Author: Elizabeth Erman

Pamela BuellPamela Buell, a 30-year veteran of higher education development, has been named associate vice chancellor and director of medical alumni and development programs at Washington University in St. Louis.

Andrey Shaw, M.D., has been named the Emil R. Unanue Professor of Immunobiology in the Department of Pathology and Immunology.

Courtesy PhotoFirst-year medical students spent a week at a Navajo Reservation in Arizona talking with middle- and high-school students about diabetes, obesity and substance abuse.

The School of Medicine has launched a wide-reaching initiative to encourage departments to hire and retain faculty from diverse backgrounds. In keeping with that initiative, the medical school will hold a symposium May 16 focusing on that mission.

The School of Medicine is seeking online faculty input on the strategic plan being developed as part of the University-wide “Planning for Excellence” initiative.

Brad A. Racette, M.D., associate professor of neurology, has received a five-year, $2,623,527 grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for research titled “Epidemilogy of Parkinsonism in Welders.”… Yixin Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received a one-year, $99,589 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for research titled “Efficient Large-scale Nonlinear Constrained Optimization Using Constraint Partitioning.”… Susan B. MacKinnon, M.D., the Sydney M. Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Professor of Surgery, has received a five-year, $2,228,395 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for research titled “Nerve Allotransplantation for Traumatic Nerve Injury.”… Douglas A. Wiens, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences, has received a one-year, $24,614 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “SGER: A Rapid Geophysical Response to the Great 2006 Tonga EQ.”… Fred Prior, M.D., research associate professor of radiology, has received a five-year, $60,000 subcontract from the University of Pittsburgh for research titled “Data Coordination and Image Analysis for CRISP II.”… Donald L Elbert, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has received a one-year, $250,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for research titled “Development of Materials to Release Bioactive Lipids.”… John W. Olney, M.D., the John P. Feighner Professor of Psychiatry, has received a five-year, $1,954,487 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for research titled “Anesthesia-induced Developmental Neuroapoptosis.” Also, he has received a five-year, $1,503,839 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for research titled “Acute Brain Injury, Mechanisms and Consequences.”… Christopher Gill, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received a four-year, $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “CSR — EHS: Semantic Domain Integration for Embedded and Hybrid Systems.”… Dora E. Angelaki, Ph.D., the Alumni Endowed Professor of Neurobiology, has received a five-year, $1,900,521 grant from the National Eye Institute for research titled “Neural Basis of Self-motion Perception.”… Lev D. Gelb, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, has received a two-year, $242,400 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Cyberinfrastructure for Phase-space Mapping — Free Energies, Phase Equilibria and Transition Paths.”… Steven Bassnett, Ph.D., associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, has received a five-year, $1,710,563 grant from the National Eye Institute for research titled “Fiber Cell Formation in Normal and Cataractous Lenses.”… John-Stephen A. Taylor, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, has received a one-year, $311,727 grant from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute for research titled “DNA Photolesion Structure-activity Relationships.”… Jeanne M. Nerbonne, Ph.D., Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, has received a four-year, $1,330,417 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for research titled “Ion Channel Regulation and Modulation in Cardiac Muscle.”… Jere Confrey, Ph.D., professor of education in Arts & Sciences, has received a one-year, $141,248 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Synthesizing Rational Number Reasoning for Urban Schools.”… Linda J. Pike, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, has received a four-year, $1,293,821 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for research titled “Lipid Rafts and EGF Receptor Function.”… Gerald Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, professor of English, of African and African American studies and of American Culture Studies, all in Arts & Sciences, has received a one-year, $230,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for research titled “Teaching Jazz as American Culture.”… Clay F. Semenkovich, M.D., professor of medicine, has received a four-year, $1,246,656 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for research titled “De Novo Lipogenesis and Metabolic Disease.”… Kenneth Goldman, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and engineering, has received a three-year, $135,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Development of Concept Inventories for Computer Science.”

The Center for Aging’s seventh annual Friedman Conference will be held May 8 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

A Physical Therapy researcher is seeking those with low-back pain to test two conservative treatment programs that include education, training in everyday activities and exercise.

Photo by Robert BostonThree-year-old Reuven Kirshner plays pattycake with his nurse, Sarah Parks, after he had a bone from his shin transplanted into his arm, which was affected by a rare bone cancer.

School of Medicine scientists have identified a protein that helps accelerate brain tumor growth.