February People Notes

Frank Ackerman, assistant research professor with the Global Development and Environment Institute, and Georgetown University law professor Lisa Heinzerling have published a new book, Priceless: On Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing (The New Press, 2004).

Giana Angelo, a doctoral student in the Friedman School’s Cell and Molecular Nutrition Program, is one of 12 recipients of the 2004 American Society for Nutritional Science’s Procter & Gamble Graduate Student Research Award. She will present her research on “Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) Modulates Vitamin D Action in Caco-2 Cells” at the 2004 FASEB conference in Washington, D.C., in April.

Brett M. Baden, assistant professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, presented his paper, “Estimating the Demand for Environmental Quality: Hazardous Waste and Implicit Prices,” at the annual meetings of the Southern Economic Association November 21-23. A report on railroad crossing safety that he wrote with a colleague, Joe Schwieterman, who runs a research institute at DePaul University, has been used to change federal policy. They wrote the paper for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, who used it to help secure $500,000 in federal funding for a pilot program to improve railroad crossing safety in four Illinois communities. Durbin has been working to find alternatives to having trains sound their whistles at railroad crossings. He asked DePaul University to study the issue, and the DePaul report was released in fall 2002. In their report, Schwieterman and Baden found that between 15,000 and 26,000 preventable railroad crossing violations occur every day in northeastern Illinois. The report also contends that the mandatory use of train whistles at all railroad crossings could decrease Chicago-area property values by more than $1 billion. In January 2002, the Federal Railroad Administration proposed a rule that could have overturned some Illinois quiet zones by requiring trains to blow their whistles at all crossings. Baden presented a paper on “Barriers and Equity in Residential Migration: The ‘Environmental Protection Hustle’ Revisited” at the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association meeting on January 4 in San Diego. Co-authors on the paper were Julian Agyeman, assistant professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, and Jon Witten, lecturer in the department.

Mary Alicia Barnes, fieldwork coordinator at the Boston School of Occupational Therapy (BSOT), and Mary Evenson, academic fieldwork coordinator at BSOT, gave a presentation on “Coach-Mentoring: Facilitating Professional Development” at a Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy conference in November. The presentation was done in collaboration with their colleague, Julia Foster Turner, principal lecturer at the Oxford-Brookes University School of Health and Social Care. Barnes, Sharan Schwartzberg, professor and chair of BSOT, and Sharon Ray, assistant professor, also gave a presentation on “Outcomes Research on the Effectiveness of Functional Groups” at the conference.

Tara Bass, a BSOT alumna, presented a poster, “Occupational Therapist’s Role in Lower Extremity Prosthetic Training and Oncology Rehabilitation,” at the November 2003 conference of the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy.

Janna Behrens from Tufts Programs Abroad and Jane Etish-Andrews, director of the International Center, collaborated on a presentation, “Partnership with Ghana: Student & University Perspectives,” at the Regional Conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators on December 3 in Hartford, Conn. The presentation included a video describing the experiences in Ghana and in the U.S. as told by participants in the exchange program.

Bruce Boghosian, professor of mathematics, was part of an international team that was recognized for the “most innovative data-intensive application” at the annual supercomputing conference in Phoenix. The award cited the achievement as the largest and most geographically distributed calculation of its kind, involving the computation of a moving fluid on a billion-site grid. For the first time, supercomputers in the United States and the United Kingdom were linked to carry out an interactive scientific experiment using computer models as they evolved in real time. Boghosian is the principal investigator on the National Science Foundation grant for this “TeraGyroid” project, which is also funded by the U.K.’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Patricia Campbell, executive associate dean of the School of Dental Medicine, is also serving as executive associate dean for the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, providing administrative leadership while the university completes the search for a new Friedman School dean to succeed Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg, who announced last year that he intended to step down, and subsequently a new executive associate dean to succeed David Hastings, who stepped down in January. Campbell has been executive associate dean at the dental school since May 1996. Prior to coming to Tufts, she was director of administration at a 225-bed hospital, deputy commissioner for administration for the New York State Office of Mental Health and director of budget studies for the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Jay Cantor, professor of English, received recognition for his book Great Neck in the New York Times’ “Notable Books 2003” on December 7.

Bonnie Chakravorty, lecturer in community health, presented a paper, “Advance Directives and End-of-Life Care Planning among Nursing Home Residents with COPD/Emphysema: Where Are the Gaps?,” at the First National Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Conference November 14-15 in Arlington, Va. The paper, co-authored by Drs. Robert Buchanan of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Jane Bolin and Myoung Kim, both of Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center, was based on assessments of 80,000 persons with COPD/emphysema made upon their admission to nursing homes throughout the United States in 2002. The study was supported by a grant from the Alpha One Foundation.

