September People Notes

Dr. Ayman Aboushala has been promoted to associate professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine.

Tarik Alkasab , an M.D./Ph.D. student and research assistant professor at the School of Medicine, has been awarded the Information Technology Award from the Massachusetts Medical Society. Alkasab was recognized in the student category for his leadership role in the development of the Tufts University Sciences Knowledgebase (TUSK), an online multimedia database that supports health sciences education. The system allows users to access more than 200 courses in the medical, dental, nutrition and veterinary schools and includes more than 50,000 documents, such as syllabi, slides, lecture recordings, bibliographies and images. The Information Technology Award recognizes the development of new information technology that helps physicians, educators or researchers.

Dr. Perry Bain has joined the School of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor of biomedical sciences. Bain received his D.V.M. from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991, worked for two years in a companion animal practice in Georgia and then completed his residency in clinical pathology at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in physiological sciences from Florida in 2001. Bain is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Before coming to Tufts, he was an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

Junaidah Barnett, research assistant professor at the Friedman School, gave a presentation on “Breast Cancer in Older Black Women: Rates, Risk Factors and Prevention” at a conference on “Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Older Women with Breast Cancer,” organized by the Massachusetts Association of Older Americans and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health on June 11. Cindy Neels, research coordinator in epidemiology at the school, spoke on “Challenges in Recruiting Older Black Women in a Research Study” at the conference.

Jeffrey Berry, the John Richard Skuse, Class of 1941, Professor of Political Science, received the 2004 American Political Science Association’s Parties and Political Organization’s Leon D. Epstein Outstanding Book Award for his latest book, A Voice for Nonprofits (Brookings Institution, 2003), written with David F. Arons. He received the award at the association’s annual meeting in Chicago in early September.

Megan Brachtl, alumni relations coordinator at the Fletcher School, has left her job to resume full-time studies at Fletcher. She anticipates graduating next spring with an MALD from Fletcher and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Tufts. Under Brachtl’s stewardship, Fletcher’s alumni relations program has grown in size and sophistication. Leah Brady is Fletcher’s new alumni relations coordinator. Most recently, Brady was acting director of annual giving at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She earned her M.S. from St. Lawrence University and M.A. in global marketing communications and advertising from Emerson College.

Wanda Camacho-Maron, a staff clinician at the Counseling Center, was inducted into the university’s Hall of Diversity in July. She was recognized for touching the lives of many in the Latino population at Tufts. The Hall of Diversity is an initiative of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action to recognize individuals, departments and committees in the Tufts community that work to promote diversity.

Dr. Robert Chapman, professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, was invited to give a half-day presentation on “Craniofacial Function: Diagnosis and Treatment Planning for the Foundation of the Craniofacial Complex” to the prosthodontic department at Beijing University School of Stomatology on June 2. He also presented a full-day lecture on craniofacial function at the Florida Dental Conference on June 16.

Gregory Colati, director of Digital Collections and Archives (DCA) and university archivist, left Tufts in August to take a position as head of special collections for the Gelman Library at George Washington University. Colati joined Tufts in 1997, and revitalized the university’s archival and manuscript collections program, established a university-wide records management program and spearheaded the development of a state-of-the-art digital library and repository system. Anne Sauer, J91, G98, has been named interim director of DCA and interim university archivist. Sauer has been with archives since 1998 and was named assistant archivist in 2001.

Sean P. Donlon, a university police officer, received an award from the Tufts University Dental Alumni Association in recognition of 21 years of outstanding service to the dental school. The award said, in part, “The professionalism he exhibits on his routine patrols creates a reassuring presence that is gratefully acknowledged by the alumni honoring him.” Donlon, president of the officers’ union of the Tufts University Police Association, received his award at the alumni association’s annual luncheon in Boston.

Johanna Dwyer, professor of medicine and of nutrition, has been named a fellow of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. Dwyer has been on the faculty of the School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy for 30 years. She and her colleagues have published more than 150 articles on preventing diet-related diseases in children, maximizing quality of life and health in the elderly and vegetarian diets. She is director of the Frances Stern Nutrition Center, the outpatient nutrition clinic at Tufts-New England Medical Center and the Tufts training program for registered dietitians. She also is a scientist in the epidemiology program at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. Dwyer is editor of Nutrition Today, a peer-reviewed publication for nutrition professionals.

Julie Flaherty joined Tufts in June as a senior health sciences writer and editor in the Office of Publications. She is the editor of Tufts Nutrition, the magazine of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and a contributing writer for Tufts Dental Medicine, the alumni magazine of the School of Dental Medicine. Flaherty spent six years as Boston bureau manager for The New York Times and has been a freelance writer for the Times and many Boston area publications, including the Boston Herald and the Improper Bostonian. A South Shore native, she graduated from Boston University in 1993 with degrees in journalism and political science.

