Immunology:
Mobilizing Cytokine Receptor Key Step in Defense Coordination

Psychiatry:
Studies Give Boost to Therapies for Depression

Cell Biology:
Chemical Genetics Identifies New Way of Disrupting Cell's Protein Recycling System

Awards
Systems Bio Recruit Takes MacArthur Award

New Books:
The Fall Bookshelf

Structure Reveals Binding of Platelet Integrin

Eosinophils Play Role in Chronic Allergic Asthma

Complement Linked to Tissue Damage in Diabetes

Cell Death Proteins Counter Chemo Resistance

Commission Reports Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Professions

Applications Requested for 2005 Alzheimer's Research Pilot Grants

Science in the News Opens Fall Series

Fourth Annual Albright Symposium

Appointments to Full and Named Professorships

Honors and Advances

In Memoriam:
George Thorn
John Badwey
Howard Frank
Margaret Brenman-Gibson
Kenneth Herman
John Richard Gaintner

HMI and International Partners Combat HIV/AIDS Through Education

Front Page

Commission Reports Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Health Professions

A member of the Sullivan Commission, Joan Reede says the commission report provides an "achievable blueprint for action." (Photo by Liza Green, HMS Media Services)

"As the United States becomes more diverse, it is clear that we need health care professionals, health education, health care delivery systems, and a research enterprise that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of our changing society," Reede said. "The Sullivan Commission expands upon the findings of the Institutes of Medicine report, ŒIn the Nation's Compelling Interest,' and provides a clear and achievable blueprint for action."

Though African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians as a group constitute nearly 25 percent of the population, these three groups account for less than 9 percent of nurses, 6 percent of physicians, and 5 percent of dentists, according to the commission. Recommendations to remedy the disparity include shifting from student loans to scholarships, reducing dependency on standardized tests for admission to medical school, and enhancing the role of two-year colleges.

In response to the Sullivan Commission report, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) said more attention should be turned toward developing an interest in science among minority students from an early age.

"Every year [establishing a diverse group of medical students] becomes increasingly difficult because of the relatively small number of academically well-prepared minority students who apply," said an AAMC statement. "This pipeline issue must be addressed if we are to attain the racial and ethnic diversity necessary in the next generation of doctors. Consequently, we fervently hope that the major improvements in K-12 education called for by the commission can be achieved."

Through the Office for Diversity and Community Partnership, which Reede heads, HMS offers five programs to K-12 students, encouraging their participation in the sciences.

For more information, visit www.hms.harvard.edu/dcp. The Sullivan Commission is administered by Duke University School of Medicine and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

--Leah Gourley

Please join us for the Fourth Annual Hollis L. Albright, MD '31 Symposium Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2004 3:45 to 6:00 p.m. Harvard Medical School New Research Building 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur Highlighting What's New at HMS Joseph Martin, MD, PhD Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Presentation of Hollis L. Albright, MD '31 Award Stem Cells: Myths and Medicine George Q. Daley, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, HMS Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston Executive Committee, Harvard Stem Cell Institute Commentary David Scadden, MD Professor of Medicine, HMS Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine and Technology Codirector, Harvard Stem Cell Institute To RSVP or for more information, please contact Katherine Regan at 617-384-8485 or e-mail Tenley_Albright@hms.harvard.edu. CME Credit Available

Applications Requested for 2005 Alzheimer's Research Pilot Grants

Science in the News Opens Fall Series

Appointments to Full and Named Professorships

Paul Goss
Professor of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Goss's principal research interests are in women's health and particularly the role of estrogen in the initiation and promotion of breast cancer. He is chair of the leading international phase III clinical trials of aromatase inhibitors in breast cancer treatment and prevention. Goss is also director of breast cancer research and Avon senior scholar at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, where he is codirector of the Breast Cancer Disease Program.

Jon Warner
Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Massachusetts General Hospital
Warner is chief of the Harvard Shoulder Service at MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital, which specializes in managing problems affecting the shoulder, including arthroscopic reconstruction, joint replacement for arthritis, and tendon transfers for irreparable tendon and nerve injuries. His research interests include analysis of biomechanical aspects of shoulder function as it relates to instability, rotator cuff disease, and arthritis as well as outcome research on surgical management of shoulder arthritis.

These faculty members were appointed to a full professorship in June.

