URMC was one of the first U.S. institutions to receive a $40 million Clinical and Translational Science Award, and the National Institutes of Health plans to ultimately present 60 such contracts as part of its push to speed up good science.

But all funding aside, we know that clinical research can't happen without a lot of willing study subjects -- and recruiting these participants can sometimes be tricky.

A large international study aimed at improving the care of muscular dystrophy patients worldwide is being launched by physicians, physical therapists, and researchers at URMC. Neurologist Robert “Berch” Griggs, M.D., is heading the study of treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common form of the disease that affects children. (You can watch this video, thanks to YNN News. It stars a little boy with the disease who reminds his parents how important it is to make every moment count.)

Our new Scripts blog spotlights our in-house experts covering scientific breakthroughs, offering second opinions on the latest medical recommendations and research, and lending insight into popular wellness trends. You can view our first entry, here, which features healthy aging expert Dr. Bill Hall discussing a few surprising sources of exercise.

With eRecord’s March 5 launch at Strong Memorial just about seven months away, some staff still are uneasy about how the new system will change the way we work. In this quick Q&A, we’ll get to the bottom of some of your most common concerns – such as whether or not the system will turn physicians into typists, or if it will track errors by caregiver.

A senior therapist focusing on hand rehabilitation, URMC’s Heather Smith appreciates the preventive power of ergonomics to steer clear of overuse injuries on the job. In this article, she offers tips on how the right seat height, periodic stretching, and more can help URMC staff work smarter.

Need directions, news updates, or a department phone number on the fly? Caregivers and patients alike can stay connected to URMC via the first mobile version of the URMC website, launched by Web Services earlier this month.

Despite United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declaring flooding in Pakistan “bigger” than the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti and the 2004 Asian tsunami, relief is only trickling in to help the country’s 20 million affected citizens.

Relentless, heavy rains since late July have raised the death toll to around 1,600. That number is only expected to rise as contaminated waters raise risk for diseases like cholera. Eager to help, Bilal Ahmed, M.D., has led donation collection efforts locally.

Nearly two decades after they identified the specific genetic flaw that causes a common type of muscular dystrophy, scientists believe they have figured out how that flaw brings about the disease.

The finding – made by an international team of researchers, including URMC scientists – settles a longstanding question about the roots of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD. The work was published online in the August 19 issue of Science Express. (Pictured: URMC neurologist Rabi Tawil, M.D.)

For many patients at URMC’s primary care practices, waiting on hold is a thing of the past thanks to a new patient/physician electronic messaging system.

Called “Medfusion,” the system allows patients to ask non-urgent medical questions, schedule appointments, and even request prescription refills electronically. ISD has implemented this technology in URMC's Primary Care Network, bringing 22 practices and more than 100 physicians online.

The progressive care nursing unit that serves cardiac patients of the Program in Heart Failure and Transplantation at the University of Rochester Medical Center is the first such unit in New York state to be honored with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. It is one of only four progressive care units in the nation to receive the honor this year.

Living and aging well is more than a matter of good genes or luck. To offer men the tools they need to live long and vital lives, URMC will present Men's Health Day, a day of information and education for men ages 45 and older, beginning at 8.a.m. Friday, Sept. 10, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Rochester. Pro foolball star Gale Sayers will be among the featured speakers.

Taylor Lacey turns heads when she walks through the corridors of Strong Memorial Hospital on Wednesdays sporting a cute, maroon Friends of Strong bandanna and hospital I.D. Even though she's only 3, Taylor knows her way around the Hospital and is there to get down to business – providing unconditional acceptance and friendship to those most in need.

URMC's James P. Wilmot Cancer Center and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) today announced that they are exploring a regional scientific collaboration. Leaders of the two institutions are conducting a detailed feasibility study which will identify and quantify advantages of shared research activities.

As the medical community searches for better vaccines and new ways to deliver them, a URMC scientist believes he has discovered a new approach to boosting the body’s response to vaccinations.

Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D., found that the molecules used in diabetes drugs also stimulate the immune system’s B cells, pushing them to turn out antibodies against invading microorganisms.

Nearly 200 researchers from around the world have convened in Rochester this week to discuss new insights into flu – from exploring how viruses mutate, to exchanging ideas for designing better vaccines, to weighing prospects for future pandemics.

Congratulations to Medical Center CEO Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., who received the Michael D. Spoleta Award during the American Cancer Society’s annual Men’s Golf Tournament. University President Joel Seligman was honorary chair for the event and presented the award with Harvey Erdle.

On Monday -- though there wasn’t a snowflake in sight -- it seemed a bit like "Christmas in July" for 32 departments around the Medical Center. That day, the Friends of Strong Council met to designate more than $700,000 in funding for the purchase of special equipment and supplies needed to power patient care, education and research initiatives here at the hospital.

With the local foods movement going strong and summer at its peak, many are tempted to taste homegrown fruits and vegetables. But nature lovers need to be wary that consuming some foods from the earth may carry a heavy cost, says Ruth Lawrence, M.D., medical director of the Ruth A. Lawrence Poison and Drug Information Center, located within the Medical Center.

Since the University partnered with Carewise Health to expand its wellness offerings this year, several staff have been taken aback by phone calls from “YOUR Health”/Carewise Health representatives.

Please rest assured that these are legitimate calls; we’ve hired these reps to inform you about free health programs that we’re providing to employees. This is one way that, as an employer, we can outfit you with information about programs tailored to your unique needs while still maintaining your privacy.

If pediatricians and urban teens spent an afternoon bicycling along the Erie Canal, could it make a difference for those kids’ future health? If money talks, then yes; new funding says loud and clear that ideas like this could reinvent health care as we know it.