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Show 2 NEWS IN BRIEF Hearing promotes personalized care Monday, June 4,2007 Parker Williams STAFF WRITER The phrase "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning" may soon be a thing of the past, according to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach. During a U.S. Senate hearing held on campus last Friday at the Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, von Eschenbach, Utah Sen, Bob Bennett and a panel of medical professionals discussed how to better treat patients based on their individual characteristics and genetic makeup.Through the use of genetic information, the panel members hope researchers can predetermine who will benefit from certain drugs and who shouldn't take certain drugs. By taking the guesswork out of medical care, the right drug gets to the right person, side effects are minimalized and drug benefits are maximized, Bennett said. . The hearing focused on the FDA's Critical Path Initiative, which centers on the safe, effective and timely development of medical products. According to a 2001 report by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, it costs pharmaceutical companies, on average, $802 million and takes 10 to 15 years for a drug to become available to patients. This arduous process is one of the contributing factors to the declining number of new medical products over the past several years. Also contributing to the decline, said David Jones, senior director of early translational research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, is the "blockbuster mentality" of pharmaceutical companies that if a medication is not a cure-all wonder drug, it's not worth the time and money. By developing drugs to work well with individual DNA types rather than the public as a whole, the FDA hopes to fight this blockbuster mentality. • "We can...create a system of health care that is predictive, preemptive and much more personalized," von Eschenbach said. Sen. Bennett described the drug Vioxx as the "poster child" for the new initiative. Originally intended to treat symp^ toms associated with arthritis, Vioxx was recalled after it was found to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some patients. Bennett noted that roughly 6 percent of those who took Vioxx were found to have an increased risk, while 94 percent benefited from the treatment. After the recall, no one was able to benefit from Vioxx, he said. "The old paradigm is the doctor prescribes a drug based on how it works in the large population," Bennett said. "Now, the prescription written for you will be based upon your own genetic makeup." p.williams@ chronicle.utah.edu ***•" LENNIE MAHLER/flit Deify Utah Chrottidt A group of U Queer Student Union members and their friends hangs out at the club's tent at the Utah Pride Festival on Sunday in Washington Square. The tent sold club T-shirts and encouraged festival-goers to sign its mailing list. Students take pride in annual Utah festival U students joined thousands in downtown Salt Lake City last weekend to celebrate equality for all during the annual Utah Pride Festival. Members of the U Queer Student Union said aside from the sense of community the festival creates, they attend the event to reach out to students who might not know about the support available for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students on campus. "We're here to celebrate the fact that we are queer," said Kevin Ingaham, co-president of the union and a sophomore in gender studies. "And just know that there's other queers LENNIE MAHLER/TftfDoIfflK, Sen. Bob Bennett listens as a panel of medical experts discusses the Critical Path Initiative, which aims to help doctors treat patients more efficiently based on their specific genetic make-up. iNeUr JJork Smttetf Crossword ACROSS 1 Entice 5 One appointed by God, to believers 58 Untoyal 1 59 Aciross Campbell 14 60 Pitts of old 17 4 18 10 n 13 1b 119 61 Having 14 Aquatic plant nowhere to run 15 Soup that often contains tolu 16 Clinch 17 Seek a conclusion? 20 Entice 62 Relaxation venues 25 63 Baseball's Slaughter ail P ••• 22~ 27 31 32 54 55 36 21 When symptoms tlare up DOWN 22 Line on a graph 1 Diamond object 24 E.R. personnel 2 Diamond lamily name Dklnt opt (or Oleslra? 30 Cheerer 3 33 Sharpened 34 Bring In w~ Borodin's operatic prince 53 4 Rest one's dogs 35 Citywhero Dr Pepper was invented 5 "it's being iaKon care o r 36 Smidgen 37 Alternative to Virginia Slims 38 Dying words 39 "Forget 6 Russian space station 25 I.O.U.'s Stunned crowd reactions 26 Kerfuffle 27 Like some beer Hermann who won a Nobel for Literature 28 Bone-chilling Seeds of a divorce 7 Whodunit dog r 8 Mineralogist Friedrtch 40 Thor'e father 9 Way up 41 Nasty 42 Easy mark 10 Frequenl Navralitova opponenl 29 Passes out 43 Soak one's superior? 11 Lacking depth 30 One-named Italian model 12 Bait-and-switch. e.g. 31 Etching fluids 46 UUgant 13 Pundit's piece 32 I.O.U.'s 47 LoEapaioozas 18 Having the winner 35 Came in third 45 II 9 films 9 Cub's rival 2J Edited by Will Shortz 3 poDol prearranged 52 Presea-ed, in a way 56 Statement right alter plastic surgery? 