Kimberly Dong, N02, researcher for Tufts’ Nutrition for Healthy Living study, has been appointed to the American Dietetic Association’s (ADA) Evidence Analysis Team. This team is responsible for reading and analyzing major articles in nutrition and dietetics, communicating findings to members of ADA’s working groups and staff and creating evidence-based resources for practitioners.

Deb Griffin and Orlando Romero, both members of the Class of 2006 at the School of Dental Medicine, have been awarded $2,500 scholarships from the American Dental Association Foundation.

Margot Grisar, art director in Tufts Office of Publications, and C.W. Wolff, senior health sciences writer in the publications office, have won a gold medal from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (District 1) for producing the most recent student recruitment booklet for the School of Medicine’s Graduate Programs in Public Health.

Frederick Hartman, visiting professor at the Friedman School, has been honored by the Mukukku Health Center in Uganda, which has named its a new maternity wing in his honor. Hartman is known for his work on primary health care in developing countries.

Betty Hearne, a BSOT alumna, gave a presentation on “What’s the Pain?” at the November 2003 conference of the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy.

Charlotte Heim, a student at BSOT, presented a poster session at the November 2003 conference of the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy. Her poster presentation was titled “The Silver Force: Working Past 65.”

Dr. Aidee N. Herman, clinical assistant professor of periodontology at the School of Dental Medicine, was recognized by the Massachusetts Dental Society as a “volunteer hero” for 2003. She and five other volunteer heroes are profiled in a special edition of the society’s journal. Among Herman’s many volunteer projects is a public school mentoring program promoting dentistry as a career for minorities.

Marcie Hershman, lecturer in English, spoke at Hebrew College on the “Art of the Memoir,” along with authors Justin Kaplan, Anne Bernays and Daniel Asa Rose. Her memoir, Speak to Me, was chosen by the college’s McGann Library as its book of the month for discussion. She continues to serve on the inaugural writing faculty for the University of Minnesota’s Split Rock Arts online mentoring program and wrote an essay that appeared in Architecture Boston’s 2003 year-in-review issue on the national award-winning architectural design of the Allston Library, the newest library in the Boston Public Library system.

Laurent L. Jacque, professor of international finance and banking and director of the Fletcher School’s International Business Relations Program, was installed as the school’s first Walter B. Wriston Professor in International Business Relations on December 18 in New York City. The endowed chair is named for Walter Wriston, former CEO of Citibank (now Citigroup), who received a master’s degree from Fletcher in 1942. Wriston, 84, remains legendary on Wall Street as a nationally respected expert on banking and finance as well as an outspoken critic of corporate malfeasance. Wriston was joined by President Lawrence S. Bacow, Board of Trustees Chairman James Stern, Fletcher Dean Stephen Bosworth, Peter Ackerman, chairman of Fletcher’s Board of Overseers, Citigroup CEO Charles Prince, Citigroup Chairman Sandy Weill and more than 130 Fletcher alumni and friends at the inauguration at Citigroup headquarters. Jacque delivered the inaugural lecture on “Financial Development and the Wealth of Nations: Revisiting the Emerging Capital Markets Hypothesis.” The new chair builds on Fletcher’s expanding international business program and complements the Citigroup/ Wriston Scholarship Fund that annually supports five students studying international business and the global marketplace.

Kenneth Kaitin, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, has been named to the board of directors of Curis Inc., a Cambridge-based pharmaceutical firm.

Michael W. Klein, professor of international economics at the Fletcher School, co-authored Job Creation, Job Destruction and International Competition, which was published by the Upjohn Institute Press in December. The book’s co-authors are Scott Schuh and Bob Triest, both of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Sheldon Krimsky, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, had his book Science in the Public Interest: Has the Lure of Profits Corrupted Biomedical Research? listed among USA Today’s “best books for serious scholars as well as weekend stargazers.” The newspaper described Krimsky’s book as “a must-read for anyone interested in the future of science.”

Norman I. Krinsky, professor of biochemistry emeritus, and his associates at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts—Elmi Tibaduiza, Robert Russell and James Fleet—had their research on beta carotene and its effect on breast tumor cell growth selected by an NIH panel from 350 published studies as one of the 25 most significant advances in dietary supplement research in 2002. They found that breakdown products of beta carotene inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells in vitro. Their work was published in the Journal of Nutrition, 132:1368-1375.

