Journal Archive > 2002 > June

June People Notes

Kristin Baker, a doctoral student in drama, gave a presentation on "Art, Spectacle and Reconciliation: The Gettysburg Cyclorama in Boston" at a conference of the New England American Studies Association in April. top

Mary Alicia Barnes, fieldwork coordinator at the Boston School of Occupational Therapy, and Amy Thornton, a 2000 graduate of the school, gave a presentation on "Supervision Basics" to New England area occupational therapy practitioners April 20 at the New England Institute of Technology in Rhode Island. Their topic was based on their newly published research. top

John Baronian, trustee emeritus, was one of two men honored at a commemoration of the 87th Armenian Martyrs' Day April 21 at the West Middle School in Andover, Mass. Baronian and artist Daniel Varoujan Hejinian were recognized for their efforts to promote the Armenian cause. The event was sponsored by the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of Merrimack Valley, which is home to 3,000 Armenian families. top

Stephen J. Browne, chairman and president of the Stanton Group and an expert in microeconomics, has been appointed to the Board of Overseers to the School of Veterinary Medicine. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. top

Lorraine Cordeiro, a doctoral student in nutrition, received a 2002 Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service from the Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service. top

Jonathan G. Curtis, an environmental engineer who is president and CEO of CDM Federal Programs Corp., a subsidiary of Camp Dresser & McKee, has been named to the Board of Overseers to the School of Engineering. CDM Federal provides environmental engineering and consulting services to government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from Tufts and an MBA from Boston University and is a diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. top

Marc d'Alarcao, associate professor of chemistry, is the winner of the 2002 Lillian and Joseph Leibner Award for distinguished teaching and advising. The award, based on nominations from faculty and students, was presented at the May 13 meeting of the faculty of Arts, Sciences and Engineering. The Leibner Award was established by the late Max Tishler, professor of chemistry at Wesleyan University and a former trustee of Tufts. top

Ed Dente, director of Tufts' Language Media Center, received the New England Regional Association of Learning Laboratory Directors' Pioneer Award April 12 in recognition of his considerable contributions to the association and to the field of language teaching and technology. Dente was honored at the association's annual meeting, held at the Choate Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford, Conn. top

Cam Donaldson and Brent Gottesman, both M05, are the new editors-in-chief of The Connective Issue, the online medical student publication founded last year by Gary Blanchard and Matt LeMaitre, both M04. Other new M05 staffers include Jessie Glasser, Chirayu Gor, Jason Kinzel, Beevash Ray and Kevan Zipin. You can read the publication at www.tuftsissue.com top

Johanna T. Dwyer, professor of nutrition and of medicine and community health and director of the Frances Stern Nutrition Center and Dietetic Internship at Tufts-New England Medical Center, will receive an American Dietetic Association (ADA) Medallion Award in recognition of her leadership and service in the field. The award will be presented at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia on October 20. top

Dr. Lisa Foley has been promoted to assistant clinical professor of general dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine. top

Mary Frohn has been appointed adjunct clinical instructor in general dentistry at the dental school. top

Shinju Fujihira, assistant professor of political science, will spend the 2002-03 academic year on a fellowship at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center. A specialist in comparative politics of advanced industrial nations, Fujihira's project will be on "The Political Economy of Japan's Fiscal Crisis." top

Dr. Kanchan Ganda has been promoted to professor of general dentistry at the dental school. top

Raina Tucker Gay, doctoral degree candidate at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, has received a Glenn/AFAR scholarship to support work on her thesis, "Effect of Vitamin E on Secondary Bacterial Infection Following Influenza Infection in Old Mice." This prestigious award is given as a result of an annual national competition to support a maximum of 30 candidates who are doing research in the biology of aging. top

Susan Harris, assistant professor of nutrition and a scientist in the HNRCA's Calcium and Bone Metabolism Laboratory, is the author of "Can Vitamin D Supplementation in Infancy Prevent Type 1 Diabetes?" published in the April issue of Nutrition Reviews. top

Andrew C. Hess, professor of diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, gave a talk on "The History and Analysis of the Current Situation in Afghanistan" May 1 to the senior adult department of the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Campus in Newton, Mass. On May 15, Hess was the luncheon speaker at the spring meeting of the New Hampshire Council on World Affairs in Manchester, N.H. His topic was "Iraq and America's War on Terrorism." top

Elizabeth Kline, senior researcher at the Global Development and Environment Institute, will assist the Framingham Community Partners in developing a community indicators report defining and tracking what makes the town a "healthy" place. top

Richard M. Lerner, Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development, gave a talk on "Teen Biology, Brains and Behavior: Integrating Culture, Morals and Civic Engagement" at the Learning and the Brain Conference May 11-12 in Cambridge. On May 14, he spoke about positive youth development at St. Stephan's Armenian School in Watertown. He gave the keynote talk on "Building Communities to Promote Positive Youth Development" June 5 for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's After-School Initiative. top

Dr. Ronald L. Maitland, D64, a member of the Board of Overseers to the dental school, was recognized by the New York Academy of Dentistry with its Humanitarian Award for his work in the aftermath of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. The award citation reads: "The fellows of the Academy wish to recognize the generous gifts of time, skills and knowledge that you have dedicated to the critical task of identifying victims of the September 11th tragedy at the World Trade Center. Your tireless efforts with the Dental Identification Team at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City have helped innumerable families and friends of the victims as well as the larger community of our small planet to find peace and closure. For the example of compassion, beneficence and humanity that you have epitomized, this Academy has chosen to award you its esteemed Humanitarian Award." top