G. William Dec
Professor of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Dec, who is also chief of the MGH Cardiology Division, has had a longstanding research interest in inflammatory heart diseases, including myocarditis and cardiac allograft rejection. His studies have examined the role of myocardial biopsy and noninvasive imaging techniques in the diagnosis and management of unexplained cardiomyopathies. He also has served as a principal investigator for numerous clinical trials of novel pharmacologic and device-based therapies for advanced heart failure. Dec has edited two textbooks in his field: Cardiac Allograft Rejection and Heart Failure: A Comprehensive Guide to Diagnosis and Management. He initiated and directed the MGH Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation center from 1985 until his appointment as division chief earlier this year.

David DeMaso
Professor of Psychiatry
Children's Hospital Boston
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in consultations, DeMaso's clinical and research efforts have been on the interface between pediatrics and child psychiatry. The clinical observation that the emotional functioning of a physically ill child did not correlate well with his or her illness severity led to a series of empirical studies finding that the "fit" between children and their caretakers has a much stronger relationship to the children's psychological adjustment. This finding led to the development and implementation of a series of preventive interventions designed to foster family resiliency and reduce pediatric distress through combined psychoeducation and narrative therapy techniques. DeMaso is also psychiatrist-in-chief at Children's.

Margarita Alegria
Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry
Cambridge Hospital
Alegria's research focuses on providing a new understanding of the mental health needs of multicultural populations. She aims to produce research on disparities that will inform national policy decisions, help health care systems improve their clinical practice and community outreach, and improve culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Alegria is executive director of the Cambridge Health Alliance's Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research.

R. Rox Anderson
Professor of Dermatology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Anderson's research on cutaneous photobiology, laser-tissue interactions, and biomedical optics have produced many widely used nonscarring laser therapies and new optical diagnostics. He was recently named director of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at MGH, a leading interdisciplinary thematic center combining more than a dozen core faculty laboratories, the largest in its field. Anderson practices medical and laser surgical dermatology at MGH and teaches at MIT.

Basil Darras
Professor of Neurology
Children's Hospital Boston
Darras is director of the Neuromuscular Program at Children's, which provides diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic services for children with neuromuscular diseases. He also directs the Neuromotor Therapy Program, which seeks to maximize the motor potential of children with early-life brain injuries, including but not limited to cerebral palsy. His research interests include the molecular genetics, diagnostics, and therapeutics of neuromuscular diseases.

Walter Koroshetz
Professor of Neurology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Koroshetz is vice chair of neurology and director of stroke and neurointensive care at MGH, which serves patients with life-threatening neurologic conditions and has a long history of innovation in neuro-critical care. Most of Koroshetz's efforts are centered on improving treatment for patients with stroke or head injury. He began his academic career studying Huntington's disease and remains engaged both clinically and scientifically in trying to develop a cure.

Vijay Kuchroo
Professor of Neurology
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Kuchroo's laboratory is located in the Harvard Institutes of Medicine and is primarily involved in understanding the mechanism of induction of autoimmune responses to the central nervous system. In addition, the laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of T cell differentiation, which has resulted in identification of several novel genes involved in the generation and function of pathogenic T cells. Kuchroo heads the Laboratory of Experimental Autoimmunity at the Center for Neurologic Diseases and is an associate immunologist at BWH.

Judy Lieberman
Professor of Pediatrics
CBR Institute for Biomedical Research
Lieberman is also a senior investigator at the CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, where she studies cytotoxic T lymphocytes, specifically, how they induce cell death and their role in antiviral immunity. She has described a novel caspase-independent apoptotic pathway activated by the cytolytic T cell protease granzyme A. Lieberman has also been in the forefront of developing strategies for harnessing RNA interference for therapy.

Richard Stevens
Professor of Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Stevens's research focuses on the mast cell, which plays prominent roles in bacteria, parasite, and HIV-1 infections, as well as in rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and allergic disorders. He and his colleagues have demonstrated that mast cells are susceptible to HIV-1, and the loss of tryptase-expressing mast cells in AIDS patients is now believed to be a reason that HIV-1-infected humans have difficulty combating infection by opportunistic bacteria. Stevens has been selected as an established investigator of the Kroc Foundation, the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience, and the American Heart Association.

These faculty members were appointed to a full professorship in July.