Dr. Simin N. Meydani, professor of nutrition and chief of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the HNRCA, has received a $1.4 million, five-year National Institutes of Health grant for her project, “Aging, Vitamin E and Immune Function in the Aged.” The award represents the 14th year of continuous support from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging to Meydani. Meydani’s co-investigators on the study are Brigitte T. Huber, professor of pathology at the School of Medicine, and Dr. Dayong Wu, a scientist at the HNRCA. The NIH grant will continue the work of the laboratory on the immuno-stimulatory effect of vitamin E and its underlying molecular mechanisms in the aged. Meydani gave a presentation on “Vitamin E and Respiratory Infections in the Elderly” at the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements seminar series on January 21. Earlier that week, she gave a talk on “Nutrition and Immunity” at the 2004 annual meeting of the International Life Sciences Institute.

Richard Milburn, professor of physics, has been accorded emeritus status by the university’s Board of Trustees.

Kayte Norris, an undergraduate, was one of five people honored at the 16th annual National Caring Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in November. With her sister, Maggie, Norris co-founded Helping Hands, a service organization in Quincy, Ill., whose student members have logged more than 10,000 hours of volunteer work.

Dr. Lonnie H. Norris, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, is profiled in the 2004 Calendar of African-American History, published by the Aetna Foundation. This year’s calendar features profiles of outstanding African-American oral health professionals. Previous calendars have recognized the contributions of pioneers in business, government, athletics, education, medicine and the arts, including playwright Lorraine Hansberry, Olympic gold medal-winner Florence Griffith Joyner and heart surgeon Daniel Hale. Norris is honored in the month of August.

Jose Ordovas, senior scientist in the Lipid Laboratory at the HNRCA, has been appointed to the scientific advisory board of Interleukin Genetics Inc. Ken Kornman, the company’s chief scientific officer, said, “Dr. Ordovas is one of the trail-blazers in defining how genetic variations among individuals influence their responses to diet and their risk for chronic diseases of aging.”

Marsha Starr Paiste, catalog librarian at the Tisch Library, had her article, “Defining and Achieving Quality in Cataloging in Academic Libraries: A Literature Review,” published in the journal Library Collections, Acquisitions and Technical Services, 27 (2003) 327-338.

James Palmariello, sous chef for Tufts Dining, won an American Culinary Foundation (ACF) silver medal and third prize in the individual hot food flight at the eighth annual Chefs Championships in New York City last November. His prize-winning dish was roast buffalo pork loin with caramelized pearl onion and bing cherry sauce, served with sweet potato mash and root vegetable and wild mushroom ragout. Palmariello competed alongside some of the top chefs from luxury hotels, resorts and country clubs from throughout the Northeast. Participants submit recipes for evaluation, and if selected, have the opportunity to display their skills and creativity. Palmariello is a graduate of the Newbury College culinary arts program and has been a member of ACF for 10 years. He has earned more than 20 medals competing in culinary competitions throughout his career. He has been with Tufts Dining for three years.

Dr. Ronald W. Pies, clinical professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, is the author of a forthcoming volume of poetry, Creeping Thyme (Brandylane Publishers, 2004). A number of the poems reflect the difficulties of working with seriously ill or emotionally disturbed patients, but the collection also touches on many other themes.

Constance E. Putnam, who received her Ph.D. in 1999 in Tufts’ interdisciplinary doctoral program, is the author of The Science We Have Loved and Taught: Dartmouth Medical School’s First Two Centuries, which will be published in June by the University Press of New England. Putnam specializes in the history of medicine and medical ethics. Dartmouth is the fourth oldest medical school in the country.

Dr. Morton Rosenberg, professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the School of Dental Medicine, received one of the first Faculty Recognition Awards presented by the Massachusetts Dental Society. He was chosen by the Tufts chapter of the American Student Dental Association for the honor. At the awards dinner, he discussed anesthesia and sedation of pediatric patients.

Yves-Rose SaintDic, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX, was the keynote speaker at Somerville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on January 19. SaintDic, a former director of the Human Rights Commission in Somerville, a member of the board of directors of Somerville’s Haitian Coalition and a longstanding community activist, was “the logical choice” to speak, said Kevin O’Malley, chairman of the Human Rights Commission.

Dr. Grannum R. Sant, adjunct professor of urology and urologist-in-chief at Tufts-New England Medical Center, left Boston in December to become medical director for urology of Sanofi-Syntholabo, a French drug firm with offices in New York. Dr. George T. Klauber, professor and interim chair of urology, is interim urologist-in-chief at Tufts-NEMC.

Dr. Ernst Schaefer, senior scientist in the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory at the HNRCA, is the co-author of a study that found that the size of cholesterol particles is a better predictor of avoiding heart disease, stroke and other illnesses of old age than the amount or type of cholesterol. The study, conducted with physicians at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, found that centenarians were three times more likely to have larger-than-normal cholesterol particles in their blood than were people in a general population control group. The offspring of those centenarians were twice as likely to have the large particles. Although attributed to a genetic mutation, the size of particles can be influenced by diet, exercise and drugs, according to the researchers.