Malik Mufti, associate professor of political science, will be a visiting fellow this summer at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a leading D.C.-based think tank. top

Miriam E. Nelson, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, received the 2002 Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont during the college's ninth annual Alumni and Friends Dinner on May 11 in Essex Junction, Vt. top

Dassia Posner, a doctoral student in drama, published "Vertep: The Eastern European Puppet Nativity" in the spring 2002 issue of Puppetry International. top

Sharon Ray, assistant professor in the Boston School of Occupational Therapy, spent her spring sabbatical developing a text aimed at providing in-school occupational therapy and related services to children. She will spend the summer in Balfate, Honduras, providing evangelical and occupational therapy consultation services through the Cornerstone Foundation. top

Judy D. Ribaya-Mercado, assistant professor of nutrition and a scientist in the HNRCA's Gastrointestinal Nutrition Laboratory, is the author of "Influence of Dietary Fat on Beta-Carotene Absorption and Bioconversion into Vitamin A," which was published in the April issue of Nutrition Reviews. top

Susan B. Roberts, professor of nutrition and chief of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the HNRCA, and Dr. Edward Saltzman, a scientist in the laboratory, collaborated on a paper, "The Influence of Dietary Composition on Energy Intake and Body Weight," that was published in the April edition of The Journal of the American College of Nutrition. The paper reviews evidence regarding the influence of dietary fat, fiber, the glycemic index and sugar on energy intake and body weight. top

Deborah Rochman, lecturer at the BSOT, is the principal author of a chapter on occupational therapy, published this year in the second edition of The Manual of Pain Management (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). top

Shaun Rodriguez, a first-year student in the cellular and molecular nutrition program at the Friedman School, has been named the school's first Roche Scholar. Roche Vitamins Inc. established the Roche Nutrition Scholarship to support students in the research programs of the nutrition school. The scholarship is awarded to an advanced degree student conducting research on the role of dietary compounds to help promote human health. Rodriguez's research interest is in lipid metabolism. top

Dr. Ronenn Roubenoff, associate professor of nutrition and chief of the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at the HNRCA, has been appointed a councilor to the American Society of Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Robert M. Russell, director of the HNRCA, currently serves as the organization's vice president. top

Dr. Robert M. Russell, professor of nutrition and director of the HNRCA; Alice Lichtenstein, the Stanley N. Gershoff Professor at the nutrition school and senior scientist in the HNRCA's Lipid Metabolism Laboratory; and Helen Rasmussen, lecturer in nutrition and research dietitian at the HNRCA, who developed the Tufts University 70+ Pyramid, will have their work included in an anthology, The Best of Diabetes Self-Management (Rappaport Publishing). top

Sharan L. Schwartzberg, professor and chair of BSOT, and Mary Alicia Barnes, fieldwork coordinator, gave a presentation on "The Functional Group Model in Occupational Therapy" at the American Occupational Therapy Association's 82 annual conference and expo in Miami Beach, Fla., on May 4. They also hosted a very well attended alumni and fieldwork associates reception at the conference. Schwartzberg, associate professors Diana Bailey and Olga Baloueff and Mary Evenson, academic fieldwork coordinator, will present papers at the conference of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists in Stockholm, Sweden, in June. top

Laurence Senelick, Fletcher Professor of Oratory and professor of drama, has been awarded a research fellowship by the American Society for Theatre Research for a project on the cultural influence of Offenbach. He recently spoke on "Changing Sex in Public" at the department of theatre at the University of Maryland. top

Dr. Mabi Singh has been appointed research instructor of general dentistry at the dental school. top

Paul Stanton, director of administration for the Arts, Sciences & Engineering libraries, gave a keynote address on "Reshaping Library Organizations or Fun With Play-Doh" at a two-day institute on "Achieving Excellence in Academic Libraries" April 24-25. The institute, developed by the Boston Library Consortium and NELINET, was designed to assist library professionals and administrators facing challenging situations and rapid changes in their libraries. More than 50 library professionals from across New England attended. top

Vivian Stephens-Hicks, who helped coordinate the School of Dental Medicine's 18-month re-accreditation process, is now coordinator for the school's Division of Public Health. top

Walter Swap, professor of psychology, is the 2002 recipient of the Seymour Simches Award, acknowledging a lifetime of outstanding teaching and advising and representing the highest standards of the profession. Swap received the award, named for the emeritus John Wade Professor of Modern Languages at Tufts, at the May 13 meeting of the faculty of Arts, Sciences and Engineering. top

Peter Walker will join the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in September as associate professor and director of the Feinstein International Famine Center. Walker comes to Tufts with an impressive background in humanitarian assistance. He currently serves as head of the regional office in Bangkok for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. From 1991 to 2000, he was head of the disasters policy department, and since 1995, director of disaster policy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. Walker has developed a number of major policy and practice initiatives in humanitarian assistance. He started and helped develop the Code of Conduct for NGOs and also initiated and led the Sphere Project on humanitarian standards, a set of standards now followed by humanitarian agencies throughout the world. He launched the World Disasters Report in 1993 and served as managing editor until 2000. He has worked on the issue of impacts of UN and other sanctions, and he has recently initiated, with a group of international law experts, a program to develop International Disaster Response Law as a parallel to International Humanitarian Law. Walker holds a Ph.D. in soil science from Sheffield University in the UK. top

Donna Wilson, a doctoral student in chemistry, received the Microscopy Society of America's Presidential Student Award for 2002. top