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April 21, 2010

April 2010 People Notes

Astier M. Almedom, director of the International Resilience Program at the Institute for Global Leadership and a professor of the practice in humanitarian policy and global public health at the Fletcher School, has teamed with faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences, the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and the Fletcher School to launch a new journal, Resilience, for scholars and practitioners to disseminate their “ideas in germination,” proposals and reviews. Almedom’s colleagues from other institutions have also joined the editorial team, whose aim is to provide constructive criticism using an open review system adopted by the journal. These include Tufts alumnus David Henderson, A84, of Harvard Medical School. The journal is published online at http://fletcher.tufts.edu/resilience. Responses to the content can be submitted to the International Resilience Forum blog for follow-up discussion.

Owayed M. Al Shammeri, a clinical instructor of medicine based at the Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, was given an honorable mention in the case competition at the annual meeting of VIVA, the Vascular InterVentional Advances conference in Las Vegas in October 2009. He presented the case of a complex percutaneous peripheral intervention, in which he and Peter A. Soukas, an assistant professor of medicine also based at St. Elizabeth’s, saved a patient’s limb when other experts thought there was no choice but amputation. The presentation was titled “Critical Limb Ischemia.”

Mehnaz Chumkee Aziz, V12, was invited by Ben’s Fund for Animal Research to make a presentation titled “Rabies and Dog Overpopulation in Nepal and Why This Is Important to Us in America” on January 7 in Kansas City. Her presentation was based on her summer 2009 research project in Nepal. She was supported in part by a grant from the Morris Animal Foundation.

George Baquis, head of the Neuromuscular Section at Baystate Medical Center, a Tufts-affiliated hospital in Springfield, Mass., has been promoted to associate clinical professor of neurology at the School of Medicine. He has been at Baystate since 1991. Baquis is a diplomate in neurology of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has added qualifications in clinical neurophysiology and subspecialty certification in neuromuscular medicine from the ABPN, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He has received recognition for Excellence in Teaching at the School of Medicine.

Donald Berman, a lecturer in music in the School of Arts and Sciences and co-director of the Tufts New Music Ensemble, has been appointed a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies for 2010–11. He has also been elected treasurer of the Charles Ives Society.

Meredith Billings, a research analyst in the Office of Institutional Research & Evaluation, received a Best First Paper Award at the North East Association for Institutional Research conference in Baltimore, Md., in November. The paper, “Every Dollar Matters: Examining Young Alumni Giving Behavior,” describes the development of a logistic regression model to predict giving behavior in young alumni and compares the demographic and attitudinal differences among specific types of donors.

Jeffrey Blumberg, a professor at the Friedman School and director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, has been elected a fellow of the American Society for Nutrition.

Randy Boudrieau, a professor of clinical sciences at the Cummings School, presented a poster on “Structural Properties of Synthetic Bone Models Compared to Native Canine Bone” at the 37th annual conference of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society on February 24 in Breckenridge, Colo.

Andrew Camilli, professor of molecular biology and microbiology, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group within the American Academy for Microbiology, the world’s oldest and largest life-science organization. Fellows of the academy are elected annually through a selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.

Hubert Caplan, M55, clinical professor of medicine, has been named Community Clinician of the Year by the Charles River District Medical Society, part of the Massachusetts Medical Society. The award recognizes physicians who have made significant contributions to patients and the community and who stand out as leading advocates and caregivers. Caplan is also a staff rheumatologist at the Marino Center in Wellesley, Mass., and a trustee of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Sai Krupa Das, N02, an assistant professor at the Friedman School, was invited to be a visiting lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia). During her week-long visit in January, Das shared her expertise on calorie restriction and aging and gave recommendations for designing and conducting a calorie restriction study in Malaysia. She also conducted workshops on body composition assessment and scientific manuscript writing and worked with faculty and postgraduate students to evaluate their research and determine possibilities for collaboration.

