Study Abroad In Tuscany

UofL bioinformatics faculty is a Fulbright Scholar

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Learning more about how to save researchers money through decision analysis is an important area of study for Steven McCabe, MD, assistant professor, University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences. He will have the chance to exchange knowledge about decision analysis with colleagues in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar.

McCabe said it is important for researchers to understand whether they actually need to carry out a certain experiment or collect original data - if they can piggy-back off data that already exists. Using decision analysis, a method to make decisions in the face of uncertainty, McCabe said researchers can come to a conclusion about whether it is necessary to utilize more expensive research methods such as randomized trials, or if they can rely on data collected in cohort studies or previously published trials.

Additionally, many scientific questions can often be answered through simulation models. Reconstructing published research in a computer simulation and changing specific elements to come to conclusions can extend the scope of the original research in an inexpensive fashion.

The Fulbright Program will allow McCabe to expand his decision analysis research and teach scientific research methodology to graduate students at the University of Siena in Italy.

"Dr. McCabe is our second faculty member to receive this honor," said Richard Clover, MD, dean, UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences. "These international opportunities allow for faculty career-enhancement along with global awareness and collaboration."

A hand surgeon by practice, McCabe hopes to meet with other surgeons to discuss research related to carpal tunnel syndrome - pressure on a nerve in the wrist that can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage in the hand and fingers. McCabe said there is an active, collaborative group studying peripheral nerve compression in Tuscany.

"I am very excited about forming professional relationships and life-long friendships that could help further our knowledge and make me a better surgeon and teacher," McCabe said.

McCabe credits a professional development certificate program at UofL for helping him gain a leg up in the Fulbright competition. He earned the Certificate in Health Professions Education in 2009. Aimed at helping academic health center faculty become better teachers, courses include introduction to research methods, program evaluation and planning, introduction to college teaching and adult development and learning.

Studying Abroad in Florence: Traveling in Tuscany

Friday- First, I went to my 9 a.m. class (I highly recommend not signing up for a Friday class!), then right after I got out Bobby and I went right to the bus station to get two tickets to go to Siena. I kept hearing such great things about Siena, so I knew I definitely wanted to go. It took about an hour and 30 mins to get there and the ride was a little tough. It was so bumpy the whole time and I learned that I definitely like taking the train better. Usually, everyone travels by train to get to places outside of Florence, but in this case it's actually harder because there's no direct train into the city center of Siena. Well anyway, once we got to Siena, I knew why everyone had such good things to say about it. It was absolutely beautiful. Siena is really different from Florence. It's really hilly and the whole town is very old, unlike Florence where there are parts where everything is modern. I really enjoyed the old feel of it. We walked around for a bit, ate some good food, saw some really awesome cathedrals and then we went to the top of a tower to see all of Siena. This was my favorite part of the day and I fell in love with Siena because it was so beautiful. After all of the walking through the hilly city, I was starting to get exhausted and we headed back to Florence after spending about 5 hours in Siena. I'm gonna have to say that outside of Florence, Siena is one of my favorite cities so far. Saturday- Bobby and I hopped on a 12:30 train to go to Lucca, which is also in Tuscany. I don't know why, but on Italian trains, they don't announce what stop you're at, so it's like a guessing game on the train if you don't know where you're going. We actually found two girls who are also studying abroad at FUA and they told us where to get off. When the train arrived at Lucca, we got out of the train station and found out that Lucca is still surrounded by ancient walls. It was really awesome. In order to get into the city center, you have the go through some corridors in the walls to get in. We spent most of our time inside museums and looking at different cathedrals. My favorite part of the day was when we went into a baptistery that was built on ancient ruins. They let you go downstairs and see the ruins, like roman baths and mosaics. It was so cool to able to see things that are that old dating all the way back to the 2nd century. Overall, it was a really beautiful city.

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