Congratulations to Rebekah Nevel and Rez Farid, MD, for their 1st Place Poster

Rebekah Nevel, a 2nd year medical student at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, received 1st place for her poster at the annual Health Sciences Research Day on November 12, 2009. Mentored by Rez Farid, MD, Rebekah's poster was titled “Intrathecal Baclofen as a Pharmacologic Treatment for Tactile Defensiveness and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder” and won the Category I Clinical division. Click here to see Rebekah's and other Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation posters.

ThinkFirst Launches State-of-the-Art Social Media Campaign for Young Drivers

On October 14, 2009, ThinkFirst Missouri introduced two exciting digital media platforms for teens and young adults—Facebook and SMS/Text Messaging. Pure Marketing and Media, of Columbia, MO, provided the strategic, creative, and technological services needed to develop the intervention.

The primary goal of the campaign is to promote traffic safety among teens. The digital platforms will engage teen audiences through discussion threads, video clips, photos from school programs, etc. Content will be modified and monitored on a daily basis and user participation will be tracked.

The ThinkFirst Missouri Social Media campaign is the first of its kind in the United States and will serve as a pilot program for over 100 ThinkFirst chapters across the nation.

This project is supported by Federal Highway Funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

ThinkFirst Missouri Conducts Voices for Injury Prevention Workshop June 30-July 1, 2009
Stoney Creek Inn, Columbia, MO

ThinkFirst Missouri recently conducted a public speaking training workshop for Voices for Injury Prevention speakers statewide. The workshop featured the expertise of Jessica Kratzer, a professional public speaking trainer and PhD student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Communications. The workshop included a presentation on how to deliver dynamic and memorable testimonies followed by guided discussion and small group exercises.

 The primary sponsor of the event was the Missouri Department of Transportation, Highway Safety Division. Additional support was provided by Rusk Rehabilitation Center/HealthSouth and United Access of Columbia, MO.

Randy Smith, MD, Named Teacher of the Year for 2009

Friday night at the May 29th Resident Senior Picnic, Randy Smith, MD, was presented with the 2008-2009 PM&R Teacher of the Year plaque. The recipient of this award is selected by a vote of the PM&R residents and then announced at the annual Senior Picnic.  This is the third time Dr. Smith has received this award. He received it in 2000, 2003, and now 2009.

Dr. Smith, who plans to retire at the beginning of July, was also presented with a Lifetime Teaching Award in appreciation for his years of dedication and commitment to resident teaching.