Podcasts

Air Date: March 30, 2012 - San Diego's Finest Radio

An American flag will be mounted each year at the Veterans Medical Research Foundation on Veterans Day to symbolize veterans across all generations, all branches of military, and all past and current conflicts. Through the Stars and Stripes Annual Giving Campaign companies, foundations and individuals will have the opportunity to sponsor one of the 50 stars of the flag for a minimum contribution of $500. The stripes of the flag may be sponsored by partner organizations who have contributed significant in-kind support. Sponsors have the option of making their donation in honor of a specific veteran or active duty military. All sponsors of stars and stripes will be recognized in a display beside the flag. The flag and display of campaign sponsors will be shown from November 2012 to November 2013 in the entry hall of the Veterans Medical Research Foundation, located on the grounds of the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Air Date: November 14, 2011 - Nicholas J.G. Webster, Ph.D.

Air Date: October 24, 2011 - Gerhard Schulteis, Ph.D.

Air Date: August 22, 2011 - Dr. John Guatelli

The focus of Dr. Guatelli's research is molecular virology of HIV-1 replication, emphasizing the function of the Vpu and Nef proteins, important virulence factors for the virus.  Both Vpu and Nef allow the virus to evade the host’s immune system.  Vpu counteracts the cellular protein BST-2, also known as “tetherin” for its ability to stop the release of virus particles from the infected cell.  Nef allows the virus to evade cells of the immune system called cytotoxic T cells, which destroy virally infected cells.  Dr. Guatelli’s research aims to understand how Vpu and Nef work at the cell biological and molecular levels. 

Dr. Guatelli earned his MD at the University of California, San Diego, where he also completed his clinical training in internal medicine and his fellowship in infectious diseases.  In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he leads a productive and collaborative research lab with funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Air Date:July 25, 2011 - Dr. Samuel Ho

Samuel B. Ho, M.D. currently is the Chief of Gastroenterology at the VA San Diego Healthcare System and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He previously was a Staff Physician in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and the Director of the Minneapolis Hepatitis C Resource Center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN; and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He is a graduate of Mayo Medical School and the University of Minnesota Residency program in Internal Medicine. He received training in Gastroenterology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ho’s clinical interests include investigations in the treatment and management of chronic hepatitis C and chronic inflammatory conditions of the stomach and intestines.

Dr. Ho has been very active in research related to improving treatment of VA patients with chronic hepatitis C. Current projects include continued collaborations with the Minneapolis Hepatitis C Resource Center and new initiatives for the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Air Date:June 27, 2011 - Ariel Lang, PhD

Dr. Lang received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University, her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California Los Angeles and her M.P.H. in Biometry from SDSU. She completed a Pre- and Post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology at the University of California San Francisco.

Dr. Lang's research primarily involves assessment of and psychotherapy for anxiety and trauma-related disorders. Her emphasis is in military and veteran populations. She is the Director of the Administrative Core of the DoD-funded PTSD/TBI Clinical Consortium Coordinating Center and Chief of the Psychotherapy Unit of the VASDHS Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH).

Dr. Lang is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders. She directs a postdoctoral training program and supervises in evidence-based psychotherapeutic approaches.

Air Date:June 13, 2011 - Sonya Norman, PhD

Sonya Norman, Ph.D. is the Program Director of the OEF/OIF PTSD Clinic at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, Co-Chief of the Psychotherapy Unit for the Congressionally Mandated VA Center of Excellence in Stress and Mental Health, Training Director for the VA San Diego Postdoctoral Fellowship in Evidence Based Psychotherapy, a Research Scientist at the Veterans Medical Research Foundation, and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology at Stanford University and completed trauma-focused postdoctoral research fellowships at UCSD.  

Dr. Norman’s primary areas of research are in developing psychotherapies that treat co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders and in treating PTSD in recently deployed veterans.  Dr. Norman has over 30 peer reviewed publications related to trauma and PTSD. Current funded research projects include a study to compare medication and psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD and a study to evaluate a program to address guilt in combat Veterans.

Air Date: May 23, 2011 - Carl Stepnowsky, PhD

Dr. Stepnowsky is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine, UCSD; Research Health Scientist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System; and a Principal Investigator at the Veterans Medical Research Foundation. He has received grant funding from Department of Veteran Affairs, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and National Institutes of Health. Trained as a clinical psychologist with an emphasis in behavioral medicine, his current focus is on the intersection of sleep medicine, behavioral medicine, and health information technology. His program of research focuses on how to best organize and deliver patient-centered, collaborative care to those diagnosed with chronic illness, sleep apnea in particular.

Air Date: May 9, 2011 - Joachim H. Ix, MD, MAS, FASN

Joachim H. Ix, MD, MAS, FASN is a nephrologist and epidemiologist at UCSD. His research utilizes epidemiology and biostatistics to understanding mechanisms by which alterations in glucose and mineral metabolism contribute to cardiovascular disease risk among persons with kidney disease. His recent work has focused on the consequences of altered fetuin-A concentrations, a hepatic secretory protein that simultaneously inhibits vascular calcification and promotes insulin resistance. In addition, he works with cystatin-C, a novel endogenous measure of kidney function, determining whether this measure might provide novel insights towards cardiovascular disease mechanisms among persons with early kidney function decline.