Michael Charness
Professor of Neurology
Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Boston VA Medical Center
Charness's lab has shown that ethanol inhibits cell adhesion mediated by the developmentally critical L1 cell adhesion molecule; molecules that block this action of ethanol also prevent ethanol teratogenesis. Charness is chief of staff at the VA Boston Healthcare System and faculty associate dean for Veterans Hospital Programs at HMS. He directs the Performing Arts Clinic at BWH, where he treats musicians with nerve entrapments, focal dystonia, and overuse injuries. He is assistant dean at Boston University School of Medicine.

Roland Eavey
Professor of Otology and Laryngology
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Eavey is also director of pediatric otolaryngology at MEEI. Clinically, he specializes in pediatric otology, treating conditions such as microtia and cholesteatoma, for which he has devised new surgical techniques. At HMS, his basic research interests include tissue engineering with Charles Vacanti to grow external ear structures, the discovery of genes for sensorineural hearing loss and microtia with Jonathan and Christine Seidman, and pediatric temporal bone histology with MEEI colleagues. For public health prevention, he has co-investigated a phase II trial of the conjugated pneumococcal vaccine, organized primary ear care programs in many Latin American countries, represented the United States for ear care at the WHO, and worked with MTV regarding noise-induced hearing loss.

Dianne Finkelstein
Professor of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Finkelstein's research centers on the development of semi-parametric methodology for analyzing the effect of covariates on failure time distributions in cancer and AIDS epidemiological studies and clinical trials. She has developed methods for analyzing the failure time distributions from interval-censored data. The director of biostatistics at the MGH Cancer Center, Finkelstein also focuses on the development of methods for analyzing longitudinal and survival outcomes and on animal carcinogenicity experiments. In addition, she is the principal investigator for the Statistical Coordinating Center for the Cancer Genetics Network, a National Cancer Institue-sponsored project to support research into the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility.

Allan Goroll
Professor of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Goroll's academic interests focus on general and primary care medical education at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. He has taken leadership and pioneering roles in curriculum and accreditation reforms, textbook publishing, and clinical teaching, both locally and nationally, in primary care and general internal medicine. He practices general internal medicine at MGH, attends on the Department of Medicine's Bigelow Teaching Service, and chairs the Core Medicine Clerkship Directors Committee at HMS. He also serves as the Massachusetts governor for the American College of Physicians.

Ron Kikinis
Professor of Radiology
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Kikinis is director of the Surgical Planning Laboratory of the Department of Radiology at BWH and an adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University. His interests include the development of clinical applications for image processing, computer vision, and interactive-rendering methods. He is currently concentrating on developing fully automated segmentation methods and introducing computer graphics into the operating room.

Peter Lansbury Jr.
Professor of Neurology
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Lansbury is cofounder of the Laboratory for Drug Discovery in Neurodegeneration and director of the NIH Morris K. Udall Research Center of Excellence in Parkinson's Disease at BWH. His lab has been involved primarily in understanding the relationship between abnormal protein aggregation in the brain and neurodegenerative diseases. This work has provided critical information about the mechanism of aggregation and has identified and characterized several species that may be viable targets for therapeutic intervention. His lab is currently involved in utilizing the methods of drug discovery to validate the utility of these targets and, possibly, to develop novel drugs that would slow the onset and progression of these diseases.

Thomas Lee
Professor of Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Lee, an internist and cardiologist, is network president for Partners Healthcare System and chief executive officer for Partners Community HealthCare. His research interests include risk stratification and management strategies for common cardiovascular problems and improvement of quality of care with a focus on critical pathways, guideline development and implementation, and managed care. Lee is cochair of the Committee for Performance Measures of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and has been the chairman of NCQA's Cardiovascular Measurement Advisory Panel since 1996. He is the editor-in-chief of The Harvard Heart Letter and associate editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.

This faculty member was appointed to a named chair in May.

Raphael Dolin
Maxwell Finland Professor of Medicine (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dolin, also dean for academic and clinical programs, has a longstanding interest in laboratory and clinical investigations of viral pathogenesis, antiviral chemotherapy, and viral vaccines. He and his colleagues were the first to describe the Norwalk, Hawaii, and Snow Mountain viruses of gastroenteritis and to investigate the pathophysiology of disease caused by these agents in humans. He has conducted large-scale clinical trials of antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, rimantadine, and didanosine as well as studies of live attenuated influenza virus and rotavirus vaccines. Dolin's current research interest is the development and clinical study of candidate AIDS vaccines, and he is the principal investigator of the NIAID-sponsored HIV Vaccine Trials Unit at HMS.

