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February 17, 2010

February 2010 People Notes

Susan Bhole is the new administrative assistant to Mary Jeka, vice president of University Relations. Previously Bhole was administrative assistant to Barbara Rubel, director of Community Relations. Earlier, she worked in the Office of Student Activities at Merrimack College and held a variety of positions at Boston University. She also worked for Right Management Consultants, a career transition and organizational consulting firm in Appleton, Wisc.
                                       
Susan Brogan has been promoted to director of continuing education at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. She will work with a new Continuing Education Advisory Board, which will be chaired by Liz Rozanski, assistant professor of clinical sciences.

Barret Bulmer has joined the Cummings School faculty, sharing time between the school in Grafton and Tufts VETS in Walpole. Bulmer was most recently an associate professor at Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he received the 2007 Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teaching Award. He has a special interest in pacemakers. A graduate of Louisiana State University, he interned at Colorado State University, did a cardiology residency at the University of Illinois and started his academic career as an assistant professor at Kansas State University.

Jay Byrnes is a new research assistant professor in the Section of Reproductive Biology and Neuroscience at the Cummings School. His has worked in the biotechnology industry at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Gene Logic and at Ohio State University and Tufts Medical School. Byrnes’ research interests are in neuropharmacology and psychiatric medicine.

Deborah Erlich, M07, a third-year resident in family medicine, received one of just four Emerging Leader Awards, identifying her as a future leader in family medicine academics and community service, at the Northeast region meeting of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. She works with the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

Michael Forgac, professor of physiology at the School of Medicine, has been invited to speak at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Summer Research Conference on Transport ATPases, to be held in June in Snowmass, Colo. The title of his presentation will be “Regulation and Function of Isoforms of Subunit A of the V-ATPase.”

Kevin Gallagher, a senior researcher at the Global Development and Environment Institute, briefed the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Senate on January 11 about the merits of a U.S.-China bilateral investment treaty.

Andrea Gordon, a research assistant professor in family medicine, was the winner of the “This We Believe” award, modeled on the National Public Radio project, given at the Northeast region meeting of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. Gordon’s entry, “The Gift of Presence,” emphasizes the importance of being fully present with patients, despite the pressures family doctors encounter.

Alexander Hannenberg, M79, clinical professor of anesthesiology, is the new president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). He is also associate chair of the department of anesthesia at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. A member of the ASA since 1981, Hannenberg worked to develop the Anesthesia Quality Institute to improve delivery of anesthesia care through advancements in quality-of-care assessments. He also served on the ASA executive committee and was the organization’s vice president for professional affairs for four years. A past president of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists, Hannenberg also serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for Anesthesia Research and Education and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.

Justin Hollander, assistant professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, was part of a team that received a Gold Star Award for Excellence in Community Cultural Programming from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The UEP Open Neighborhood Project’s recent community outreach effort in the Kelley’s Corner neighborhood of Acton was recognized by the Massachusetts Cultural Council for one of six Gold Star Awards for excellence in community cultural programming. The Open Neighborhood team also included UEP graduate students Amanda Garfield, G11, Andy Likuski, G12, and Pete Kane, G12, as well as local architect and Tufts alumna Ann Sussman and Acton planning officials. The community-based research effort involved an innovative use of 3-D virtual web-based environments, along with hands-on drawing and modeling tools. The team will receive the award at a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House in February. For more information, go to http://www.open-neighborhood.org/.

Kenneth Lang, professor and chair of astronomy, published an article in the January 1 issue of Science titled “Serendipitous Astronomy,” in which he detailed the unexpected discoveries made by astronomers over the centuries.

Alice Lichtenstein, the Stanley N. Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, has been appointed vice chair of an Institute of Medicine study committee to evaluate front-of-package nutrition rating systems and symbols. The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies, serves as adviser to the nation to improve health.

Maureen Murray, V03, a staff veterinarian in the Wildlife Clinic at the Cummings School, is a new diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, avian specialty, passing the boards on her first attempt.

Nicholas Nguyen, a third-year resident and clinical associate in family medicine, received the first-place creative writing award at the Northeast region meeting of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. The award was for his short story, “Small Moves,” which recounts the journey he took with a patient infected with HIV from birth to the patient’s untimely death shortly before his own son was born.

David O’Leary, university chaplain, presided over Mass in the Catholic TV studios in Watertown on January 11. The daily Mass was broadcast nationally via Sky Angel, and was available on numerous cable networks, including Comcast and Verizon, and streamed live at CatholicTV.com. It will be archived later at http://www.catholictv.com/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=29.

Mark Pokras, V84, associate professor of environmental and population health at the Cummings School, has been named a U.S. member of the international scientific committee for the 15th International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment (ICHMET 2010), to be held in Gdansk, Poland, in September.

Linda Ross, former director of continuing education at the Cummings School, will be the new site coordinator for the Cummings School’s application to the American Veterinary Medical Association to become a venue for administration of the clinical proficiency exam, which is associated with credentialing of veterinary graduates trained internationally. She will also be assuming significantly more teaching responsibilities.

Amit Sachdeo, an assistant professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine, published his paper “Oral Biofilms 101: The Basics” in the Dental Tribune, North American edition, in December.

Jeswald W. Salacuse, the Henry J. Braker Professor of Law at the Fletcher School, is the author of The Law of Investment Treaties, published in January by Oxford University Press. The book examines the approximately 3,000 treaties concluded since World War II to establish a regime for international investment among nations. Salacuse also serves as an arbitrator in investor-state disputes.

Alfredo Sanchez, assistant professor of environmental and population health at the Cummings School, has been appointed to the five-member Connecticut Board of Veterinary Medicine in the Department of Public Health by Gov. Jodi Rell.

Gregory Sawin, an assistant clinical professor of family medicine, received one of just four Emerging Leader Awards, identifying him as a future leader in family medicine academics and community service, at the Northeast region meeting of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. He works with the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

Sharan L. Schwartzberg, professor of occupational therapy and adjunct professor of psychiatry, was elected to the board of directors of the American Group Psychotherapy Association for a term that ends in February 2014. This multidisciplinary professional group is dedicated to advancing knowledge, research and training in group psychotherapy and includes more than 3,000 members from disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work and marriage and family therapy.

Charles Shoemaker, a professor of biomedical sciences at the Cummings School, was the invited lecturer at the November 16 seminar of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University. He spoke on “Targeting the Parasitic Nematode L3-stage Surface to Promote Worm Immune Rejection.” Shoemaker was also a seminar speaker at the annual meeting of the American Association for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Washington, D.C. The seminar was titled “Characterization of a Major Host-interactive Schistosome Tegument Protein, Sm29, with Phage-displayed Antibodies.”

Paul Summergrad, the Dr. Frances S. Arkin Professor and chair of psychiatry and professor of medicine, has been appointed to a 16-person governing council of the American Hospital Association’s Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services, working with the AHA to identify ways to define and focus AHA policy, advocacy, public policy issues and member service strategies regarding health-care systems.

Hans-Peter Weber is the new chair of the Department of Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine. Weber previously was chair of the Department of Restorative Dentistry at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Raymond J. and Elva Pomfret Nagle Professor of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences. Weber received his D.M.D. in 1990 from Harvard, after having received a dental degree in 1978, a certificate in prosthodontics in 1979 and a certificate in periodontics and periodontal prosthetics in 1984 from the University of Berne in his native Switzerland. He has been active in administration, teaching, clinical practice and research, with more than 100 publications and 12 textbook chapters to his credit.