Air Date: April 25, 2011 - Jill Bormann, Ph.D., R.N.

Jill Bormann, Ph.D, RN is a Research Nurse Scientist and Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing at the VA San Diego Healthcare System with an interest in spirituality and health. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at San Diego State University School of Nursing. Dr. Bormann is conducting federally funded research on the health-related benefits of a mantram intervention, a program teaching a set of portable meditation practices in various groups including veterans with chronic illness, healthcare employees, veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and family caregivers of veterans with dementia.

She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine to study effects of mantram repetition in adults with HIV and from the VA's Health Services Research & Development Nursing Research Initiative funding to study veterans with PTSD.

Dr. Bormann's Mantram Repetition program was selected as one of the 2007 and 2009 VA Office of Nursing Services Innovation Awards and was selected as one of twelve Spirit of Planetree Awards for best practices in complementary and alternative therapy at the 2010 Planetree (patient-centered care) national conference.

Air Date: April 11, 2011 - Michael N. Oxman, M.D.

During his illustrious career, Michael N. Oxman, M.D. has practiced medicine as well as basic and clinical research at prestigious organizations, including the National Institutes of Health and Harvard Medical School. He joined the faculty of the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) and UCSD in 1976.

In 1994, he led the design and implementation of a VA Cooperative Study aimed at developing a vaccine to prevent shingles, a painful viral condition affecting more than a million people in the U.S. each year, including many veterans. This ground-breaking national study found that the vaccine significantly reduced the chance of developing shingles and markedly reduced the associated pain and disability of those who were affected.

Air Date: March 28, 2011 - Eric L. Granholm, Ph.D.

Eric Granholm is Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD, Director of the Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) Fellowship Program, and Staff Psychologist at the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Dr. Granholm is an active basic and clinical researcher in the areas of cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis, cognitive neuropsychology, and psychophysiology (pupillometry) in people with schizophrenia. He has over 90 publications and has been an investigator on 16 grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, and private foundations to study CBT for psychosis and neurocognition in schizophrenia.

Air Date: March 14, 2011 - Bruce Zuraw, M.D.

Bruce Zuraw is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.  He is Section Chief of Allergy and Immunology in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, and is the Allergy and Immunology Training Program Director.  Dr. Zuraw is also a Research Scientist at the Veterans Medical Research Foundation and a Staff Physician and Director, Section of Allergy and Immunology at the San Diego VA Medical Center.

Dr. Zuraw’s research interests center on inflammatory lung disease and hereditary angioedema.  He is the author of over 100 papers and holds grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the VA.   He is an active journal and grant reviewer, and recently finished his term as permanent member of an NIH study section.

Air Date: February 28, 2011 - Sidney Zisook, M.D.

Presently, Dr Zisook is PI on a multi-site NIMH grant assessing medication and psychotherapeutic interventions to individuals with complicated grief, PI of an American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Grant to study grief therapy for individuals who have lost a close friend, relative or comrade to suicide, and Chair of a multi-site VA Cooperative Study on treatment resistant depression.He has presented several workshops on depression, grief and suicide prevention locally, nationally and internationally and has published on various aspects of depression assessment and treatment. Currently, he serves on the Scientific Review Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), is co-president of the San Diego Board for the AFSP, PI of the John A. Majda, MD Memorial Fund dedicated to facilitating research on physician depression and suicide prevention, co-PI of the UCSD Task Force on Physician Burnout, Depression and Suicide, on 3 DSMBs for depression and/or grief intervention studies, on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology and advisor to several trainees on studies of depression and suicide prevention.

Air Date: February 14, 2011 - Mark Murphy, M.D.

Dr. Mark Murphy is a staff orthopedic surgeon at the VA Medical Center San Diego and a Principal Investigator funded with a VA Merit grant to conduct biomedical research. He also serves at the director of the Core of Micro Imaging for the Veterans Medical Research Foundation and is a board member for the Veterans Research Corporation. He is an Associate Clinical professor of Orthopedic Surgery at UCSD School of Medicine, acitvely involved in medical student and orthopedic resident education.

Air Date: January 24, 2011 - Robert A. Terkeltaub, M.D.

Robert A. Terkeltaub, MD, is Chief of Rheumatology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Diego and Professor of Medicine and Interim Division Chief of the Rheumatology Allergy and Immunology Division at the University of California in San Diego. Dr. Terkeltaub received his medical degree at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and completed residency and training programs at Montreal General Hospital in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine. Dr. Terkeltaub regularly serves on NIH and arthritis research foundation Study Sections and was recently appointed as Associate Editor of Arthritis and Rheumatism for 2010-15. Dr. Terkeltaub's research has concentrated principally on clinical aspects and mechanisms of gout, chondrocalcinosis, and osteoarthritis, and in fundamental research on inflammation and skeletal biology and the interfaces between the two in the skeleton and in the artery.