Program to promote science literacy in city
Strengthening the scientific literacy of New Haven teachers, schoolchildren and their families is the goal of a four-year educational program recently launched by the Peabody Museum of Natural History, in cooperation with the New Haven Public Schools, L.E.A.P. (Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership) and the Eli Whitney Museum. The program is supported by a $350,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Biodiversity is the theme of the program, which will feature four main components: Peabody Fellowships, allowing select 3rd- through 5th-grade teachers to participate in a summer institute on the natural world; "Action Lab," a mobile unit with hands-on exhibits that will visit the city's schools and L.E.A.P. sites; year-round support for museum visits by schoolchildren and their families; and curriculum development on the theme of biological diversity, both in after-school programs presented in partnership with L.E.A.P. and on the Internet.
Altman's Nobel Prize-winning discovery enhances drug research
Research that earned Yale biologist Sidney Altman the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is being used in efforts to develop drugs for treating and preventing such illnesses as hepatitis and to restore the effectiveness of antibiotics against increasingly drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Mr. Altman, the Sterling Professor of Chemistry, shared the Nobel Prize in 1989 with Thomas Cech of the University of Colorado for experiments showing that RNA is not just a passive carrier of genetic code, but can also be an enzyme that actively engages in chemical reactions. Earlier this summer, Professor Altman and Innovir Laboratories, Inc. of New York City were granted additional patent rights for research on External Guide Sequence (EGS) oligozymes technology, in which specially created synthetic RNA molecules are programmed to seek out and attach to the genetic blueprints of specific viruses or other organisms so they can destroy those blueprints. Professor Altman and his colleagues recently announced that they had successfully used EGS technology to restore the effectiveness of bacteria to two widely used antibiotics in the laboratory by using EGS's to prevent the expression of the genes that make bacteria drug-resistant. The scientists are currently seeking ways to adapt the new method for testing in animals and humans.
Neurosurgeon named as alumni trustee
Nationally renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin S. Carson (left) was elected as an alumni trustee this summer in a worldwide balloting of Yale graduates. A member of the Yale College Class of 1973, Dr. Carson has received recognition both for his skill as a surgeon and for his work as a role model for disadvantaged young people. He heads the department of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and is associate professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He also speaks to youth groups throughout the nation and, with his wife, Lacena (Yale College Class of 1975), founded the USA Scholars Program, which awards students for their academic excellence and community service.
Former White House press officer named director of public affairs
Veteran Connecticut journalist and former White House deputy press director B. Jay Cooper has been appointed as the new director of public affairs. In addition to working for the Reagan and Bush administrations, Mr. Cooper has served as director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Commerce and as director of communications for the Republican National Committee. A former reporter and editor for the Waterbury Republican American newspaper, he most recently served as senior vice president for APCO Associates, Inc., a public affairs and communications firm based in Washington, D.C.
Rand Lectureship created at School of Art
The Paul Rand Lectureship has been established at the School of Art through a donation by the Cummins Engine Company of Columbus, Ohio. The lectureship honors Paul Rand (1914-96), a longtime Yale faculty member and renowned graphic designer, who created corporate logos for United Parcel Service, IBM, ABC and Cummins Engine Company. The lectureship will bring to campus an eminent practitioner in the field of design who will deliver a public address that will foster greater understanding of the role of design in the visual arts.
Berliner named to new hematology chair
Dr. Nancy Berliner was named as the first incumbent of the Arthur H. and Isabel Bunker Associate Professorship of Medicine (Hematology) at the School of Medicine. The new post was created in memory of Arthur H. Bunker, a businessman who graduated from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School in 1916, and his wife, Isabel Leighton Bunker, a magazine and science writer. Dr. Berliner, who earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from Yale in 1975 and 1979 respectively, has been studying the molecular basis and genetics of white blood cells in order to gain insights into the development of acute leukemia, tissue remodeling in inflammatory injury and repair, and tumor metastases.
What's new and on view at Yale's galleries
Three new exhibitions opened at University galleries this summer:
"Egypt: Antiquities from Above" at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Ave., features Marilyn Bridges' aerial photographs of ancient Egyptian tombs and monuments. The 52 images on display were shot by the photographer while she was hanging from an old Russian helicopter. The show will continue through Nov. 30.
"Thornton Wilder: A Centennial Celebration" at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., pays tribute to the Yale alumnus (Class of 1920) who earned three Pulitzer Prizes for his work as a novelist and playwright. It will continue through Sept. 20.
