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Issue 2009-07 (July 15, 2009)

IN THIS ISSUE

• Criminal Justice Professor Studies Fatigue, Performance, and Public Safety
• Slinker Named Vice Provost for Health Sciences
• Design Institute Continues Interdisciplinary Effort
• Roll Publishes Book on Methamphetamine Addiction
• Interim Chair Named for Health Policy and Administration
• Students First: Joan Menzies
• Business After Hours To Be Hosted on the Riverpoint Campus
• Grant and Contract Award Summary - April 1 through June 30, 2009
• Milestones
• Community Connections
• Personnel and Staffing Changes
• Way to Go!
• A Warm Welcome to...
• Find It on the Web

 

Criminal Justice Professor Studies Fatigue, Performance, and Public Safety

By Gail Siegel, College of Liberal Arts

Police officers, military personnel, and first responders often work long and erratic hours. How lack of sleep impacts their ability to perform, especially during deadly-force situations, when life and death decisions are made in seconds and minutes, is the subject of criminal justice professor Bryan Vila 's research at WSU Spokane.

Vila spent 17 years in law enforcement before joining the academic ranks as an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in police fatigue issues.

"Cops and ground troops are faced with very similar problems," said Vila. "They have to make potentially deadly decisions to protect themselves and the citizenry around them, and they have to do it with sufficient restraint to protect people and with sufficient aggression to neutralize the situation."

It is a difficult human performance challenge since situations happen quickly and each is uniquely complex.

"First we have to understand what is involved in people making these sorts of judgments and decisions," said Vila. "What is possible and what is not."

Vila is director of the new Critical Job Tasks Simulation Laboratory located at the Sleep and Performance Research Center on WSU's Riverpoint campus, where he works closely with center director and research professor Greg Belenky, M.D., and assistant director and research professor Hans Van Dongen. It is the only facility in the world to combine a residential sleep lab with a high-fidelity simulation lab.

"What we are doing is to try and understand these important social and political issues and this important science issue," said Vila. "We are trying to put some hardnosed experimental research together by studying the neurophysiologic dynamics that affect human performance in these situations."

The lab is equipped with modified versions of the same training simulators that police and the military use to train their personnel, an approach that Vila said facilitates translation of research results back to the people working on the streets and in the field, and to policymakers.

Graduate student Steve James takes the driving simulator for a spin. (Photo by Judith Van Dongen)

The U.S. Department of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (through Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc.), and the National Institute of Justice agree with Vila's holistic and accessible approach to problem solving and have funded him, as lead and co-investigator, for a combined total of nearly $2 million to conduct research on critical job tasks, training, and police performance evaluation at the lab.

The goal of the research is to improve the quality of deadly-force judgments and decisions.

"Everyone is safer, and the probability of tragedy is reduced," said Vila.

About the Simulation Laboratory
The critical tasks simulation laboratory equipment includes deadly-force judgment training simulators (to replicate violent encounters), driving simulators, eye-tracking devices that measure situational awareness and decision-making time, and smart garments that unobtrusively collect physiological data. The tools allow researchers to simultaneously monitor a wide range of physiological and behavioral variables, including alertness, situational awareness, arousal management, executive functions, and communication.

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Slinker Named Vice Provost for Health Sciences

Bryan K. Slinker, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, has been appointed to an expanded role as vice provost for health sciences, Provost and Executive Vice President Warwick M. Bayly and WSU Spokane Chancellor Brian L. Pitcher announced Tuesday. With Slinker's appointment, Chancellor Pitcher transfers the title and responsibility the chancellor has held since Summer 2007.

“We believe that Bryan Slinker’s background as both a biomedical researcher and administrator make him an excellent choice to lead WSU’s expanding health sciences efforts university-wide,” Bayly said.  Dean Slinker’s college is academic home for a number of the university’s outstanding health science researchers, including the leaders of the Sleep and Performance Research Center. “This appointment is another step in the strategic development of WSU’s health science programs, especially those focused on the Spokane campus that will become a major center for health sciences research and education for WSU and the region,” Pitcher said.

