Ken Strauss
Encyclopedia
Ken Strauss is a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

/author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 who is known both for his writings as well as for his work promoting the careers and works of other artistically-inclined professionals. He is the owner of a manor on the French-Belgian border, le Château du Jardin. Health-care professionals (HCP) from various places in the world come to le Château du Jardin as artists-in-residence. During their residency the HCP work individually in their chosen field as well as interact with fellow artists. Named Le Jardin des Arts, this not-for-profit project is endorsed by the European Medical Association and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU). Attendance is open to nurses as well as doctors, non-Europeans as well as EU citizens. Conditions for entry include recognized artistic achievement in writing, music, painting, sculpture or cinema as evidenced by publication, exposition or public performances, etc.; a willingness to participate in peer-review of others’ work; and a commitment of two hours a day working on practical tasks in or around the Château.

Early life, education and professional career

Born in New Orleans, Strauss was raised by missionary parents on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 island of Hispanola. He studied at Columbia Bible College (1971–1975) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is an evangelical Christian seminary located in Deerfield, Illinois. TEDS is one of the largest seminaries in the world, enrolling more than 1,200 graduate students in professional and academic programs, including more than 150 in its PhD programs...

 (1975–1978) with a focus on the biblical languages of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 and Hebrew. After this he embarked on medical studies. Strauss received his degree as a doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

, SC, USA (1982–1986). He did an Internal Medicine Internship and Residency at the Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, NC, USA (1986–1989). His Endocrinology Fellowship was at the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....

, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 in the Beth Israel Hospital, Brigham & Women's Hospitals and Joslin Diabetes Center (1989–1991).

He has lived most of his life in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

 and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and speaks Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 in addition to his native English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. He is currently an internist and endocrinologist who holds two director-level posts in Europe: European Medical Director for BD, a global medical company; and Director of Safety in Medicine for the European Medical Association, based in Brussels.

Strauss speaks frequently to HCW audiences throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 on topics related to diabetes, HIV disease and patient safety. As Medical Director he performs research trials at university hospitals throughout Europe. In addition he develops disease management and educational tools for use in the clinical setting by doctors, nurses and patients. He publishes in peer-reviewed medical journals and does volunteer work in clinics in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

Literary publications

Strauss’ first novel, entitled La Tendresse, was published in 2002 by Black Ace Books of Forfar, Scotland. Despite its French title the book is written in English. It is an epistolary novel set in the First World War which juxtaposes the friendships and love affairs of its protagonist, Dr. Alain Hamilton, with the brutality of trench warfare.

Strauss’ second novel is entitled María Lindisima, and is published on his web site. It is a thriller about a virulent flu strain and a pending pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...

.

Strauss’ third novel is entitled Madness and is published serially on his blog. It is about an orphaned Jewish girl and her struggles during the rise of National Socialism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

.

Besides these novels, Strauss has published a series of children’s tales, poems and short stories which are available on his web site (http://www.kenswritings.com/) as well as a series of essays and two plays (Ship of Folly, Anne and Rachid Rachid), posted on his blog (http://kenstraussposts.blogspot.com/).

Scientific publications

Strauss’ scientific interests are widespread.

His interest in Immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

 has led to publications in HIV disease, cellular activation and natural killer cell function, tumor immunology, HLA-B27
HLA-B27
Human Leukocyte Antigen B27 is a class I surface antigen encoded by the B locus in the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6 and presents antigenic peptides to T cells...

-related rheumatologic conditions and screening, transplant
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...

 cross-matching and graph rejection, pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

, leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

 diagnosis and minimal residual disease
Minimal residual disease
Minimal residual disease is the name given, to small numbers of leukaemic cells that remain in the patient during treatment, or after treatment when the patient is in remission . It is the major cause of relapse in cancer and leukaemia. Up until a decade ago none of the tests used to assess/detect...

, platelet
Platelet
Platelets, or thrombocytes , are small,irregularly shaped clear cell fragments , 2–3 µm in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes.  The average lifespan of a platelet is normally just 5 to 9 days...

 activation in vascular disease and stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...

 transplantation in cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 patients.