Gretchen Dobson, senior associate director of alumni relations, is having a busy spring. She presented at the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Europe Master Class in Alumni Relations in London on March 19. She speaks on April 13 at a CASE District VII workshop on “Alumni Volunteers: Making an Investment in a Lifelong Resource” at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. On April 14, she is a workshop presenter at UC-Davis on “Best Practices in International Fundraising and Programs.” She will also lead a webinar on May 13 for the CASE Online Speaker Series titled “International Alumni Relations and Independent Schools: Growing Participation and Support.”

Kevin P. Gallagher, a senior researcher at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), was in Washington, D.C., on February 25–27 for meetings at the International Monetary Fund and with GDAE partners, and to deliver the keynote address at the annual trade policy organizers conference sponsored by Public Citizen and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. On March 18, he delivered the paper “Policy Space for Capital Controls in the 21st Century: U.S. Trade and Investment Agreements in Comparative Perspective” at the Eastern Sociological Meetings. Gallagher also joined the Politico.com “Arena” blog as a contributor; see his posts at http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/kevin_p_gallagher.html.

Jessie Guy-Ryan is the new administrative and technical coordinator for the School of Dental Medicine’s Office of Educational Measurement. Originally from North Carolina, she earned her B.A. in international relations at Boston University. She comes to Tufts from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where she worked as an administrative assistant in the School of Nursing.

Richard Guttman, A78, was elected to the board of directors of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. Guttman is president of Guttman Oil Co. and Source One Transportation, which are located in Belle Vernon, Pa. “Richard brings a breadth of knowledge to the board of the institute that will help us to continue to build the entrepreneurial community of western Pennsylvania and beyond,” says Ann Dugan, founder of the institute.

John F. Hodgman, a lecturer in entrepreneurial leadership studies at the Gordon Institute, has been appointed to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Advisory Council. Established last October, the council seeks to build public support and increase students’ interest in pursuing careers in the STEM fields. Hodgman is co-chair of the council’s data collection subcommittee, along with Lynn Griesemer from the UMass Donahue Institute. The subcommittee will be responsible for compiling recommendations on the issues of STEM metrics and evaluation. Hodgman is also the Howard P. Foley Professor for High Tech Workforce Development at the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Justin Hollander, assistant professor of urban and environmental policy and planning in the School of Arts and Sciences, was an invited speaker in the George Perkins Marsh Institute’s lecture series on March 25 at Clark University. His lecture was titled “The Open Neighborhood Project: Reinventing Public Participation Using Immersive Technologies.”

Brian Lee, vice president of University Advancement and a trustee of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), is chair of this year’s CASE Leadership Summit, to be held July 18–20 in New York City. The high-profile event attracts senior advancement professionals to discuss a wide range of big-picture issues relating to higher education. Speakers include Tufts president Lawrence S. Bacow, Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter; Cokie Roberts, a senior news analyst at NPR, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, H07, the keynote speaker.

Nan Levinson, a lecturer in English, served as a commissioner on the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, held at the Riverside Church in New York in March.

Jonathan Leviss, A91, edited a new book, HIT or Miss: Lessons Learned from Health Information Technology Implementations, co-published by the American Medical Informatics Association and the American Health Information Management Association. The book presents a collection of 17 case studies of health information technology projects that “missed” and includes expert analysis and insight into key obstacles that must be overcome to successfully leverage IT to modernize and transform health care. Leviss is vice president and chief medical officer at Sentillion, which was recently acquired by Microsoft, and a staff physician at the Thundermist Health Center in Rhode Island.

Tim Mader has been promoted to clinical professor of emergency medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is based at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass.

Kevin P. Moriarty, an associate clinical professor of surgery and a pediatric surgeon at Baystate Medical Center, spent eight days in Haiti on a medical mission, along with Jane Hetzel, a pediatric nurse at Baystate. They went to Milot, about 100 miles north of Port-au-Prince, to treat earthquake victims at the Hôpital Sacré Coeur, a 73-bed hospital which had some 400 patients, including 50 children. Typically the hospital performs 20 operations a week, but was doing 20 a day in the aftermath of the earthquake. Moriarty operated on patients from 4 months to 85 years old. “The patients are extremely grateful for the care they are receiving. It was a very sobering and uplifting experience, and I look forward to going back to Haiti in the future,” Moriarty says.