Slinker will place a particular focus on identifying and developing areas of emphasis and excellence in health and life science research at WSU, including strategic connections among the research and graduate education programs across the four WSU campuses.  “I am very fortunate to be able to continue to work closely with Dr. Pitcher, other WSU academic leaders, and regional stakeholders as we seek to better serve the region by developing strong programs that address national needs regarding health care workforce preparation, health care delivery and access, and advances in biomedical and health services research,” Slinker said.

Slinker, a professor of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology, received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from the College of Idaho in 1976, and his D.V.M. and doctoral degrees from Washington State University in 1980 and 1982, respectively. He returned to join the faculty of WSU in 1992, after serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.  He was named interim dean of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine in November 2008 and accepted the position on a permanent basis in February.

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Design Institute Continues Interdisciplinary Effort

By Becki Meehan

Nancy Blossom, director and professor of the Interdisciplinary Design Institute (IDI) at WSU Spokane summarizes the focus of the IDI in an introductory letter to students: “An Interdisciplinary Design Institute education emphasizes the importance of sustainable and human-centered design, supported by a foundation of outside-the-box creativity and global-scale implications.”

Although recent shifts in two of the IDI’s undergraduate programs have occurred, the focus of education and the role of the Design Institute remain true to Blossom's quote. While landscape architecture undergraduates and architecture undergraduates will relocate completely to the Pullman campus starting this fall, the change will place greater emphasis on the professional graduate degrees in Spokane for both disciplines.

This shift will not affect the overall enrollment of the IDI. In fact, the projection for fall 2009 is only slightly different from last year’s number. The enrollment last year was at 165, and this year is projected at 161. Characterized by a population of students from Korea, Turkey, Iran, Serbia and the United States, this number represents growth in the accredited professional programs at the graduate level and also in the doctor of design program (which will have 14 students this fall).

“In the doctoral program the majority of students are interested in moving into an academic position, and many have practiced in their focused area of design prior to coming back to school,” said Blossom.  “However, some students come to the doctoral program with experience in non-design fields. This enhances the interdisciplinary emphasis of the Doctor of Design and these students are hungry for the opportunity to explore the interdisciplinary nature of design.”

While emphasis on the professional graduate degrees grows, interior design will continue to welcome upper division undergraduate students in Spokane, exploiting the opportunities for service learning and urban experiences in their field. As always, the IDI will stress the importance of community development, sustainability and design, and health and environment throughout all of their programs. The curriculum will complement the areas of focus and academic experiences of the Pullman professional program, and students will select to continue their design education in Spokane based on their area of interest.

Examples of the academic experiences available in Spokane are described below.

• Community service by design builds on the existing track record of the institute in providing service to communities. Under this model specific courses, in addition to the design studios, will be developed and/or redesigned to educate students on the range of issues that influence community design and development. These include governmental political structures, financing, public information, and others. Students will develop expertise in the area of community development that extends beyond the design studio and is integrated into seminars and lecture courses.
• Sustainability and design exploits the potential partnerships between College of Engineering and Architecture’s Institute for Sustainable Design and the Interdisciplinary Design Institute’s Integrated Design Lab. While the focus of the institute in Pullman is in sustainable material development and design in relation to the Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory (WMEL), Spokane’s focus is on sustainability and energy through day lighting and the community design studio. The Integrated Design Lab provides an umbrella for sustainable community projects as well as leadership in the issue of lighting and daylight to buildings. Sustainability and community will be pursued through the continuation of community service as identified above.
• Health care and environment strengthens the existing working relationships with health care professionals and faculty members on the Spokane campus. Students will enter their profession with a specific series of skills and knowledge that may establish the foundation for their career. Through this focus students may work with the sleep center, nursing, geriatrics, dental or other health care areas.

 

Roll Publishes Book on Methamphetamine Addiction

By Judith Van Dongen

Ice. Crystal. Glass. They’re innocuous-sounding names for a drug that carries devastating consequences for its users, their loved ones, and society at large. Methamphetamine abuse has been described as an epidemic, but there’s still hope, says a new book on the topic edited by substance abuse expert John Roll, PhD, a professor and associate dean of research for the WSU College of Nursing .

