Editor’ s POV
African interests committed to eradicating global health disparities.
We spoke with Dr. Victor Chaban on the impact of the Russian incursion on his beloved Ukraine, as well as the toll the war is taking on healthcare. Our previous conversation took place on the first day of the invasion in February 2022. At that time, though we were speaking about the curriculum for the new 4-year medical school, Dr. Chaban’ s apprehension about his motherland was palpable.
Dr. Bita Amani was engaged in setting up final logistics for the impending trip to Cuba with her MPH students, and other travelers from the University community. She emphasized the educational value for the group, given the high-quality reputation of the Cuban medical system.
Dr. Andrew Lam was excited and passionate about the new CDU state-of-the-art simulation center. The demonstration of the new technology shows just how well-equipped is the University to train physicians and other professionals in the VR and AR universe.
Hello, Everyone. A few words about this edition of the Sharpest Scalpel.
As we’ ve attempted in the past, this edition of the newsletter is very broad-based. It covers a lot of territory, both in the actual and the metaphorical sense of the phrase. We are fortunate to feature an array of distinctive, erudite, and quotable sources who comment on the various aspects that comprise the totality of the culture of the College of Medicine, and the University, within the larger world. These components, though seemingly disparate, actually meld and overlap. There are many areas herein that we hope are thought-provoking.
The 8th Annual President’ s Breakfast featured California Attorney General Rob Bonta, with the day’ s keynote address. A spirited conversation of panelists about violence prevention in our communities ensued, with moderator CDU Dean Deborah Prothrow-Stith, an internationally recognized expert in the field, took the participants through a variety of questions and scenarios that offered perspective about the various challenges of establishing and maintaining a sustained program of violence prevention.
Our featured series exploring the pillars of the CDU Advantage featured the Global International pillar. Leading off was an interview with Dr. Lejeune Lockett, Director of the Office of International Affairs. She spoke from Johannesburg where she was part of a group of colleagues seeking to strengthen the bond between the US and
Match Day is always a fun day that highlights the next step in the journey forward for an early-career physician. Kudos to Dr. Daphne Calmes, Dr. Lisa Barkley, Dr. Arnel Joaquin, Dr. Denese Shervington, and their respective teams for the enormity of work accomplished to fete these gifted and talented people.
A shout-out is also due for the work of Dr. Shahrzad Bazargan, Kaveh Dehghan, and the various moderators, mentors, and judges of the Student Research Colloquium; a well-organized effort.
The article highlighting the latest facets of the longstanding relationship between Kedren Health and CDU is very insightful in sharing many of the challenges affecting the unique population of mental health challenged people who live amongst us, and the medical residents who serve them.
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Finally … this edition of the newsletter marks 3 years of quarterly publication. We started in Spring 2019 with a 12-page edition. We now are consistently publishing at the 40-plus page mark. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lance A. Williams, PhD, Editor
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 8