"Baule: African Art/Western Eyes" at the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., features 135 aesthetic objects created by the Baule people of the Ivory Coast, from jewelry to everyday objects. The show explores the diverse ways these objects are viewed by the Baule. It will continue through Jan. 4.
Burrows appointed to Smith Professorship
On June 30, Dr. Gerard N. Burrow ended his term as dean of the School of Medicine after five years at the school's helm. On July 1, he began his terms as special adviser on health affairs to President Richard C. Levin and as the David Paige Smith Professor of Medicine. As a presidential adviser, Dr. Burrow is writing a book on the history of Yale medicine for Yale's 300th anniversary celebration and is continuing to develop Yale's global stature in the medical field. As the Smith Professor, he is spending more time teaching and interacting with students at the School of Medicine. An endocrinologist, Dr. Burrow has done extensive research on the thyroid; his clinical interests have centered on thyroid disease in pregnant women. This summer Dr. Burrow also became senior adviser to the World Health Organization's Programme on Maternal and Newborn Health/Safe Motherhood and was honored by his colleagues at a symposium in his honor, titled "Medical Education and Patient Care at Yale: On the Cusp of the 21st Century."
New faces at the School of Medicine
On July 1, the School of Medicine welcomed its 15th dean, Dr. David A. Kessler (left). A pediatrician as well as a lawyer, Dr. Kessler came to Yale from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where he had served as director for six years, tackling a range of public health issues -- from regulating the tobacco industry to putting nutritional information on food labels.
Later that month, Dean Kessler announced the appointments of Irwin B. Birnbaum as chief operating officer of the medical school and Ruth J. Katz as assistant dean for administration. Mr. Birnbaum is a hospital administrator who concentrated in finance and was an attorney in New York City; at Yale, he is responsible for all of the medical school's financial, business and operating aspects. Ms. Katz is a health care expert with extensive federal government experience; at Yale, she handles many of the day-to-day administrative programs of the Dean's Office and serves as Dr. Kessler's chief of staff.
Late alumnus' gift will help support musical activities
A bequest from renowned singer and composer Lancelot ("Lanny") P. Ross, a member of the Class of 1928, will fund an undergraduate scholarship and provide general support for musical activities at the University. The scholarship honoring the late radio and film star will be awarded each year, with preference given to Yale College students with demonstrated financial need who have contributed to the musical activities on campus. The Lanny Ross Undergraduate Music Program will provide funding for the professional director positions of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and Yale Concert Band, and for replacement of instruments in the musical ensembles, as well as other musical activities.
Medical school joins project to study autism
Yale is one of three universities taking part in a major research project on autism, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The School of Medicine received a five year, $5.3 million grant from the NICHD to fund research into the neurobiology of autism, the most severe developmental disorder of childhood, and related disorders. Through the new project, physicians and scientists from Yale, the University of Chicago and the University of California at Los Angeles will conduct a series of brain imaging projects and major studies on the molecular and family genetics of developmental disorders, as well as the changes that may occur after people with schizophrenia receive treatment.
New associate dean and professor named at School of Music
This summer School of Music Dean Robert Blocker announced that Thomas Duffy, director of University bands and professor (adjunct) of music, had been named to the newly created position of associate dean, and that renowned percussionist Robert Van Sice had joined the school's faculty as a lecturer and conductor of the percussion ensemble. In his new post, Dean Duffy will be responsible for administrative activities and special projects.
Additions, changes announced at Yale College Dean's Office
Yale College Dean Richard H. Brodhead announced a number of new appointments in the Dean's Office and a shift in responsibilities for some current assistant deans. Two new assistant deans were named: Richard A. Chavolla, who will also be director of the Chicano Student Cultural Center, and Edgar Letriz Núñez, who will also serve as director of La Casa Cultural Julia de Burgos, the Puerto Rican student cultural center at Yale. In addition, Joseph Gordon, dean of undergraduate studies, has been appointed to the newly created post of dean of undergraduate education; he will also retain his title as associate dean of Yale College. In order to free Dean Gordon for his duties, some of his responsibilities have been taken over by current assistant dean Mark Schenker, who has the new title of associate dean of Yale College, dean of academic affairs and dean of summer programs. Sharing Dean Schenker's work in the Yale Summer Programs office will be Kimberly Goff-Crews, assistant dean of Yale College and director of the Afro-American Cultural Center, who now has the additional title of director of summer programs.
