School of Medicine alumnus develops new sickle cell disease treatment

A new medication to treat symptoms of sickle cell disease, developed following 25 years of research by a Loma Linda University School of Medicine alumnus, has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the first new drug for the condition to receive FDA approval in nearly 20 years. According to Yutaka Niihara, MD, MPH (SM ‘86), the new drug, known as Endari, significantly reduces the symptoms experienced by people with sickle cell disease.
Transplantation director Michael Volk receives his healthcare visionary award in 2017

Liver transplantation director Michael Volk named "2017 Healthcare Visionary"

The American Liver Foundation bestowed the “2017 Healthcare Visionary” upon Michael Volk, MD, medical director of the liver transplantation program at Loma Linda University Health, an award that underscores his nationally recognized contributions to the fields of hepatology, gastroenterology and effective health care delivery. Volk received the award during the foundation’s annual Flavors Culinary Experience fundraising gala in Orange County on Oct.
Kimberly Payne, PhD, looks through a microscope. Her laboratory has discovered a promising new treatment for childhood leukemia.

Surprise discovery leads to advances in leukemia treatment

Three years ago, graduate student Olivia Francis told her advisor, Kimberly Payne, PhD, that the data they were gathering on a deadly form of leukemia wasn’t what they were expecting. Their team had been studying the effect of adding a cytokine growth factor, TSLP, to a kind of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) that produces too many TSLP receptors. Immature white blood cells – leukemia cells included – rely on the growth factor to proliferate, and Payne and Francis expected to see the leukemia spread faster as a result of the increased dosage.

Neuroscience Research receives $1.7 million from NIH to study hydrocephalus treatment

Researchers from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine were awarded $1.7 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue their search for a treatment for hydrocephalus, the buildup of excessive cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Commonly known as “water on the brain,” hydrocephalus can be caused by injury or disease throughout life, but premature infants are particularly susceptible to the condition.

Alumna talks parents through delivery during Hurricane Irma

Jackson Memorial Hospital resident Kendra Anderson-Gillespie never thought she would have to help deliver a baby during a hurricane, but as Hurricane Irma pounded Miami, that's exactly what she did. Anderson-Gillespie, who graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 2014, talked to parents David Knight and Tatyanna Watkins over the phone while Watkins delivered her placenta.

Pathologist's Assistant Class of 2018 Receive White Coats

In front of friends and family, 16 students from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine Pathologists’ Assistant program received their white coats on Thursday, August 31.  This event marks the beginning of their clinical training and the final year of schooling on their path to receive a Master of Health Science in Pathologists’ Assistant. These students will become the second Pathologists’ Assistant class to graduate from LLUSM, helping to fill a need felt by hospitals around the country.