As an endocrinologist he has an obvious interest in diabetes. Publications cover the subjects of diabetes management and education, efficacy of insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

 injecting devices, safe injection technique, intensive glucose management, GP office management of diabetes and the epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

 of diabetes in developing regions of Africa and Eastern Europe.

Additionally, Strauss has published on peripheral and central line catheters, anesthesia and surgical devices, safety injection devices, sharps disposal units, spinal and epidural catheters and vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...

 devices.

Le Château du Jardin

The retreat for HCW artists, Le Jardin des Arts, is located in le Château du Jardin, a property listed as an architectural heritage site in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. The official site for Patrimoine Architectural Belge describes it as follows:.
“Tongre-Notre-Dame is best known for its basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary
Basilica of Our Lady of Tongre
The Basilica of Our Lady of Tongre is a Roman Catholic parish church and minor basilica in Tongre-Notre-Dame, Chièvres, Belgium. Designed by architect J.F...

, but it also has some unexpected treasures, such as the Château du Jardin. Built in the mid 19th century, this mansion stands in the middle of extensive formally laid out grounds. Today, the Château du Jardin is the property of an endocrinologist, Ken Strauss. He undertook the restoration of the residence with a view to holding medical seminars there. The Château du Jardin is a neo-classical, rectangular building. The frontage and rear external wall are two stories high, faced with finishing plaster and surmounted by a Mansard roof bordered with a wooden cornice. The façades have large rectangular window openings.”

Publications

1. K. Strauss. Endocrine complications of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Archives of Internal Medicine, 1991; 151:1441-1444.

2. A Levin, G. Brubaker, J. Shao, D. Kumby, T. O’Brien, J. Goedert, K. Strauss, W. Blattner, I. Hannet. Determination of T-lymphocyte subsets on site in rural Tanzania: results in HIV-1 infected and non-infected individuals. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 1996:288-291.

3. F. Bouscarat, M. Levacher, M Dazza, K. Strauss, P. Girard, C. Ruggeri, M. Sinet. Correlation of CD8 lymphocyte activation with cellular viremia and plasma HIV RNA levels in asymptomatic patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus type 1. AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, 1996; 12:17-24.

4. F. Hulstaert, K. Strauss, M. Levacher, G. Vanham, L. Kestens, B. Bach. The staging and prognostic value of subset markers on CD8 cells in HIV disease. In Janossy G, Autran B. Miedema F (eds): Immunodefiency in HIV Infection and AIDS, Karger Publishers, Basel, 1992:185-194.

5. D. Bainbridge, M. Lowdell, I. Hannet, K. Strauss, A. Karpas. Can repeated plasma donation by asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals delay the onset of AIDS? Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London. B, 1997; 352:763-770.

6. A Lopez, I. Caragol, J. Candeias, N. Villamor, P. Echaniz, F. Ortuno, A. Sempere, K. Strauss, A. Orfao. Enumeration of CD4+ T-cells in the peripheral blood of HIV-infected patients: interlaboratory study of the FACSCount system. Cytometry. 1999 Oct 15;38(5):231-7.

7. V. Chernyshov, E. Vykhovanets, I. Slukvin, Y. Antipkin, A. Vasyuk, K. Strauss, Analysis of blood lymphocyte subsets in children living on territory that received high amounts of fallout from Chernobyl accident. Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology, 1997:122-128.

8. F. Hulstaert, I. Hannet, V. Deneys, V. Munhyeshuli, T. Reichert, M. DeBruyer, K. Strauss. Age-related changes in Human blood lymphocyte subpopulations. Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology, 1994; 70:152-158.

9. K. Strauss, I. Hannet, S. Engels, A. Shiba, D. Ward, S. Ullery, M. Jinguji, J. Valinsky, D. Barnett, A. Orfao, L. Kestens. Performance Evaluation of the FACSCount system: a dedicated system for clinical cellular analysis. Cytometry, 1996; 26:52-59.

