July 15, 2010

July 2010 People Notes


Frank Ackerman, an economist at the Stockholm Environment Institute’s U.S. Center, a research affiliate of Tufts, had his article “What Would Happen If We Admitted to the High Risk of Deepwater Drilling?” published in Grist magazine. It discusses the true costs associated with deepwater drilling.

Bharat Burman, M11, has been selected from more than 200 medical students nationwide as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health (HHMI-NIH) Research Scholar. Burman, one of 42 medical and veterinary students chosen from 28 U.S. schools, will spend the 2010–11 academic year working in a research lab on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md. The program is designed to encourage students to become career physician-scientists.

Bob Burns has been appointed the new director of Physical Plant, and started work on July 12. Burns comes to Tufts after a 30-year career as a senior operations executive in the newspaper industry, where he led the design, construction and operations of large, extremely complicated production facilities in a 24/7 operating environment. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served both as a line officer on destroyers and as an instructor at the Academy.

Elizabeth Byrnes, assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Cummings School, presented a talk titled “Transgenerational Effects of Adolescent Opiate Exposure” at the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society annual meeting on June 11 in Villismius, Italy. Byrnes also served as co-chair of a symposium, “Familial Patterns in Substance Use Disorders: How Maternal Phenotype Influences Vulnerability to Future Drug Use,” at the same meeting.

Bruce Cheson, M71, has been named chairman of the Lymphoma Research Foundation’s scientific advisory board. Previously, he was head of the medicine section for the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Investigations Branch in the cancer therapy evaluation program, and senior staff physician in the NCI’s Lymphoma Clinic. Prior to that, Cheson was an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah.

Patrick Connell has been promoted to manager of educational technology at the Friedman School.

Chris J. Cote, A09, was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in Brazil. Cote is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts alumni and students—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Antonio Donini, a senior researcher at the Feinstein International Center, gave the keynote speech at the Australia Council for International Development annual humanitarian forum in Melbourne. He spoke on “Humanitarianism in the 21st Century: Lessons from Afghanistan and Other Recent Crises.” He also gave a briefing to Melbourne-based academics.

Kevin P. Gallagher, a senior researcher at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), gave a lecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing titled “U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty Negotiations: Implications for Chinese Development Policy.” His paper “Losing Control: Policy Space for Capital Controls in Trade and Investment Agreements,” adapted from his recent U.N. report, has been accepted by the peer-reviewed academic journal Development Policy Review.

Christopher S. Giliberti, A10, has been named an Aspen Environment Forum Scholar. He will attend the Aspen Environment Forum on a scholarship in July.

Kyle M. Halle-Erby, A10, was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in Colombia. Halle-Erby is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts alumni and students—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Ray Jackendoff, the Seth Merrin Professor of Philosophy and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the faculty of humanities at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

Laura E. Kaplan, A10, was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in Colombia. Kaplan is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts alumni and students—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Jacqueline Kral joined University Advancement as associate director for corporate and foundation relations. She will focus her efforts on the Friedman School and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.

Emily Maughan has joined the School of Dental Medicine’s continuing education division as assistant director. She has many years of continuing education experience in both university and health-care environments.

Anita Macdonald, a staff assistant in the Cummings School’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations for some 20 years, is retiring on July 16. She and her husband will be moving from Massachusetts to Colorado, where their three children live.

Heather McMorrow has been promoted to associate director of academic initiatives at the Friedman School.

Gilbert E. Metcalf, professor of economics in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed as a lead author for the Fifth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Metcalf is a lead author for the chapter on social, economic and ethical concepts and methods in the IPCC Working Group III’s part of the report on mitigation of climate change.

Nichola Minott, a doctoral candidate at the Fletcher School, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to study international relations in Indonesia. Minott is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts students and alumni—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Julie Nelson, a senior research fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), traveled to Montreal to participate in the World Congress for Social Economics, held at Concordia University from June 28 to July 1.

Danielle S. Okai, A10, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in Colombia. Okai is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts alumni and students—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Mary Rose Paradis, an associate professor at the Cummings School, is now also assistant director of the Hospital for Large Animals and will help manage the daily operation of the hospital.

Eli Peli, an adjunct professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine, was awarded the Edwin H. Land Medal by the Optical Society in recognition of his pioneering research and contributions to providing enhanced imagery for people with impaired vision. Peli is based at the Schepens Eye Research Institute.

Talya R. Peltzman, A10, was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in Indonesia. Peltzman is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts alumni and students—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Roberto Porzecanski, a research fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute, in June launched his book on Uruguay’s negotiations with the U.S. on trade and investment agreements at the Ministry of External Relations in Montevideo. The book, No Voy en Tren: Uruguay y las perspectivas de un TLC con Estados Unidos 2000–2010 (Not On Board: Uruguay and the Prospects for a Free-Trade Agreement with the United States, 2000–2010), received prominent media coverage, including an article in Busqueda, one of Uruguay’s leading weekly magazines.

Sharan L. Schwartzberg, professor of occupational therapy and adjunct professor of psychiatry, has been selected by the Massachusetts Association for Occupational Therapy to receive the 2011 Catherine Trombly Award. The award is given in recognition of significant contributions to occupational therapy practice while exhibiting excellence in special practice skill, education, research and administration. The award will be given on October 29.

Heather Tierney, G11, a graduate student in chemistry, won the Nottingham Prize at the Physical Electronics Conference in June. The $1,000 prize is awarded for the best student research paper, and “represents a seminal honor, as many Nottingham winners have gone on to become leaders in the field of surface science,” according to the prize committee.

Beth Torello is now service manager for the Hospital for Large Animals at the Cummings School. She will expand her current duties as technician manager to include front desk and client services. Torello will manage the day-to-day staff-related operations.

Peter Walker, director of the Feinstein International Center and the Rosenberg Professor of Nutrition and Human Security at the Friedman School, is part of an advisory group organized by the United Kingdom Department for International Development to help it develop the UK’s new humanitarian aid policy. He also went to New York recently to present the Feinstein International Center’s Humanitarian Horizons research to a gathering of the U.N. agencies and missions to the U.N.

Jennifer Watkins, A10, has been named to the Intercollegiate Sailing Association of North America’s ICSA All-American Crew.

Andrea K. Wenglowskyj, G07, recently was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship in museum studies in Ukraine. Wenglowskyj is one of more than 1,500 U.S. citizens—and seventeen Tufts alumni and students—who will travel abroad for the 2010–11 academic year on Fulbright scholarships.

Timothy Wise, director of the Research and Policy Program at the Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), was quoted extensively in an article in the July 5 issue of The Nation, “Retreat to Subsistence,” on the plight of Mexico’s indigenous corn farmers under NAFTA. The article includes a summary of the controversy over transgenic contamination of native fields.

Fang Fang Zhang has joined the Friedman School as an assistant professor in the nutritional epidemiology program. She has an M.D. from Shanghai Medical University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Prior to coming to Tufts, she was at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth as an assistant professor of epidemiology. Zhang’s research focuses on how cancer risk is affected by behavioral factors such as diet and physical activity. She received the Career Catalyst Award from Susan G. Komen for the Cure to study the integrated effect of energy intake, body size and physical activity on breast cancer risk. She also leads several epidemiologic studies related to DNA methylation and cancer risk. The author of some 30 journal articles, she teaches epidemiology methods.