These faculty members were appointed to named chairs in July.

James Herndon
William H. and Johanna A. Harris Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Massachusetts General Hospital
Herndon is the director of the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency and Partners Orthopedic Department chairman emeritus. He is a specialist in the upper extremity providing surgical care for patients with arthritis and traumatic conditions. His research interests focus on biomechanics and kinematics of the upper extremity and surgical and biologic care of advanced arthritis.

T. Howard Howell Jr.
A. Lee Loomis Professor of Periodontology
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Howell has focused his research on the use of pharmacological agents for the treatment of periodontal disease, including extensive work on periodontal regeneration. He completed the first human clinical trials using a variety of growth factors for alveolar bone regeneration and has written extensively on topics of concern to dental education. As dean for dental education, he has oversight for all DMD and advanced graduate educational and student programs at HSDM. He was also the primary architect of the School's new problem-based learning/interdisciplinary predoctoral clinical curriculum, the first of its kind in the nation.

Donald Ingber
Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology in the Department of Pathology
Children's Hospital Boston
Ingber, also an HMS professor of pathology in the Departments of Surgery and Pathology at Children's, focuses his research on how vascular cells and tissues structure themselves so they can change shape, move, and grow. He pioneered the concept that living cells mechanically structure themselves using tensegrity architecture and that physical forces control cell and tissue morphogenesis through distortion of membrane integrin receptors and their connections to the cytoskeleton. He has combined techniques from molecular cell biology, engineering, physics, chemistry, and computer science to confirm that mechanical forces control cellular biochemistry and cell fate switching and also to delineate the molecular basis of the cellular mechanotransduction response. He also discovered one of the first angiogenesis inhibitors (TNP-470) to enter clinical trials and made significant contributions to the fields of tissue engineering and microsystems technology. Ingber is currently the director of the Center for Integration in Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) at Children's.

David Hunter
Vincent L. Gregory Professor of Cancer Prevention in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition
Harvard School of Public Health
Hunter heads the recently established Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology at HSPH and has worked toward improving understanding of the causes of cancer, particularly that of the breast, colon, and skin. He is an investigator on the Nurses' Health Study and is project director for the Nurses Health Study II. Hunter is also the director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Polymorphism Detection Core that provides genotyping facilities for investigators at HSPH and in the Longwood area.

Honors and Advances

Two HMS students have been named 2004 Massachusetts Medical Society Scholars. They were among eight Massachusetts medical school students who received the $10,000 award, presented annually based on academic record, community involvement, and financial need. Coleen Sabatini has worked with the HMS/ Martha Eliot Health Center Mentoring Program to provide academic and social support to African-American and Latino youth in Jamaica Plain. Nazleen Bharmal was recognized for her work as a delegate and board member of VISIONS Worldwide, the Manville Mentoring Program, the HMS/Martha Eliot Health Center Mentoring Program, and the First-year Urban Neighborhood Campaign.

The Dolores J. Brown Award for Staff Assistants at HMS has been presented to Stuart Ferguson of the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology. In addition to assisting with the daily needs of the office, Ferguson helps manage the teaching efforts for two BCMP classes. He also served as executive assistant to the authors and editors of Principles of Pharmacology: The Pathophysiologic Basis of Drug Therapy. He is commended for his friendly and welcoming attitude, his efficiency, and his professionalism.

David Osser, HMS associate professor of psychiatry at the Boston VA Medical Center-Brockton, and Robert Patterson, HMS lecturer on psychiatry at McLean Hospital, have been awarded the Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation's LINF Prize 2004. The prize recognizes their achievements in postgraduate education in psychiatry and neurology.

A Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers has been given to William Carlezon, HMS associate professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital. The award, given by the National Science and Technology Council at the White House, honors promising young researchers. Carlezon is the director of McLean's Medication Discovery and Developmental Lab and specializes in research that establishes causal relationships between brain biochemistry and behavior.

