Tel: 23401830 Fax: 23401211; E-mail: healthsciences@um.edu.mt; Website: http://www.um.edu.mt/healthsciences
FHS Monthly Newsletter – May 2011
PAST EVENTS
Group of French and Swiss Students, Orientation Visits to FHS and MDH
A group of 34 French and Swiss students visited the Faculty of Health Sciences on the 25th
May for an orientation visit.
The students from the Institut de Formation en Soins Infirmiers were shown around and
given a presentation on the teaching methods in Malta by Mr Carmel Bezzina, Nursing
Department. The students also were taken to visit Mater Dei and the FHS Labs.
8th James Madison University Summer School
The eighth James Madison University Summer School is once again being held through the
International Programmes Unit at the Valletta Campus and in collaboration with the Faculty
of Health Sciences at the Msida Campus. The programme runs from the 17th May to the 13th
June 2011. Dr Sandra Buttigieg, Head, Department of Health Services Management, will
coordinate the academic programme which includes lectures given by local experts in the
subject areas, site visits to Hospitals and FHS Labs and overlook projects on key subjects.
The main focus of this years’ Summer School is: Childhood Autism, Obesity, Performance
Management and Quality Care Ageing, Lifestyles and Immigration. The group of thirty five
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students, coming from various healthcare disciplines, are accompanied by their tutors
Professor Judith Townsend Rocchioccoli, Professor Julie Strunk and Professor Eric
Blumensen. Further to this, the students are also attending an educational and cultural
programme co-ordinated by Ms Celine Farrugia, International Programmes Co-ordinator. This
programme includes various lectures on the history and culture of Malta as well as a number
of field trips around Malta and Gozo.
FHS Research Seminars 2010/2011
During this academic year, the Faculty of Health Sciences has successfully organised a series
of research seminars for resident academics within the faculty and Ph.D students. Twelve
seminars were presented throughout the academic year.
The Faculty would like to thank all lecturers for their excellent presentations as well as Dr
Stephen Lungaro Mifsud who was responsible for the introduction of lecturers prior to each
seminar and the Organisation Committee Dr Donia Baldacchino and Dr Rosienne Farrugia.
A similar series of lecturers will be presented next academic year and members of staff who
would like to participate are kindly requested to send an email to Stephen on stephen.lungaromifsud@um.edu.mt.
NEW RECRUITS
Ms Nadine Spiteri Gingell, MSc. (Brunel) Dip. Physio., Physiotherapy Deparment.
Ms Nadine Spiteri Gingell qualified as a physiotherapist in October, 1992 and worked as a
physiotherapist with the Department of Health (DOH) for four years, covering most of the
areas of physiotherapy in her placements. Nadine then went to U.K. and obtained an MSc in
Neurorehabilitation in July 1998. In the U.K., she worked at a Neurodisability Centre for two
years and came back to Malta in 2000.
Since 2000, Nadine has worked exclusively with patients suffering from neurodisability and
has only recently resigned from her post with DOH as a Specialist Physiotherapist in
Neurology in April 2011.
In April 2001, Nadine was appointed a part-time Assistant Lecturer at the Institute of
Healthcare, University of Malta and has been lecturing to physiotherapy students in the
modules of Neurorehabilitation since April 2000.
Nadine is a member on the Board of Studies and the Board of Examiners. Currently, she is a
full-time lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, and is currently in
the process of preparing a research proposal as she intends to register for a Ph.D. next year.
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REARCH, PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Paper Presentation by Dr Joseph Borg, Applied Biomedical Science
The second Nature Genetics paper published by Dr Joseph Borg
who is co-joined first author with Ms Giardine from Penn State
University, USA and other colleagues is now online. The paper
describes how a community annotation of rare and common DNA
variants influencing hemoglobin levels can bring unpublished
variants into the public domain. Credit is given to all contributors
and operates at two timescales to incentivize the process, with
immediate microattribution provided by the database and periodic
publication credit provided by participating journals and pre-print
servers. The microattribution process reports the level of activity
across the genome contributed by collectors of genotype (genetic
information) and phenotype (e.g., clinical presentation) information so that resource decisions
can be made on the needs for extra curation or timely community re-review of a locus, trait or
pathway. Just like his former paper, reference to the paper has appeared on the front cover of
the
Nature
Genetics
journal
and
can
now
be
downloaded
from
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v43/n4/full/ng.785.html.