Brian McKeon, an assistant clinical professor of orthopedic surgery, is co-editor of the book Knee Arthroscopy (Springer, 2009), along with James V. Bono, clinical professor of orthopedic surgery, and John C. Richmond, M76, professor of orthopedic surgery. Covering the spectrum of knee arthroscopy, chapters discuss issues such as meniscal transplantation, articular cartilage repair, anterior cruciate ligament treatment among other surgical procedures.

J. David Naparstek, A68, adjunct assistant professor of public health and community medicine, has retired after 23 years as the commissioner of Health and Human Services for the City of Newton, Mass. Mayor David B. Cohen, in his proclamation of J. David Naparstek Day in Newton, urged all city residents “to join me in honoring one of the most accomplished and successful public servants in Newton’s history.” Naparstek has been teaching public health at the medical school for the past 16 years.

Julie Nelson, a senior research fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), traveled to Sicily in March to deliver talks at the departments of political science and economics at the University of Catania.

Dave Nuscher, director of editorial and creative services in Advancement Communications, is co-chair of the 2011 CASE District I Conference, to be held in Boston. He is joined on the executive committee by Courtney Mongell, associate director of communications and donor retention for the Tufts Fund for Arts, Sciences and Engineering, who will chair communications and marketing for the conference, and Amy Miller, administrative assistant in Advancement Communications, who will edit the conference attendee directory and the schedule-at-a-glance reference piece.

Dominique Penninck, a professor of clinical sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, attended the winter board meeting of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, of which she is president, in Brussels on February 16.

Nitin Puri, A99, took part in a medical aid mission to Haiti five days after that country’s January earthquake. A doctor, Puri treated people in Jiamani, a town bordering the Dominican Republic. Two other classmates were part of the relief team: Krista Desgranges, J97, a USAID employee working in Port-au-Prince, and Tania Desgrottes, J00, a doctor working in Port-au-Prince and Petit Gauve.

Niels Rathlev, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baystate Medical Center, was appointed to the board of directors of the Massachusetts College of Emergency Medicine.

Alfredo Sanchez, an assistant professor of environmental and population health at the Cummings School and a member of the Tufts Ambulatory Service, has completed the large animal specialty examination and is now a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

John Santoro, Joeli Hettler and Holly Perry, all assistant professors of emergency medicine; Ian Goodman, a clinical instructor in pediatrics; and Stephen Kelly, a clinical associate in emergency medicine, assisted with relief efforts in Haiti. The team brought seven children to Massachusetts for advanced burn and trauma care with the goal of returning the children to Haiti when they are medically stable.

Lindsay Schoonmaker was promoted to assistant director of stewardship and constituent relations in the Friedman School’s development office. Schoonmaker, who joined Tufts in 2005 as the department’s staff assistant, was promoted the following year to coordinator of stewardship and events, a new position in which she developed strategies for stewarding donors, tackled an expanded events schedule and created new communications for the department, including e-newsletters, redesigned web pages and social media. She has also been playing an increasing role in the management of Alumni Association activities.

Sharan L. Schwartzberg, professor of occupational therapy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and adjunct professor of psychiatry at the medical school, completed the American Group Psychotherapy Association National Instructor Designate Training Group Institute, qualifying her to lead a psychodynamic process group at the association’s annual meeting. She also co-conducted a workshop, “Don’t Just Sit There; Do Something! Contrasting Psychotherapy Groups and Activities Therapy Groups for Older Adults,” with Ken Schwartz and George Saiger at the annual meeting held in San Diego in February.

Denise Sheldon has been promoted to senior technician of the radiology section at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

Mir F. Shuttari, a clinical instructor at the School of Medicine, received American Board of Internal Medicine certification in sleep medicine last fall. He is also board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care, and is based at Falmouth Hospital on Cape Cod.

