Media advisory: January 15, 2008
Contact: Anne McMillin, APR
Office 775-682-9254
Mobile 702-292-4247
amcmillin@medicine.nevada.edu

Media invited to cover School of Medicine student competition in 25th Annual George G. Bierkamper Research Convocation

Competition to take place January 22 at medical school campus in Reno

RENO, Nev.— Media representatives are invited to cover the University of Nevada School of Medicine students who will showcase their prowess in scientific research at the 25th Annual George G. Bierkamper Student Research Convocation on Tuesday, January 22. Twenty-three graduate and medical students will participate in the convocation which will be held in the Pennington Medical Education Building at the medical school campus in Reno.

          The convocation provides students the opportunity to present original research to a group of their peers and mentors.

          Students participating in the convocation will be evaluated by a panel of judges from the School of Medicine faculty. They may compete in either the graduate student category or medical student category and will be judged based upon the quality of their research, findings, and presentation. The top student in each category will receive a $250 award as well as recognition for their achievement during School of Medicine commencement ceremonies in May.

          John A. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine, will open the annual event at 8 a.m. Student presentations will be held from 8:15 a.m. to noon and from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Distinguished guest lecturer is Sean Mackey, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine, Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab who will give his address, “The Strain in Pain Lies Mainly in the Brain” at 4 p.m. A reception and awards ceremony will be held following the distinguished lecture in the Pennington Foyer from 5 to 7 p.m.

          The Bierkamper Student Research Convocation recognizes the excellence of the medical school students as well as that of faculty and staff who diligently mentor students throughout their research process. All research presented by students at the convocation is original and conducted in addition to their coursework. Most students spend a year preparing their research for presentation.

          The convocation was started as a formal activity of the School of Medicine in 1983; however, the event has carried the name of Professor George Gwyne Bierkamper since his death in 1988. The George G. Bierkamper Student Research Convocation embodies the spirit of research and encourages School of Medicine students “not to worship what is known, but to question it.”

As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been a leader in healthcare, medical education and research in Nevada since 1969. The School of Medicine includes 16 clinical departments including family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and five nationally recognized departments in basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. The more than 185 doctors of University Health System, the school’s clinical practice, offer care in more than 40 medical specialties and subspecialties with eight physician offices in the Reno/Sparks area and seven in Las Vegas. The school is committed to a best practices approach to medicine and is dedicated to exceptional healthcare for Nevada now and in the future. For more information visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.