As part of KU Medical Center’s mission to train physicians for Kansas, we have proposed expanding our School of Medicine campus in Wichita to a full four years and launching a new four-year campus in Salina.

We moved a big step forward this month when we hosted a successful site visit at our Wichita and Salina campuses with three representatives of the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), the organization which accredits medical schools. Before considering accreditation, the LCME wants assurance that a medical school has sufficient financial resources, space and personnel.

The visit went even better than we expected. The LCME has overseen the transition of a two-year medical program to a full four-year program many times, so they knew what to expect and what to look for during the Wichita visit. The Salina visit was more of an unknown, because it is a much smaller community than the LCME was used to considering. But the representatives were very impressed with the city and the facilities in Salina.

The LCME team will be issuing its report to the full committee when it meets in October. After the visit, they read me the draft report, which made clear that they were just assessing resources and not whether we could or should proceed. I asked the LCME reps point blank if they thought our resources were sufficient, and they said, “You didn’t hear any ‘nots’ in the report, did you?” So we feel great about this initial feedback and are looking forward to getting the LCME's final report in the fall.

The timing is good since our recruiting season for the fall of 2011 has begun. We plan on accepting 191 students instead of our usual 175, with Wichita and Salina each accepting eight first-year students. The year after we hope to add another 20 students to the Wichita campus, giving us a class size of 211. We still have much work to do to raise the money to fund the expansion, but we are very grateful for all the generous donors in both communities who have already supported our effort.

I want to add my personal thanks to Heidi Chumley, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, and David Wilson, MD, Dean of the School of Medicine-Wichita, and their hardworking teams, for making these site visits such a success. 

Cancer News

Two top researchers have joined The University of Kansas Cancer Center, filling key leadership positions and moving the Cancer Center closer to its goal of attaining National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. Kapil Bhalla, MD, an internationally recognized leader and physician-scientist in the field of drug development, will join The University of Kansas Cancer Center as deputy director on August 1. Dr. Bhalla’s appointment follows that of Shrikant Anant, PhD, a pioneering biologist who joined The University of Kansas Cancer Center as the associate director of cancer prevention and control on July 6. You can read more about Drs. Bhalla and Anant here.

Carol Fabian, MD, director of the Breast Cancer Prevention Center at the KU Cancer Center, has received a $4.5 million Promise Grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure® to investigate whether an estrogen found in flax seed – a commonly used supplement – can reduce the risk for breast cancer. Details on the grant are available here.

A profile of Dr. Fabian appeared in the NCI Cancer Bulletin this week. It's a wonderful article and includes a video of Dr. Fabian talking about her innovative work in breast cancer treatment and prevention. You can see it here.

Mukta Kumar, MD, has been named a a 2010 Hyundai Scholar by Hyundai Hope on Wheels. The organization last week presented Dr. Kumar with a check for $50,000 to support her research in pediatric oncology. Hyundai Hope on Wheels is the united effort of all 780 Hyundai dealers across the United States to raise awareness about childhood cancer and celebrate the lives of children battling the disease.