The University of Washington is one of just 11 institutions nationwide selected as a Center of Excellence in Pain Education.

The National Institutes of Health announced the honor today in a press release.

The National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium has selected 11 health professional schools as designated Centers of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPEs). The CoEPEs will act as hubs for the development, evaluation, and distribution of pain management curriculum resources for medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy schools to enhance and improve how health care professionals are taught about pain and its treatment.  “Virtually all health professionals are called upon to help patients suffering from pain,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “These new centers will translate current research findings about pain management to fill what have been recognized as gaps in curricula so clinicians in all fields can work with their patients to make better and safer choices about pain treatment.”

The other 10: the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia; Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville; the University of Rochester, N.Y.; the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston; the University of Alabama at Birmingham; the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, Philadelphia; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Maryland, Baltimore; and the University of Pittsburgh.

FISHING — Native cutthroat trout are likely to feel the heat from climate change.

A new study shows a changing climate could reduce suitable trout habitat in the western U.S. by about 50 percent over the next 70 years, with some trout species experiencing greater declines than others.

The results were reported by a team of 11 scientists from Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Colorado State University, the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group.

The study, published today in the peer-reviewed science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, predicts native cutthroat throughout the West could decline by as much as 58 percent, while introduced brook trout could decline by as much as 77 percent.   Rainbow and brown trout populations, according to the study, would also decline by an estimated 35 percent and 48 percent respectively. (Read the study report.)

The study notes that the decline of cutthroat trout is “of particular significance,” because cutthroats are the only trout native to much of the West and a keystone species in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem.

Read on for reaction from Trout Unlimited, and some reason for hope.

Parents who let their kids drink when supervised – because they think it's safer than an outright ban on underage drinking – may want to rethink their approach due to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Co-authored by University of Washington professor Richard Catalano, the study (PDF) found that teens who drank with adult supervision had more drinking-related problems than teens raised with a zero-tolerance attitude/Vanessa Ho, Seattle P-I. More here. (AP file illustration)

Question: What approach do/did you take with your children re: drinking?

SAN DIEGO — Jake Locker bounced back from an injury and scored on a 25-yard run in the third quarter, and tailback Chris Polk ran for 177 yards and a score to help the Washington Huskies to a 19-7 win over the listless No. 17 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday night.

The Huskies (7-6) avenged a 56-21 loss to the Huskers (10-4) in Seattle on Sept. 18. The Cornhuskers piled up 533 yards of total offense in that game, including 383 rushing.

While Washington was a winner in its first bowl game since 2002, the Huskers came out flat in their second straight Holiday Bowl appearance. More here.

Have a feeling a few folks were suprised by this outcome. Were you?

As a struggling, underpaid journalist I feel some envy but a lot of sympathy for those folks who are pushing through the Gonzaga University law program.

A recent post by National Jurist magazine came up with 60 “best value” law schools, based on the quality of education vs. the cost of the three years spent earning a degree. Gonzaga was among the group, landing in the B-minus category. Most of the 60 schools in the ranking are public law programs.

The University of Washington made the A-minus list. The University of Oregon landed in the B-plus group.

The criteria included a tuition rate lower than $35,000 per year; a bar pass rate higher than the state average; an average total indebtedness below $100,000; and employment rate nine months after graduation at 85 percent or more.

The listing noted two GU data points: the tuition per year at GU law school is $31,460. Which is about right for the kind of school it is. Its “average” student indebtedness is $94,074, which assumes a student is not getting any scholarship or grant money to pay for school. Only two other law schools in the group of 60 had a higher figure for debt: Lewis and Clark Law School (private school, $95,608) and the University of Minnesota ($94,087, which is $13 more than GU’s).

And using ABA data, the ranking looked at bar exam pass rates. GU’s pass rate is listed at 79.9 precent for first-time test takers. The UW scored 84.6 percent, Willamette had 84.9 percent and Lewis and Clark scored 80.5 percent.

 

Is it time for the University of Washington president to make a million bucks a year? You may say no. You may say hell no. You may say that it’s no time to ratchet up the already humongous salary for the top Dawg, given the various budgetary brutalities inflicted upon our state’s colleges and universities lately. But the people who make this decision won’t really be listening to you. They’ll be listening to the market. And this market only ever says one thing: More. Absurd as it sounds, it will be a near-miracle if the next president at UW doesn’t make more money than the departing Mark Emmert (shown at Washington-Washington State game w/Gov. Chris Gregoire in January), who is the second-best-paid public-college president in the land, at more than $900,000 a year/Shawn Vestal, SR. More here.

Question: Is any college president in the land worth $1 million per year?

Shaving the head can disguise balding and make a bold statement that plays up facial features.

A receding hairline can be a good thing, according to US scientists, who say men who go bald by 30 appear to be less likely to develop prostate cancer. Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine studied 2,000 men aged between 40 and 47. They were able to link high levels of the male hormone testosterone in those who lose their hair earlier with a lower risk of tumours. More here.

How worried are you about hair loss?

University of Washington’s women’s softball already has the College World Series trophy, so it’s not clear how excited they’ll be about congressional recognition.

But Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell introduced a Senate Resolution todday, congratulating them on their first-ever NCAA championship. The resolution hasn’t been approved yet, but it’s likely to sail through…barring a filibuster by senators from Florida.

Full text of the resolution is inside the blog.

This post is in regard to an article that Erin just posted, seen here. It’s been a while since I’ve been active and it seems it’s been a while since much editoralism has occured on the blog, so I’m going stray from all of the news posting a bit and take the advice Alec gave me early on in my blog training that involved expressing my opinion.