Jill Shuman, visiting lecturer in nutrition, was elected a fellow of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) last fall during the organization’s 66th annual conference in Miami, Fla. Fellowship in this professional society is awarded to “biomedical communicators recognized for their sustained and significant professional accomplishments in the field as well as their contributions to the goals and activities of AMWA.”

James H. Singleton has been appointed to the newly created position of institutional compliance officer and oversees, among other areas, new regulations governing the privacy of health and financial information, the status of foreign students and visiting scholars and the use of biohazardous substances. Singleton worked in regulatory compliance and auditing at Harvard University.

Helen Smith, professor emerita at BSOT, received the 2003 Herbert J. Hall Award, and Thayer McCain, a BSOT alum, received the 2003 Linda Savino Leadership Award at the November 2003 conference of the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy.

Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, G88, G95, associate university chaplain, lecturer in Judaic studies and executive director of the Hillel Foundation at Tufts, has recorded, compiled and annotated a new CD for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings titled “Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda.” The CD was released in November and presents a broader collection of the music Summit recorded in Uganda. On November 30, the CD was the lead album in National Public Radio’s “Director’s Cuts” recommendations for CDs in 2003. Summit was invited to deliver a paper at Yale University on his research with the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda. He also was invited to lecture on melody choice and code-switching in Jewish worship for the Graduate Program in Ethnomusicology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He delivered a paper, “Music and the Construction of Jewish Identity among the Abayudaya of Uganda,” at the 2003 national meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology in Miami.

Toshiko Tanaka, a doctoral student in the Friedman School’s Nutrition Biochemistry and Metabolism Program, is one of 12 winners of the 2004 American Society for Nutritional Science’s Procter & Gamble Graduate Student Research Awards. She will be making a presentation at the 2004 FASEB Conference in Washington, D.C., in April.

Dr. Jason Tanzer, D63, known for his work in cariogenic microorganisms, has received an honorary degree from the Sahlgrenska Academy of Goteborg University in Sweden. Tanzer was the first researcher who systematically characterized the enzymatic pathway of sucrose metabolism in oral microorganisms. More recently, he has studied oral microorganisms’ adhesion phenomena.

Jessica Tartof is a new intern in large animal surgery at the veterinary school.

Dr. Alfred I. Tauber, A69, M73, A97P, was appointed to a five-year term on the Tufts University Board of Trustees in November. Tauber is a professor of pathology and philosophy at Boston University School of Medicine and also practices hematology at the Boston Medical Center. Prior to working at BU, Tauber served as a teaching fellow at Tufts School of Medicine and at Tufts–New England Medical Center.

Dawn Terkla, executive director of Institutional Research, Heather Roscoe, senior research analyst, and Jane Etish-Andrews, director of the International Center, presented a paper, “The International Undergraduate Student Experience,” at the North East Association for Institutional Research November 17 in Newport, R.I. The results evaluated the experiences of Tufts undergraduate international students. The research was commissioned by Tufts’ International Board of Overseers. Also at that same meeting, Roscoe and Terkla presented another paper, “The Impact of Web-based Surveys on the Operating Procedures of Institutional Research Offices.”

William C. Thompson Jr., A74, the chief financial officer for New York City, was appointed to a five-year term on the Tufts Board of Trustees in November. Prior to becoming comptroller of New York City, Thompson served as president of the Board of Education in New York City, where he led the nation’s largest school district, which has more than 1,000 buildings, a staff of 135,000 educators and administrators and serves 1.1 million students who speak 130 languages.

Ann Marie Turo, a BSOT alumna, gave a presentation on “Using an Occupational Therapy Approach to Glaucoma”at the November 2003 conference of the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy.

Dr. Saul Tzipori, Distinguished Professor of Infectious Diseases at the School of Veterinary Medicine, was appointed to the Agnes Varis University Chair in Science and Society by the Board of Trustees on November 1.

Paul Waldau, lecturer in environmental and population health at the veterinary school’s Center for Animals and Public Policy, presented a paper on Buddhist animal stories at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Atlanta in November. Waldau also responded to five papers by scholars from around the world presented at a panel on “Many Traditions, Many Animals.” He has been asked to direct the Animal Law Reading Group at Harvard Law School.

Dr. Matthew K. Waldor, associate professor of molecular biology and microbiology, is investigating the transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes. Research by Waldor, John Beaber, a student in the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, and Bianca Hochhut, a former Sackler postdoctoral student, shows that some antibiotics can trigger cell-to-cell spread of a particular family of mobile elements that carry antibiotic resistance genes. The work was reported in the December 21, 2003, edition of Nature.