McLean Hospital's highest research honor, the Alfred Pope Award, has been given to Alisa Busch and Ao Zhang. Busch and Zhang are both HMS instructors in psychiatry at McLean. Busch is honored for her paper, "The Effect of Managed Behavioral Health Care Carve-out on Quality of Care for Medicaid Patients Diagnosed as Having Schizophrenia." Zhang is recognized for his paper, "2-Aminothiazole-Derived Opioids- Bioisosteric Replacement of Phenols."

The National Board of Medical Examiners has elected Graham McMahon as a member-at-large. McMahon, an HMS clinical fellow in endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has been appointed to a four-year term of membership to the organization, which provides examinations for licensure in the health professions.

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has given the paper, "Thirty Years of Affirmative Action at Harvard Medical School: A Mixed-method Program Evaluation," the Best Paper by a New Investigator award. The paper was authored by Alane Shanks, associate dean for educational administration and finance at HMS, and was recognized by the Division I: Education in the Professions section of the AERA.

Leston Havens, HMS professor of psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, a nonprofit organization representing more than 1,700 physicians. Havens began his work in the Cambridge Health Alliance system in 1982. He has served as principal psychiatrist, director of adult psychiatry training, and director of education. During his tenure, Havens has authored seven books and more than 75 articles.

The Sleep Research Society has elected as president Charles Czeisler, the Frank Baldino, Jr., PhD, professor of sleep medicine at HMS. The society fosters scientific investigation on aspects of sleep and its disorders, promotes training and education in sleep research, and provides forums for the exchange of knowledge pertaining to sleep.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) honored Ross Baldessarini, HMS professor of psychiatry (neuroscience) at McLean Hospital, and Leonardo Tondo, HMS lecturer on psychology at McLean, with its 2004 research award. They were recognized for their studies demonstrating that long-term treatment with lithium is associated with striking reductions in rates of suicidal acts and fatalities in patients with bipolar disorder or major depression.

Judah Folkman, the Julia Dyckman Andrus professor of pediatric surgery at HMS and Children's Hospital, has been given a 2004 Prince of Asturias Award for technical and scientific research. He was cited for his work on tumor angiogenesis. The prize is named after Spanish Crown Prince Felipe and will be given out this fall in Oviedo, Spain.

The Association of University Radiologists (AUR) has given Steven Seltzer, the Phillip H. Cook professor of radiology at HMS and Brigham and Women's Hospital, a 2004 gold medal. Seltzer's contributions to academic radiology also earned him a place on the board of directors of the Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiology Departments, a component organization of AUR recognizing radiology leadership groups.

In Memoriam

Thorn earned his MD from the University of Buffalo in 1929. In 1942, after serving on the faculties of Ohio State University and Johns Hopkins Medical School, Thorn, an expert in endocrinology, was named physician-in-chief of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Hersey professor of the theory and practice of physic at HMS. His accomplishments include bringing the first kidney dialysis machine to the United States and devising a treatment for Addison's disease using synthetic cortisone.

Under Thorn's leadership, the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital expanded its lab facilities to include a coronary care unit and community clinics. As a testament to his exceptional professional achievements, the Thorn Center for Endocrine Disorders and the Thorn Research Building at Brigham and Women's Hospital were both named in his honor in 1986, when he retired after 30 years of service.

In 1953, Thorn cofounded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the nation's largest private supporter of biomedical research and science education, with aviator Howard Hughes. He became its director of research and later served as its president from 1981 to 1984 and chairman from 1984 to 1990.

Thorn was a member of the executive committee of the Corporation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and facilitated the development of what is now the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He authored more than 400 papers and chapters in medical textbooks, was one of the founding editors of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, and was the chief editor of its eighth edition.

Thorn is survived by his son, Weston; two stepchildren, Alan Steinert and Susan Poverman; and two grandchildren.

John Badwey, HMS associate professor of anesthesia at Brigham and Women's Hospital, passed away on July 14 at age 55.

Badwey received his Bachelor of Science degree from Stonehill College in 1970 and his PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1976. He joined HMS in 1977 and became an instructor in biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology in 1989. In 1999, Badwey was appointed an instructor in anesthesia at BWH, where he was also principal investigator and senior biochemist in the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury. Badwey was the recipient of the NIH Research Career Development Award from 1985 to 1990.

Badwey is survived by his brothers, Mark and Louis.

Howard Frank, HMS clinical professor emeritus of surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, died June 27 at age 89.