Published just last month by the Guilford Press, Methamphetamine Addiction: from Basic Science to Treatment is a comprehensive work that presents the current state of knowledge on methamphetamine abuse and dependence. Written by leading experts in the field, the book covers a broad spectrum of topics, including the epidemiology of meth abuse; medical and psychiatric consequences; public health and criminal justice issues; psychosocial and pharmacological treatment options, and more.

“What I like about the book is that it’s very hopeful,” said Roll. “It makes the point that recovery from methamphetamine addiction is well within anybody’s grasp … If you read the popular press you often get the impression that methamphetamine is more addictive than another drug or that it’s harder to treat. Neither is true, and people really can recover.”

Roll is senior editor of the book and an author on five of the book’s thirteen chapters. Also editors on the book are three scientists affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles: Richard Rawson, PhD, Walter Ling, PhD, and Steven Shoptaw, PhD.

The book has already received accolades from both scholars and practitioners.  

“The field has clearly been lacking a comprehensive reference like this one,” said Thomas Kosten, M.D., Jay H. Waggoner chair and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine. “Contributors include foremost experts who offer up-to-date, authoritative presentations. This information should be widely disseminated among treatment professionals as we confront this grave addiction that affects so many Americans.”

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 Interim Chair Named for Health Policy and Administration

By Lorraine Nelson, College of Pharmacy

David A. Sclar, Boeing Distinguished Professor at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy, has been appointed interim chair of the Department of Health Policy and Administration at WSU Spokane. The department grants a master's degree in health policy and administration.

Sclar began his additional duties on July 1, and replaces professor Winsor Schmidt who left in May to join the faculty of the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville. 

Sclar, a WSU faculty member since 1991, has been affiliated with the health policy and administration program since 1999.  He previously served as interim chair of the department, as well as the Department of Pharmacotherapy.  Sclar received a bachelor of pharmacy from WSU in 1985, and a Ph.D. in business administration and pharmacy from the University of South Carolina in 1988.

He obtained post-graduate training at the Cornell University Administrative Management Institute for Higher Education in 1999, and the University of British Columbia Center for Management Development in 2001. Sclar previously served on the faculty of the School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

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Students First: Joan Menzies

By Barb Chamberlain

Talk to anyone who works with Joan Menzies, and the first thing you’ll hear is that she puts students first. That perhaps seems obvious in a director of Student Affairs, but it can be easy in a large institution to get caught up in procedures, policies, and “we’ve always done it that way” responses.

Of course, when you’re starting a new campus there is no “always” set of practices. Menzies has had the chance in her years at WSU Spokane to build a student-centered, “one-stop shop” approach to serve a wide range of student needs.

Menzies retired as of June 30 after more than 25 years of WSU service, first in Pullman and then in Spokane since 1996. She will continue to be on campus part-time for a while during the search for a new director.

Liz West, assistant director of student affairs, described Menzies’ work over the years to expand services, providing things here to serve students as soon as they come in with a question rather than referring them to Pullman. International student services, financial aid, and more have been added during her years here. West said Menzies’ experience in Pullman added value thanks to her connections, her knowledge of policy and practice, and the respect colleagues there have for her.

Jane Kinkel, admissions and career counselor, said, “With every issue that comes up, she’s the one who asks how this impacts students if it hasn’t been mentioned yet. She’s a real advocate for students.” West adds, “Students can always come in her door and she’ll drop everything.”

“One-stop shop” means that disciplinary actions are also Menzies’ responsibility—which could be a tough balancing act when you also serve as a coach, mentor and resource. West said, “She looks at discipline as a teaching opportunity, not to punish student but to help them realize what they’ve done and how it affects other people.”

Menzies’ commitment to inclusion, human rights and diversity is another hallmark of both her career and her years of volunteer service in the community. She was involved in the earliest days of the Spokane Regional Task Force on Human Relations (originally created as the Task Force on Race Relations), which for years held conferences that brought together people from throughout the community to learn from each other and from nationally recognized speakers and trainers.

She works tirelessly on planning committees for events such as Unity in the Community, Japan Week, Asian Cultural Month, and other activities that celebrate diversity. Within WSU, she has served over many years on numerous councils working to create a welcoming culture for multicultural students, GLTBQA students, and other historically marginalized people, and she works with colleagues in higher education on a variety of diversity initiatives.