Haematologica, which is the leading journal of the European Haematology Association
(EHA) approached Dr. Borg and his collaborators to write a ‘Perspectives’ review on their
current research. The review is about all known DNA mutations in the human erythroid
Transcription Factor – KLF1. They describe how different mutations exert different clinical
presentations in humans, and also highlight various other models such as cell cultures and
mice models. Dr. Borg is now involved in a multi-center study and coordinating the collection
of hundreds’ of patients with mutations in KLF1 from elsewhere (Bristol, UK and Cagliari,
Sardinia). It is anticipated that more results will emerge from this concerted effort to better
understand the role of KLF1 and haemoglobin switching in humans. The ‘Perspectives’ article
can now be downloaded from http://www.haematologica.org/cgi/reprint/96/5/635.pdf.
Papers Presentation by Dr Sandra Buttigieg
Dr Sandra Buttigieg, Head, Health Services Management Department, FHS, had three papers
accepted for presentation at the European Association of Work and Organizational
Psychology Conference that was held in Maastricht, in May 2011. The papers are:•
•
•
Sagie` (1994) Task Behaviours as a Reflection of Need for Achievement: Implications
for Enterprise Education and Employability;
Defining Work Burden as a Multidimensional Construct – Tests for Construct and
Discriminant Validity;
Casual Attributions of Psychological Contract Breach Characteristics.
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Public Lecture by Professor David Strachan, September 2011
A public lecture is being organised by the Public Health Department at the Faculty of
Medicine and Surgery:•
•
•
•
Speaker: Professor David Strachan, Professor of Epidemiology, Division of
Population Health Sciences and Education, St George`s, University of London
Topic: The Hygiene Hypothesis for Allergic Disease – 20 years on.
Date and Time: Thursday, 29th September, 2011 at 13.00 hours
Venue: Lecture Room 5, Medical School, Mater Dei Hospital (One floor above Chapel)
This talk is open to all lecturers and students at the Medical School and the Faculty of Health
Sciences. Those wishing to attend are kindly requested to send an email to the Public Health
Department Secretary on estelle.buttigieg@um.edu.mt.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Beadle/Driver
Mr Kevin Camilleri has been appointed Driver/Beadle.
Baby News
Ms Dorianne Coleiro (Nursing Department) and her husband Karl are the proud
parents of a beautiful baby girl – Fiorella - on the 26th April, 2011. Congratulation!
Change of Cards IHC to FHS
You will shortly be contacted to go to change your card/badge from IHC to FHS. Cards will
be issued only against the presentation of your national ID card and the old card.
Ms Victoria Massalha promoted to Visiting Senior Lecturer
Ms Victoria Massalha has been promoted to Visiting Senior Lecturer, Physiotherapy
Department, Faculty of Health Sciences. Well done Victoria!
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New Road Signs outside Main Building
A number of road signs for both the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medical School have
been placed at strategic areas and in front of the main building.
Use of Wi-Fi in South Auditorium
As you are aware, IT has recently installed a Wi-Fi system in our auditorium and the
following guidelines have been issued by IT services.
A. Events for FHS students and staff. Both students and staff can access Wi-Fi from their
laptops/mobile devices using their IT Services Account. If there are guest speakers who need
to use Wi-Fi during these events, please contact IT Office at FHS (Room 22) who will be able
to assist with providing guest Wi-Fi accounts at no cost. These guests Wi-Fi accounts will
have a time-window.
Similarly if there are guests at FHS such as external examiners (who do not have an IT
Services Account) who require Wi-Fi accounts to be used at the Medical Sciences Library,
please contact IT Office at FHS for assistance.
B. Events involving third parties. Charges for Wi-Fi accounts will be as follows:
-
Use of Wi-Fi by speakers: 1hour voucher - €1.60, 5hour voucher - €5.80
Use of Wi-Fi by participants: €25 per day for up to 25 people.
Whoever at FHS is taking bookings is requested to email support.itservices@um.edu.mt
indicating the quantity and type of Wi-Fi accounts that will be purchased. IT Officers will
then get back. All payments will be settled via journal transfers between FHS & IT Services.
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