Community News (V15-I14)

Shayan Suzwari wins Miami Herald Spelling Bee

MIAMI,FL–Shayan Suzwari, a sixth grade student in Miami-Dade County, has won the the regional Spelling Bee Competition and is now headed to Washington D.C. for  the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.

Shayaan , who attends Norman S. Edelcup Sunny Isles Beach K8, competed against 70 other students. He scored high on a written exam and then dueled with 25 top competitors through a gauntlet of vocabulary that identified everything from African animals to Russian secret police and Polish trinkets.

Dr. Khurshid Guru helps develop effective robotic surgery curriculum

BUFFALO, NY–A robotic surgery curriculum developed by Dr. Khurshid Guru and his team has been found to be effective in to safely train surgeons on the da Vinci Surgical System, which is used to perform robot-assisted surgeries. Results, published in Urology, showed that participants trained in the curriculum executed key skills with greater precision than those who did not receive training.

The Fundamental Skills of Robotic Surgery (FSRS) training curriculum, jointly developed by the study authors, uses the Robotic Surgical Simulator (RoSS) to train surgeons in four basic areas required in robot-assisted surgeries: orientation, motor skills, basic surgical skills and intermediate surgical skills. Launched in 2010, RoSS, one of the first robotic surgical simulators to accurately simulate the da Vinci system, was developed by Khurshid A. Guru, director of robotic surgery at RPCI, and Thenkurussi “Kesh” Kesavadas, director of the Virtual Reality Lab and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at University of Buffalo.

Dr. Khurshid A. Guru, Associate Professor in the Department of Urology at RPCI and Director of the Roswell Park Center for Robotic Surgery, was recruited in 2005. Dr. Guru completed a fellowship in robot-assisted surgery under Dr. Mani Menon, considered the “father of robotic surgery,” at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and has pioneered advanced robot-assisted surgical techniques.

In 2007, Dr. Guru and his family started a non profit foundation that works in the northern Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent – Kashmir. Working in collaboration with the Breast Cancer Center and Department of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at Roswell Park, The Guru Foundation brings medical care, education and public-health-related services to the Kashmiri people. Drs. Stephen Edge and Deborah Erwin from RPCI have helped to establish a women’s health initiative there that encourages breast cancer awareness and provides education about things like breast self-examination and water-related hygiene – as well as eye care, through the Vision for All program. Dr. Samina Raja, Associate Professor in of the UB School of Architecture and Planning, whose expertise in urban planning is also helping to build a foundation for better public health in the region. The Guru Foundation also collaborates with Randforce Associates at the UB Technology Incubator. Dr. Michael Frisch, UB Professor of History and American Studies, and his team are developing an oral history program for Kashmir. This searchable audio database will be part of a web-based archive that will house more than 500 out-of-print books, manuscripts, documents and paintings about this mountainous region.

Imam discusses spiritual activism at CSU

NORTHRIDGE,CA–Imam Shakeel Syed participated in a discussion on spiritual activism at California State University Northridge, the Sundial Studemnt Newspaper reported.

“Economic justice is the civil rights issue of our time,” Syed said. “Economic disparities have grown so fast. During the recession, Forbes added 200 new billionaires.”

Syed said the Quran places a great deal of emphasis on intentional deeds, and that these deeds are more productive when they are small, consistent deeds of good work as opposed to a passing burst of kindness.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/20/3296748/coral-gables-prep-student-wins.html#storylink=cpy

Dr. Syed Ali Jaffery honored by patients

Patients’ Choice has announced that Dr. Syed Arif Ali Jaffery, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey,  was one of a select few physicians honored with the prestigious 2012 Compassionate Doctor Certification.

Each year, nearly 100 million patients across the U.S. access websites like Vitals,UCompareHealthCare, and Patients’ Choice to provide feedback about experiences with their physicians.
Only those physicians with near perfect overall and bedside manner scores, as voted by their patients, are selected for the Compassionate Doctor recognition. Of the nation’s 870,000 active physicians, only 3% were accorded this honor in 2012.

The Compassionate Doctor certification is part of the Patients’ Choice recognition program, where patients rate and vote for their favorite doctors.

Dr. Syed Arif Ali Jaffery commented on the recognition: “This is quite an honor for me. I am very pleased to have been selected and grateful to my patients who went out of their way to rate me and give me positive reviews.”

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