High-fat foods should be slapped with hefty tax, say researchers
Like cigarettes and alcohol, high-fat foods should be treated as potential disease-causing agents and should be slapped with a supertax, contend Kelly D. Brownell, director of the Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, and Yale graduate student E. Katharine Battle, in a recent edition of the journal Addictive Behavior. According to the researchers, America's "toxic food environment," encourages people to overeat and to eat unhealthy foods. This, combined with a general decrease in physical activity, has resulted in a 25 percent increase in obesity in America over the last 15 years and costs the nation nearly $40 billion a year in associated health problems. "Legislation and regulations aimed at the price structure of foods, opportunities and incentives for increased physical activity, and control of exposure to messages leading to unhealthy eating could have a considerable public health impact -- at very little cost," said Professor Brownell, who has appointments in the department of psychology and of epidemiology and public health.
Uniform size of black holes may shed light on their creation
Although stars come in various sizes, the black holes that are created when dying stars collapse and explode are remarkably similar in size, according to Yale astronomer Charles Bailyn and his colleagues. At a June meeting of the American Astronomical Society, the scientists announced their discovery that six out of seven known black holes are very close to the same size -- seven times the mass of our own sun. "Something about the collapse of a star in a supernova explosion seems to favor retaining about seven solar masses of matter in the black hole, and blowing the rest of the star back out into space," explains Professor Bailyn. "This new finding will send astrophysicists back to their supernova computer models to try to figure out why."
Discovery unlocks key to promising new line of anti-cancer drugs
Yale biologist Craig M. Crews has learned how a promising cancer medication, now in clinical trials, starves tumors by cutting off their blood supply. The University is currently seeking a patent for the discovery, which will enable pharmaceutical firms to search for other effective agents in a new class of anti-cancer drugs called angiogenesis blockers. In research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Crews and his colleagues report that a mammalian protein called methione aminopeptidase (MetAP-2) enables endothelial cells in the lining of blood vessels to respond to chemicals called growth factors. When MetAP-2 is blocked by the drug TNP-40, however, new blood vessels fail to grow. According to Professor Crews, the discovery of the role of MetAP-2 in tumor growth will allow pharmaceutical firms to develop even more effective agents to fight cancer.
News media present biased portrait of poverty in U.S.
U.S. news media generally used photographs of African Americans to illustrate stories about poverty, even though the majority of poor people in the nation are white, according to research by Martin Gilens, assistant professor of political science. While blacks comprise only 29 percent of the nation's poor, a survey by Professor Gilens revealed that national news magazines used images of African Americans in their poverty-related stories 62 percent of the time, while national television networks used such images 65 percent of the time. This finding is particularly significant, said Professor Gilens, in light of the fact that "the public's exaggerated association of race and poverty ... increases white Americans' opposition to welfare."
Scientists uncover new clues to understanding schizophrenia
A study by researchers at the School of Medicine supports the increasingly popular scientific view that dopamine plays a more complex role in the biology of schizophrenia than previously thought. Based on earlier findings that abusers of the drug phencyclidine (PCP) often eventually develop cognitive problems similar to those found in individuals with schizophrenia, researchers gave repeated injections of PCP to primates and then watched the animals' behavior as they tried to retrieve bananas from a transparent box. The team found that primates given PCP were less successful at the task due to reduced levels of dopamine in the areas of the brain responsible for working memory and behavioral inhibition. Robert H. Roth, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, led the neurobiology research team. J. David Jentsch, a graduate student in neurobiology, was the first author of the report, which appeared in the journal Science.
Obituaries
The Yale Bulletin & Calendar learned of the death of three faculty members this summer. They are:
Marvin H. Pope, 81, a renowned Bible scholar, who died suddenly on June 15 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the Louis M. Rabinowitz Professor Emeritus of Semitic Languages and Literatures and professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations. He also taught at the Divinity School and in the religious studies department.
Paul Rudolph, 78, a modernist architect who served as chair of the School of Architecture in the early 1960s. Mr. Rudolph, who died of cancer on Aug. 8 in New York Hospital, designed Yale's Art & Architecture Building, the William B. Greeley Memorial Laboratory of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Mansfield Street Apartments for married students.
William A. Christian, 92, a specialist in the philosophy of religion, who died of a stroke on Aug. 9 at his home in Hamden, Connecticut. He was the John A. Hoober Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies.