Regulating gene expression is topic of Kirkwood Medalist's talk

Peter B. Dervan, Ph.D. '72, the Bren Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, will be presented the Kirkwood Medal and will deliver the Kirkwood Lecture during a visit to the campus on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

The Kirkwood Medal, jointly supported by the New Haven section of the American Chemical Society and Yale's chemistry department, is conferred for "outstanding research contri-
butions, theoretical or experimental, in the physical sciences." Dervan will deliver the Kirk-
wood Lecture, titled "Regulation of Gene Expression by Synthetic DNA Binding Ligands," at 4 p.m. in Rm. 110 of the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, 225 Prospect St. Refreshments will be served prior to the lecture, at 3:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Dervan has created a new field of bioorganic chemistry with his studies of the chemical principles for the sequence-specific recognition of the genetic material, DNA. He has created novel synthetic molecules with affinities and sequence specificities comparable to nature's proteins for any predetermined DNA sequence. He has re-ceived many awards for his work, which could have profound implications for human medicine.

Since 1974, Dervan has been a member of the faculty at the California Institute of Technology, where he is also chair of the division of chemistry and chemical engineering.

University of Michigan president to deliver Elliot Lecture

University of Michigan president Lee C. Bollinger will deliver the Law School's 1998 Ralph Gregory Elliot Lecture on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 4:30 p.m. in Rm. 127 of the Law School, 127 Wall St. His talk, titled "'A Lonely Impulse of Delight': Public Cultural Institutions and Democracy," is free and open to the public.

Bollinger became the 12th president of the University of Michigan in 1996. Prior to his appointment to that post, he was provost of Dartmouth College and professor of government there for two years, and he served for seven years as dean of the University of Michigan Law School. Bollinger's primary teaching and scholarly interests have focused on free speech and first amendment issues. His books include "Images of a Free Press" and "The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in America." Bollinger is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Master's tea will feature award-winning author

Joanna Scott, a professor of English at the University of Rochester who has received numerous awards for her fiction writing, will be the guest at a tea on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 4:30 p.m. at the Calhoun College master's house, 189 Elm St. Her talk is free and open to the public.

Scott was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 1996 for her novel "The Manikin." In 1995, her collection of short fiction titled "Various Antidotes" was a finalist for the PEN-
Faulkner Award and won The Southern Review Prize for a Collection of Short Fiction. Scott's other works include the novels "Arrogance," "The Closest Possible Union" and "Fading, My Parmacheene Belle," as well as the forthcoming novel "Strangers." Her stories have appeared in many literary publications, as well as in"Best American Short Stories of 1993."

Scott has also been the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Pushcart Prize and, a National Magazine Award. She has been teaching at the University of Rochester since 1987 and has served as a judge for many writing competitions, including the PEN-Faulkner and PEN-Hemingway awards.

Biographer of Dean Acheson to speak about foreign affairs

James Chace, the former managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine and current editor of the World Policy Journal, will speak on "Dean Acheson and American Foreign Policy" on Thursday, Dec. 3, 4-5:30 p.m. in Rm. 203 of Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception in the Luce Hall common area. The event is sponsored by U.N. Legal Studies and International Security Studies.

Chace, who is also the Henry Luce Professor in Freedom of Inquiry and Expression at Bard College, is author of a new biography titled "Acheson -- the Secretary of State Who Created the American World." The work investigates the role Acheson, a member of Yale's Class of 1915, played in forming the architecture of American foreign policy in the post-World War II period. Chace notes that Acheson was a driving force behind the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and NATO. Later in his career, he headed a group of elder statesmen advising President Lyndon Johnson on the Vietnam War; his eventual opposition to the war helped persuade Johnson that domestic support for his policy had fatally eroded.

Despite Acheson's noted career, Chace says that as a younger man the statesman "concluded that studying hard at Yale was unnecessary and became a committed bon vivant," joining clubs called the Turtles, the Hogan and the Grill Room Grizzlies.

For further information on the talk, contact Professor Ruth Wedgwood at 432-4946.

Physician to read scenes from acclaimed first novel

Dr. Mark Siegel, clinical professor of internal medicine at New York University Medical Center, will present a lecture titled "'Bellevue': Machinations of an Urban Hospital" at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, in the Beaumont Room of the School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St. The event, sponsored by the Program for Humanities in Medicine, is free and open to the public.

During his talk, Siegel will read scenes from his recent novel "Bellevue," a portrait of life in an urban hospital, as seen through the eyes of intern Dr. David Levy. The novel was described by E. L. Doctorow as "a Medico-Gothic."

Siegel did his own internship and residency at Bellevue Hospital. In addition to teaching at the New York University Medical Center, he maintains a private practice. He has written numerous articles for magazines and newspapers. "Bellevue" is his first novel.

Publishing a memoir is topic of talk by Wesleyan scholar/author

"On Publishing a Memoir: Going Public with Your Own Life --And Who Knows Who Else's" is the title of a talk being presented on Thursday, Dec. 3, by Phyllis Rose M.A. '65, professor of English at Wesleyan University and author. Her talk, sponsored by the Muriel Gardiner Program in Psychoanalysis and the Humanities, will begin at 8 p.m. in Rm. 208 of the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St. The public is welcome to attend, free of charge.

Rose is the author of the 1997 memoir "The Year of Reading Proust," as well as the biographies "Woman of Letters: A Life of Virginia Woolf" and "Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time." Her other works are "Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages," "Writing of Women: Essays in a Renaissance" and "Never Say Goodbye: Essays." Her book on Woolf was a finalist for the National Book Award for Biography. Rose, who was named a "Literary Lion" by the New York Public Library, was also a finalist for a National Book Critics' Circle Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. Her book reviews, essays and articles have appeared in major newspapers and magazines.

NIH official will talk about effects of poverty, gaps in research

Norman Anderson, the first associate director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, will present two public talks and will hold an informal discussion with graduate students during a visit to the campus on Thursday,
Dec. 10.

His first lecture, titled "A Multi-level Framework for Bridging the Chasm Between Sociobehavioral and Biomedical Research: The Example of Socioeconomic Status & Health," will take place 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the School of Medicine's Fitkin Amphitheater, 333 Cedar St. His second lecture, "Long-Term Investments: The Health Effects of Poverty on Children, Youth and Family," will take place 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Winslow Auditorium of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, 60 College St. The talks, sponsored by Dr. Jeannette Ickovics and the department of epidemiology and public health, are free and open to the public.

Later that day, Anderson will hold an informal discussion for graduate students on careers in the social and behavioral sciences at 4:30 p.m. in Kirtland Lounge, 2 Hillhouse Ave. All graduate students are welcome.

As director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Anderson facilitates research in his field across all of the 24 institutes, centers and divisions that comprise the NIH. He is also an associate professor at Duke University, where he directs the Program on Health, Behavior and Aging in Black Americans. His primary research interest is the problem of high blood pressure in African Americans, especially the question of how social, psychological, behavioral and biological factors affect blood pressure. Anderson, who serves as president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, has received a number of national awards for this research.