw, which was coated with a bioceramics upon completion. The titanium jaw was fabricated in a matter of hours, and transplanted into an 83-year-old woman who had a bone infection that was destroying her jaw. The surgery only took about four hours, which is a fifth of the time it takes to do a normal jaw reconstruction. The woman surprised her doctors by talking a few hours after the surgery, normal swallowing the following day, and was able to go home four days after her surgery.
Her titanium jaw weighs in at 107 g (~30 g heavier than her normal jaw), and is fabricated with holes for muscle attachment, and grooves for blood vessels and nerves. A special-made dental bridge was fashioned, to which false teeth will be anchored, allowing the woman to return to normal eating.
If you'd like more information, you can take a look at these articles:
BBC: Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first
NewScientist: 3D printer provides woman with a brand new jaw
Her titanium jaw weighs in at 107 g (~30 g heavier than her normal jaw), and is fabricated with holes for muscle attachment, and grooves for blood vessels and nerves. A special-made dental bridge was fashioned, to which false teeth will be anchored, allowing the woman to return to normal eating.
If you'd like more information, you can take a look at these articles:
BBC: Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first
NewScientist: 3D printer provides woman with a brand new jaw