Roger Tobin, professor and chair of physics and astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences, is this year’s recipient of the Lillian and Joseph Leibner Award for distinguished teaching and advising. The award was established by the late Max Tishler, professor of chemistry at Wesleyan University and trustee emeritus at Tufts. The award will be presented at the Arts, Sciences and Engineering faculty meeting in May.

Reed Ueda, professor of history in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians.  He will be invited to present lectures at colleges and other institutions about his work on immigration and the United States in the world.

David Walt, the Robinson Professor of Chemistry, has received the American Chemical Society’s 2010 Award for Creative Invention. Walt will present the award address before the Division of Analytical Chemistry at the fall ACS national meeting in Boston. He has also been selected to receive a 2010 Special Grant in the Chemical Sciences from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The $50,000 award will support Walt’s project, “Tufts Chemistry Organized Outreach Partnership (CO-OP): A Model for Sharing Resources between Institutions of K-12 and Higher Learning.” He is one of 13 special grant award recipients this year.

Barbara Ehrlich White, emerita professor of art history, gave a lecture in French on Pierre-Auguste Renoir and his wife at the Grand Palais in Paris. She is completing a book on Renoir and his family. Her earlier book, Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters, was recently reprinted by Abrams and is widely available.

Parke Wilde, associate professor at the Friedman School, gave a presentation on “Disciplined But Not Obstinate: Some Success Stories in Interdisciplinary Food System Research” in January to the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at the University of Vermont. In November, he served on an external panel to offer input on PepsiCo’s corporate responsibility reporting. The panel, which reflected food and beverage manufacturers’ interest in understanding the food policy concerns that motivate consumers, was convened at PepsiCo headquarters by CERES, a network of investor representatives and public interest organizations. In the same vein, Wilde will give a talk this month in Washington, D.C., at the 2010 Science Forum of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the industry’s principal trade organization.

Timothy A. Wise, director of the Research and Policy Program at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), had his article, “The True Cost of Cheap Food,” published in the March/April 2010 issue of the magazine Resurgence as part of its special issue: “Seeds of Change: The Future of Food.” Also, a recent GDAE policy brief by Wise and Betsy Rakocy, “Hogging the Gains from Trade,” was reprinted in the bilingual Revista Amauta on February 19. Excerpts from the same piece were included on a new Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy fact sheet, NAFTA: Fueling Market Concentration in Agriculture, which looks at the role of the North American Free Trade Agreement in accelerating agribusiness concentration.

John B. Wong, a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Clinical Decision Making, took part in an NIH Office of Dietary Supplements-sponsored a workshop titled “Economic Analysis of Nutrition Interventions: Methods, Research and Policy” in February, in which Tufts faculty participated prominently and extensively. The workshop brought together U.S. and international academic and government researchers, policymakers and regulators to address the state of the science, research applications and regulatory and policymaker perspectives. Details of the meeting are available at http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/News/NutritionInterventionsWorkshop.aspx.

Gordon S. Wood, A55, the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University, won the American History Book Prize from the New York Historical Society for Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (Oxford University Press, 2009), an account of how America’s leaders created the country’s democratic institutions. Wood’s book was selected from 129 other nominees. The award comes with a $50,000 prize, an engraved medal and the title of American Historian Laureate. A trustee emeritus of Tufts, Wood taught at Harvard University and the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at Brown in 1969. He is also the author of the Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 (1969), which won the Bancroft Prize and the John H. Dunning Prize in 1970, and The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992), which won the Pulitzer Prize for History and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize in 1993. The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin (2004) was awarded the Julia Ward Howe Prize by the Boston Authors Club in 2005. Wood will receive an honorary degree at Tufts’ Commencement in May.

Jason L. Zaremski, clinical associate and resident physician, and Vidya Jayawardena, assistant professor, both in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, published a paper, “An Occult Presentation of Appendicitis in a Patient with Tetraplegia,” in the February issue of the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

Quanshun Zhang was promoted to research assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.