10. B. Bertino, W. Knape, M. Pytlinska, K. Strauss, J-C. Hammou. A comparative study of DNA content as measured by flow cytometry and image analysis in 1864 specimens. Analytical Cellular Pathology, 1994; 6:377-394.

11. K.Strauss, F. Hulstaert, V. Deneys, A. Mazzon, I. Hannet, M. DeBruyere, T. Reichert, C. Sindic. The immune profile of multiple sclerosis: T-lymphocyte effects predominate over all other factors in cyclophosphamide-treated patients. Journal of Neuroimmunology 1995; 63:133-142.

12. R. Vesely, J. Barths, F. Vanlangendonck, I. Hannet, K. Strauss. Initial results of Central European Immunophenogyping Quality Control Program (CEQUAL). Cytometry 26:108-112.

13. F. Hulstaert, J. Albrecht, I. Hannet, P. Lancaster, L. Buchner, J. Kunz, A. Falkenrodt, M. Tongio, F. DeKeyser, E. Veys, L. Noens, N. Mir, C. Costello, R. Becker, K. Strauss. An optimized method for routine HLA-B27 screening using flow cytometry. Cytometry, 1994; 18:21-29.

14. K. Strauss, Insulin injection techniques: Report from the 1st International Insulin Injection Technique Workshop, Strasbourg, France—June 1997, Practical Diabetes International, September 1998:15; 16-20.

15. K. Strauss, I. Hannet, J. McGonigle, JL. Parkes, B. Ginsberg, R. Jamal, A. Frid, Ultra-short (5mm) insulin needles: trial results and clinical recommendations. Practical Diabetes International, October 1999: 16; 22-25.

16. J. Wilczynski, K. Cypryk, K. Strauss, R. Mazze. The role of Staged Diabetes Management in improving diabetes care in Poland. Practical Diabetes Management, August 1999; 16:137-141.

17. K. Strauss. Ultra short (5mm) insulin needles: how do they affect injection technique? ISPAD, April 1999, 127-132.

18. Look D, Strauss K. Nadeln mehrfach verwenden? Diabetes Journal 1998, 10: S. 31-34.

19. K. Strauss, Pautas de insulinoterapia y técnicas de inyección, Anales de Medicina Interna, May 1998:292-293.

20. K. Strauss, Strumenti per la somministrazione dell-insulina e tecniche corrette per la sua iniezione. Il Diabete, Sept. 1997; 9:157-167.

21. K. Strauss. Bezpieczenstwo I wygoda wstrzykiwania insuliny. Diabetologia Polska, 1995; 2:305-308.

22. K. Strauss, B. Ginsberg. Managing type II diabetes. European Union of General Practitioners Reference Book 1996/97.

23. K. Strauss, H. De Gols, I. Hannet, TM Partanen, A Frid. A pan-European epidemiologic study of insulin injection technique in patients with diabetes. Pract Diab Int; April 2002, Vol 19:71-76.

24. K Strauss, R Onia, A van Zundert. Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Use in Europe: Towards the use of safety devices. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2008; In press.

25. AM Rivera, K Strauss, A Van Zundert, E Mortier. The history of peripheral intravenous catheters: How plastic tubes revolutionized medicine. Acta Anaesthesiol Belg 2005; 56:271-282.

26. AM Rivera, K Strauss, A Van Zundert, E Mortier. Matching the peripheral intravenous catheter to the individual patient. Acta Anaesthesiol Belg 2006; 58:19-25.

27. K Strauss, A van Zundert, A Frid, V Costigliola. Pandemic influenza preparedness : the critical role of the syringe.. Vaccine. 2006 May 29;24(22):4874-82. Epub 2006 Mar 20.

28. K Strauss. ‘Safety in Family Medicine’, The European Textbook of Family Medicine, eds. M Bisconcin, G. Maso, N. Mathers. 2006: Passoni Editore, pp. 687–696.
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