6 41 Teacher's summons 23 Hardly mint condition 43 Jeered 2 Z 4" "9" 5 1 4 2 9 1 7 9 WWW do ku "5" 6 3 2 3 ? 5 — L — les by Pappocom 4 © ui 7 ? c 6 Pi O 5 37 Catito calls? 19 Captivated Open slightly Raj An extremely long lime Aerobic inslruclor's word Zen question OW U.S. gas brand Lalin god Norn's Dam's proioct: Abbr. -.THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE CONTACT INFORMATION Editorial Editor in Chief * m.piper@chronide.utah.edu Press contact * press@chronicle.utah.edu Editorial letters • letters@chronide.utah.edu Business General Manager • j.sorensen@chronicle.utah.edu Director of Advertising • thurtado@chiDnide.utah.edu 3 CMTI www.dailyutahchronicle.com out there." The group talked with several incoming U freshmen that were curious about the organization and the experience of being gay on campus. Their message: You're secure at the U. Catie Howell, vice president of the QSU, said the LGBT Resource Center provides a much-needed sense of security and community on campus for queer students. "Having that safe place is really important (to LGBT students)," said Howell, a sophomore in English and gender studies, of the center. John Spillman, an intern for the LGBT Resource Center, agreed that many incoming homosexual students worry about finding a place on campus where they can be open about their sexuality. "A lot of students that are coming to the U have been worried about whether or not they are able to be 'out' on campus, so it's important that we let people know that we're a safe space for students," said Spillman, a senior in political science and sociology. Jared Branch Group helps women succeed in sciences many of them with 4.0 GPAs, who did not make it into the program. On top of the experience gained in their fieldwork of choice, students in the ACalso about having fun, estab- CESS program also receive a Federico Martin lishing friendships and creat- $3,500 stipend. STAFF WRITER ing a peer network in order While ACCESS is geared toWhile the majority of in- to help them succeed," said ward women who are interestcoming freshmen at the U Rosemary Gray, who heads ed in mathematics, engineerspend their summer break be- the program. ing and science, it often has tween high school and college ACCESS gives women the members who do not pursue away from school, a handful opportunity to do field and careers in those fields, Gray of women are doing the op- lab work in the areas of sci- said, but still benefit from the posite. ences and math. The program preparation and experience This summer at the U, some will also provide young wom- that the program provides. of the brightest women in the en access to college profes"We have women, that end state in the fields of mathe- sors, faculty and peers in their up in areas ranging from biolmatics, science and engineer- fields of interest. Participants ogy and math to law enforceing will be dedicating much of get the advantage of being ment, but they all still value their summer studying before placed in a research program the friendships they made of their choice at the U during during the length of the proFall Semester starts. gram," she said. They will be participat- their freshman year. ing in the ACCESS program, "ACCESS gave me the opFor Vu, the program made which is made up of a select portunity to quickly bond the difficult transition from group of incoming freshman with 20 other women who had high school to college life women interested in math similar interests in science, as much easier. and science. well as a devotion to academ"Altogether, these factors The program provides ics and success," said Judy Vu, helped my transition to colwomen psychological and a former ACCESS member lege be less daunting, and moral support to make what and a first-year medical stu- gave me reassurance that I, a one participant called the dent. woman, could indeed study "scary jump" into predomiApplicants to the program the sciences, an area that was nately male areas of study. undergo a rigorous screening once dominated by men," Vu "The program is not only process. This year there were said. about sciences and math, but more than 100 applicants, f.martin@chronicle.utah.edu Advertising 801581.7041 EDITOR IN CHIEF Matthew Piper MANAGING EDITOR Becca Krahenbuhl DIRECTOR OF PRESENTATION ErkGeerlings PRODUaiON MANAGER ArianaTorrey ONLINE EDITOR A n d y Thompson NEWS EDITOR Dustin Gardiner ASST. NEWS EDITOR Ana Breton News 801 581.NEWS ASST. NEWS EDITOR Rochelle McConkle A&E EDITOR Danny Letz ASST. A&E EDITOR Dan Fletcher OPINION EDITOR Lindsey Sine SPORTS EDITOR Tony Pizza ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Cody Brunner PHOTO EDITOR Lennie M a h l e r PAGE DESIGNER ErkGeerlings COPY EDITOR Matthew Piper COPY EDITOR Rachel Hanson PROOFREADER Chris Bellamy GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jenny Elklns ILLUSTRATOR Kurt Francom GENERAL MANAGER Jacob K. 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