Diane Wick, director of human resources for WSU Spokane, said, “Joan is known for her integrity and commitment to equality. Joan is well-known and respected in the Spokane area for her service to issues of social justice and equity. She works tirelessly to raise awareness and appreciation for difference in all its various forms.”

For many years, Menzies has helped organize the Women in Higher Education Leadership Conference; she has served as a mentor for several women colleagues from the region’s colleges and universities; and she is currently president of the Women in Higher Education Roundtable. Wick said, “One of her greatest gifts is that of mentor. She models the values and standards by which leaders are measured.”

Everyone who has worked with Menzies over the years can agree with Wick, who said, “We are all enriched for having worked with Joan.”

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Business After Hours To Be Hosted on the Riverpoint Campus

By Becki Meehan

WSU Spokane has teamed up with the WSU College of Business to host Greater Spokane Incorporated’s Business After Hours networking event on the Riverpoint Campus. The event, which typically draws up to 100 people, is slated for Thursday, July 23 from 5 to 7 p.m.

This is an excellent opportunity to showcase a few of the great things happening on campus to area professionals. Not only will participants learn more about the WSU College of Business graduate programs, but they will be able to experience the Sleep and Performance Research Center, learn more about “Powering the Palouse,” see a live demonstration of SimMan©, and take in the works of art throughout campus. Also on display will be information about the current status on the Riverpoint Campus Master Plan.

If you are interested in volunteering your time in leading a few groups of people around campus, please contact Becki Meehan or Morag Stewart . We appreciate any help you might have in hosting our community guests and showcasing WSU Spokane.

For anyone who might be interested in attending the event, please register online with Greater Spokane Incorporated.

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Grant and Contract Award Summary - April 1 through June 30, 2009

Faculty Member	Department	Research Title/ Funding Source	Research Summary
Anne Hirsch	College of Nursing	Advanced Education Nursing Traineeships U.S. Department of Health & Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration	This is renewal grant funding that allows the College of Nursing to continue to provide advanced education nursing traineeships to eligible students in the graduate nursing program. The grants may be used to pay for tuition, books, and program fees during the traineeship period.
Janet Purath	College of Nursing	Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity in Arizona and the Southwest Arizona State University/Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence	Janet Purath has received this funding to complete a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with the Arizona State University College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, starting on July 1, 2009. As part of the fellowship, Purath will take classes, attend professional meetings, and conduct research in the area of geriatric nursing education.
John Roll/ Connie Boleneus/ Suzan Kardong-Edgren/ Denise Smart	College of Nursing	Washington Air National Guard Sponsored Services Agreement U.S. Department of Defense/ Washington Air National Guard	This contract provides funding for College of Nursing faculty to provide training services to medical technicians and nurses with the Washington Air National Guard. Services include medical training, skills development, and simulation training for achieving Readiness Skills Verification (RSV) and Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) disaster/emergency response competencies.
John Roll	College of Nursing	Designing Pragmatic Contingency Management Interventions WSU Office of Research/Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Program	This is a continuation of funding for a grant-in-aid for research regarding contingency management interventions in drug abuse.
Bob Short	WIMHRT	Amendment State Medicaid/JCAHO Accreditation Washington State Department of Social and Health Services	This contract provides continued funding for WIMHRT to provide evidence-based practice training, research support, technical assistance, and consultation to the state of Washington.
Bob Short	WIMHRT	ORYX Patient Care Washington State Department of Social and Health Services	This contract funds the continuation of a project in which WIMHRT provides services and staff to Eastern State Hospital’s Habilitation Mental Health Unit.
Denise Smart	College of Nursing	Effects of Monthly Practice Sessions on Nursing Student CPR Skill Performance Following Electronic CPR Training National League for Nursing	This grant provides research funding for a project that looks at the effects of monthly practice sessions on nursing student CPR skill performance following electronic CPR training. Ten nursing programs will participate in the project, and will be randomized into one of two types of health care provider CPR courses: a standard face-to-face course or an electronic course.
Hans Van Dongen/ Gregory Belenky	Sleep and Performance Research Center	Workshop on Components of Cognition and Fatigue: From Laboratory Experiments to Mathematical Modeling and Operations Applications U.S. Department of Defense/Air Force Office of Scientific Research	This grant funds travel and lodging expenses for a full-day scientific workshop to investigate the effects of fatigue on distinct components of cognition (such as vigilance and working memory), and how those effects combine to determine the effects of fatigue on performance of real-world tasks. Held on June 5 on the Riverpoint Campus, the workshop was attended by sleep researchers from around the world and several Department of Defense program officers.
Colletta Young/ Joan Menzies/ Liz West	Student Affairs	Upward Bound: Ferry and Stevens Counties U.S. Department of Education	This is a continuation of funding for the Upward Bound program, which is designed to “generate the skills and motivation necessary for success in education beyond high school among young people from low-income families and families where neither parent has acquired a bachelor’s degree.”  Upward Bound provides program participants with fundamental support in their preparation for college entrance. This WSU Upward Bound project focuses on four small high schools in Ferry & Stevens Counties.
Jonathan Wisor	WWAMI/ College of Veterinary Medicine	Toll-Like Receptor 4 is a Mediator of Sleep Loss WSU Office of Research, Faculty Seed Grant	This funding is for a study that will examine whether insufficient sleep results in activation of inflammation-related signaling pathways in the brain and bloodstream, which may contribute to weight gain and metabolic disorders.

