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BULLETIN
Two from HMS Elected to NASMark Keating and John Potts of HMS are among the 72 new members elected into the National Academy of Sciences at its 141st annual meeting on April 20. Keating, a Howard Hughes investigator and HMS professor of cell biology at Children's Hospital, and Potts, the Jackson distinguished professor of clinical medicine at HMS and Massachusetts General Hospital, are recognized for their continued achievements in original research. The academy's active membership now totals 1,949.Keating's laboratory is best known for its work on molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, particularly cardiac arrhythmias like long QT syndrome. He is currently focused on defining mechanisms of cardiac regeneration in zebrafish and regenerating the mammalian heart. Potts's research interests are in calcium and bone metabolism and parathyroid hormone (PTH), and his clinical work is on disorders of calcium metabolism and osteoporosis. He and his colleagues have done pioneering work on the chemistry and biology of PTH and its application to the successful treatment of osteoporosis. The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the advancement of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a Congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln, which calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.
Brock Begins as Ethics Division Head
Daniel Brock has been named the director of the HMS Division of Medical Ethics, professor of medical ethics, and head of a new HMS program on ethics and health. He comes to HMS from the National Institutes of Health, where he was a senior scientist, a member of the Department of Clinical Bioethics, and head of the Section on Public Health in the Warren Magnuson Clinical Center. Brock also was the director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Brown University. He currently researches ethical issues in health resource prioritization and rationing, with a focus on cost-effectiveness analysis. In genomics, his research emphasizes genetic testing for disabilities. He has been a consultant in biomedical ethics and health policy to the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress, the Institute of Medicine, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, and the World Health Organization.
Brock succeeds Allan Brandt, the Amalie Moses Kass professor of the history of medicine in the Department of Social Medicine, who was director of the ethics division since 1997. (Photo by Leah Gourley)
Frei Earns Lifetime Achievement Award in Cancer Research
Emil Frei III, the Richard and Susan Smith distinguished professor of medicine at HMS and physician-in-chief emeritus at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been given the inaugural American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. The award was established to acknowledge an individual who has made significant fundamental contributions to cancer research. Together with Emil Freireich and James Holland, Frei was the first to devise combination chemotherapy. This novel approach led to the first complete cure for childhood leukemia. (Photo by Steve Gilbert)
To recognize their funding of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, a reception was held for the Soroses at HMS on April 8. Established in 1997, the fellowships offer financial assistance to graduate students who are naturalized citizens, resident aliens, or the children of naturalized citizens. Pictured above (left to right) are Gordon Strewler, HMS professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and master of the Cannon Society; Sachin Jain, HMS second-year student and fellowship recipient; and Paul Soros. A fellowship also was awarded to Lipika Goyal, a first-year student at HMS. (Photo by Liza Green, HMS Media Services)
Appointments to Full and Named ProfessorshipsThe following full professor was appointed in February.
Gus Vlahakes The following named professorship was established in November 2003.
Jay Loeffler
Hinton-Wright Society Takes New Name from the Late Harold AmosThe Hinton-Wright Biomedical Research Society has been renamed the Harold Amos Biomedical Research Society in honor of the late Harold Amos, the Maude and Lillian Presley professor emeritus of microbiology and molecular genetics at HMS. Amos supported the Hinton-Wright society at the time of its inception in 1983. While its primary focus is to create a forum for scientific exchange, the society also has introduced members of the minority community at HMS to opportunities available in biomedical research. Members meet monthly over dinner to hear presentations by invited guests, faculty, and students. The society, funded by the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation of Denville, N.J., is supported by the HMS Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs. For more information, contact Rosa DaSilva or Beverlee Turner.
Honors and AdvancesThe American Association for Dental Research has given its prestigious Hatton Award to two HSDM students. Sung Bang received first place for the project, "Frequency analysis of competence genes of Streptococcus mutans," and Zach Peacock received third place for the project, "Caries protective effects of intranasal immunization of S. mutans GbpB peptides."The 2004 Ellis Island Medal of Honor has been awarded to George Canellos, the William Rosenberg professor of medicine at HMS and Dana-Farber. The medal, given by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, pays tribute to the ancestry groups that make up American society. Canellos is cited for developing a program in medical oncology at DFCI that has trained more than 150 clinicians and researchers. Timothy Springer, the Latham Family professor of pathology at the CBR Institute for Biomedical Research and HMS, has been named a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for his grant, "X-ray Crystallography of Integrins and Their Cytoplasmic Activators." The year-long award is for $36,000 and begins in September 2004. The foundation offers fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by supporting their research in any field and creation in any of the arts. Children's Hospital has appointed Man Wai Ng chief of dentistry and dentist-in-chief. Ng will replace Stephen Shusterman, HMS associate clinical professor of oral and developmental biology at Children's, who will step down in July after more than 30 years in the Children's Hospital Department of Dentistry. Ng is currently serving as chief of Dentistry at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She is recognized as a leader in pediatric dental education and public health. James Mandell, president and chief executive officer of Children's Hospital and HMS professor of surgery, has been selected as the next chairman of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals (COBTH), whose members include 14 Boston-area institutions. Mandell will continue working with COBTH's joint initiative with the Boston Public Health Commission to address racial disparities in health care and also plans to further COBTH's collaboration with local first-responder agencies on disaster preparedness. The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has awarded Georgios Skiniotis, HMS research fellow in cell biology, a postdoctoral fellowship for the research project, "Molecular Electron Microscopy of Silencing Complexes." Runyon fellowships are given to young scientists conducting theoretical and experimental research that is relevant to cancer. Thomas Walz, HMS assistant professor of cell biology, sponsored Skiniotis. K. Frank Austen, the AstraZeneca professor of respiratory and inflammatory diseases in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has been given the 2004 George M. Kober medal by the Association for American Physicians. The medal recognizes Austen's lifetime achievement in biomedical research. Austen is also the director of the inflammation and allergic diseases research section in the Division of Rheumatology, Immunology, and Allergy at BWH. Christopher Evans, the Robert W. Lovett professor of orthopedic surgery at HMS and Brigham and Women's Hospital, has been voted president-elect of the Orthopedic Research Society, the world's largest organization devoted to musculoskeletal research. Evans, also the director of the HMS Center for Molecular Orthopedics, takes over as president in February 2005 at the society's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
News BriefsA symposium honoring the 57-year career and 80th birthday of Morton Swartz, HMS professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, was held April 23 at MGH. Swartz, who is retiring, earned his MD from HMS in 1947, and aside from time spent in the military, has been at HMS for his entire career. He served as chief of the Infectious Disease Unit from 1956 to 1990 and was an associate editor of the New England Journal of Medicine from 1981 to 2002. Swartz is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. His research interests include antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, DNA gyrase, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, meningitis, and other central nervous system infections.The New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected MASCO to receive an Environmental Merit Award for its work and commitment to the environment in 2003. The award was given during Earth Day ceremonies held in Boston's Faneuil Hall on April 22. The award is based on MASCO's commitment to clean air and public health through the retrofitting of their bus fleet with fuel-efficient, low-emission technology. MASCO's 17 buses now uses ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and have been fitted with emission filters that reduce particulate pollution by 90 percent. The award is shared with MASCO's partner Paul Revere Transportation Services. |