Frank graduated from Columbia University in 1934 and earned his MD from New York University College of Medicine in 1937. His surgical training began at Beth Israel Hospital in 1939, where he and colleagues performed studies on synthetic vitamin K and showed its effectiveness in certain clotting disorders. In 1942, Frank joined Beth Israel Hospital and HMS as an assistant in surgery. That year, he also initiated the use of venography, or radiologic examination of the veins, as a diagnostic tool for inflammation.

During World War II, Frank served as a research associate in the newly established U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, where he studied the investigation and treatment of traumatic shock, kidney failure, and hemorrhage. In 1946, he and his colleagues developed peritoneal irrigation, or dialysis, used to treat kidney failure. In 1960, he became the second surgeon to implant a pacemaker in a patient successfully. He later helped refine the surgical insertion of the device.

Frank was named clinical professor of surgery at BID in 1972 and was appointed emeritus in 1985. During his career, he served as president of the Boston Surgical Society, authored more than 125 publications, and developed surgical implements, like the Frank breast biopsy guide, which are still in use today. In 1987, the Howard Frank Fellowship was established at BID in the Department of Surgery.

Frank is survived by his wife, Sally Bernkopf Frank; three children, Anne Greene, Edward D. Frank II, and John Frank; and five grandchildren. Contributions may be made to the Howard A. Frank, MD and Edward D. Frank, MD Surgical Fund, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 110 Francis St., Boston, MA 02115.

Margaret Brenman-Gibson, HMS clinical professor emeritus of psychology at Cambridge Hospital, died May 10 at age 86.

In 1943, Brenman-Gibson received her PhD in psychology from the University of Kansas. As a clinical fellow in the Menninger Clinic and Foundation in Topeka, Kan., from 1943 to 1947, she was the first American psychologist and non-MD to receive clinical and research training in psychoanalysis. She subsequently became director of the Psychology Division in the Department of Clinical Services at the Menninger Foundation.

In 1948, Brenman-Gibson moved to Stockbridge, Mass., as a staff member of the Austin Riggs Center. She was recruited to work in the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital in 1977. While there, Brenman-Gibson was one of the first female psychologists to be appointed full professor at HMS, attaining that rank in 1982.

Brenman-Gibson did pioneering work in psychoanalysis, culminating in the publication of two books, Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis and Related States. She was also the author of a psychological study of the American playwright Clifford Odets, which received much critical acclaim when it was published in 1981.

Kenneth Herman, HMS instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, passed away on June 6, at age 59.

Herman earned his undergraduate degree at St. Fidelis College in 1967 and his doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University in 1974. He joined HMS as an instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital in 1978.

In 1981, he supplemented his psychology training with a law degree from Boston College. The following year, Herman founded the Children and Law program at Judge Baker Children's Center. Ten years later, the program moved to Massachusetts General Hospital, where Herman was an instructor in psychology until the time of his death.

Over the past two decades, he served as a guardian ad litem on hundreds of cases and trained a new generation of court-appointed advisers, with an emphasis on applying the latest in psychological research to their decisions. With his dual training in law and psychiatry, Herman was a valuable consultant about child development for lawyers, probation officers, judges, social workers, and mental health professionals.

Herman's colleagues plan to hold a professional symposium in his honor.

John Richard Gaintner, HMS professor emeritus of medicine, passed away May 25 at the age of 68.

Gaintner attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., and earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1962. As a captain in the Army Medical Corps, he later served at an evacuation hospital in Qui Nhon, Vietnam.

Gaintner came to New England Deaconess Hospital in 1989 as chief executive officer and later helped merge the hospital with Beth Israel Hospital in 1996, creating Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He joined the faculty of HMS in 1989 as a visiting lecturer on health care policy, was appointed professor of medicine in 1993, and became emeritus in 1997.

Gaintner left BID in 1997 and moved to Florida, where he became the chief executive officer of Shands HealthCare from 1997 to 2001. While at Shands, he expanded the system from one medical center to a network of hospitals and clinical practices. He worked to strengthen the relationship between Shands and the University of Florida College of Medicine, where he concurrently served as a clinical professor. Gaintner also was executive vice president for health sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Gaintner leaves his wife, Sue; three daughters, Wendy Holcomb, Sally Hess, and Jenny Gaintner; and seven grandchildren.