 

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Milestones

 Assistant professor of pharmacotherapy Josh Neumiller is the recipient of a 2009 Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Washington MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program.

Signature Genomic Laboratories CEO Lisa Shaffer, a former faculty member at WSU Spokane and a WSU alumna, has received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award in the life sciences category in the Pacific Northwest. She was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented to her at a gala event in Seattle on June 26. Signature Genomics—which Shaffer cofounded with WSU colleague Bassem Bejjani—is known for its innovative approach to genetic diagnosis of mental retardation and birth defects.

From left to right: Myers, Theodorson, and Scott.

Under the tutelage of Judy Theodorson, assistant professor at WSU Spokane’s Interdisciplinary Design Institute, three senior interior design students were honored in Cooper Lighting’s 32nd Annual SOURCE Awards national lighting design competition: Emily Myers won the competition for her design of “Spa 6” and took home a $1,500 award; Rebecca Scott received an Honorable Mention for her design of “Clarity Spa” and took home a $500 award; and Stephanie Ploof brought home an Award of Recognition for her design of “Thermae Spa.”

Erin Dobbins, a research associate in the College of Pharmacy, is one of eight pharmacists selected for an American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Parkinson's Disease Pharmacotherapy Traineeship. This July, she is attending a week-long traineeship at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine's Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center in Chicago. The traineeship is supported by an educational grant from Teva Neuroscience.

Goings:

• Lisa Ochs, Secretary Senior, College of Nursing – TEAMS Project, effective 6/26/09 – transitioning to time-slip.
• Karolina Kulinska, Research Assistant, WWAMI, effective 6/30/09.
• Nicole Rose, Extension Coordinator, AHEC, effective 7/17/09.
• Tracey Whybrow, Administrative Assistant 3, College of Nursing, effective 7/24/09.
  
  

• Hans Van Dongen, Research Professor/Assistant Director, Sleep and Performance Research Center, effective 7/1/2009.
• Matthew Cohen, Associate Professor with tenure, Interdisciplinary Design Institute, effective 8/16/09.
  

Recruitments & Searches:

• Research Technologist 2, WWAMI, three positions (pos. 1-neurobiology of sleep, pos. 2-telomere and telomerase biology, and pos. 3-male reproductive biology), offers pending for pos. 1 & 2, pos. 3 cancelled.
• MESA Manager (Spokane MESA Director), Spokane MESA Program, review of applications began 7/1/09.
• Research Study Assistant, WIMHRT, apply at www.hrs.wsu.edu, closes July 22, 2009.
• Fiscal Technician, Nursing, interviews pending.

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Way to Go!

Contact Us: communications@wsu.edu, 509-358-7500 | Communications
Mailing: PO Box 1495, Spokane WA 99210-1495. Shipping: 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane WA 99202