Dr. Richard Freeman, associate professor of surgery at the School of Medicine and a surgeon in the Division of Transplant Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center, has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease to analyze data to provide better care for people with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which accounts for 80 percent of all liver cancers. Among other things, the research will provide policymakers with better, evidence-based risk models for allocating livers for transplantation. Freeman has played a leadership role in implementing a new organ allocation system using mathematical models that define the need for transplantation with more precision. Dr. John Wong, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Clinical Decision Making, Informatics and Telemedicine at Tufts-NEMC, is a co-investigator on the project.

Dr. Michael Goldberg, the Henry H. Banks Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, chair of orthopedic surgery at the School of Medicine and orthopedist-in-chief at Tufts-New England Medical Center will step down once a nationwide search for his successor has been completed. At that time, Goldberg will become director of clinical resource utilization at the Floating Hospital for Children. In this position, he will offer advice on issues of medical management, including the length of stay and quality of care. Goldberg will continue to see patients, and he will be named the Henry H. Banks Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the medical school. Goldberg has chaired the medical school’s orthopedics department for 17 years. An internationally known pediatric orthopedic surgeon with expertise in dwarfism, congenital abnormalities and other pediatric bone syndromes, Goldberg is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Dr. Marron Ropes Award for Excellence in Arthritis Care and Leadership in the Fight Against Arthritis from the Arthritis Foundation, the Ingram Pioneer Award for Research from the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America and the Arthur W. Huene Memorial Award for excellence in pediatric orthopedics.

Mark Gonthier, associate dean for admissions and student affairs at the School of Dental Medicine, presented “School Climate to Support a Diverse Student Body” July 28 in San Diego at the third annual grantee meeting of the Pipeline, Profession & Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program.

Dr. Robert Goode, professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology, has been appointed a consultant to the Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Department at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School in Bethesda, Md.

Eva Heroux, director of dental development and alumni relations, has retired after 10 years with the university. She led fund-raising efforts for the dental school’s Buchanan Lobby, the Craniofacial Pain Center, Miller Clinic and Goldman Clinic. She was honored at a reception July 14 in the dental school’s Becker Alumni Center.

Andrew Hess, professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, met with the minister of foreign affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic, Elmar Mammadyarov, at Tufts in July. During the meeting, Hess provided the minister with detailed information on the Fletcher School and its activities in discussing the possibility of working with the republic. Mammadyarov noted that the organization of training courses in security, political, economic and other spheres for young Azerbaijani diplomats and other government specialists would be very useful.

Adam Hoyt, the assistant men’s and women’s swimming coach at Trinity College, has been named interim head coach of the Tufts men’s swimming program, replacing Don Megerle, the Jumbos’ mentor since 1971, who is taking a leave of absence from coaching for the 2004-05 academic year. A seven-time New England and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Coach of the Year, Megerle will remain on campus working for the Athletics Department in other capacities. “I’m very excited to become a part of the strong tradition that Coach Megerle has built with the Tufts swimming team,” Hoyt said.

Renald Joseph, a dispensary assistant, and Kim Williams, dental patient administrator, were chosen by their colleagues to receive this year’s Golden Crown Award for outstanding performance by a staff member at the School of Dental Medicine. The dental school and its satellite facilities employ about 200 non-faculty staff members. Joseph and Williams each received a framed certificate, brass carriage clock and cash gift. About 100 staff members attended the Golden Crown luncheon June 18 in the dental school’s Becker Alumni Center.

Dr. Christine Jost, assistant professor of environmental and population health at the School of Veterinary Medicine, served as an adviser to Cordaid Afghanistan on ways to help 10,000 internally displaced Kuchi of Registran families rebuild their lives. This community of small ruminant farmers needed immediate intervention because their livelihoods have been disrupted by drought and political unrest. Jost focused her assessment on women’s initiatives and veterinary assistance, including agricultural production systems; livestock production and service needs; a community-based animal health program for poultry farmers; and the potential for women to earn incomes raising livestock. Jost believes that the best way to assist the Kuchi of Registran is to shift from short-term humanitarian interventions to a multi-year livelihood support program coordinated by different humanitarian agencies. Jost has been assembling a multidisciplinary ecosystem health team of faculty members from throughout Tufts. With pilot programs in Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Nepal supported by grants, researchers are producing preliminary data on ecosystem health monitoring in environments that are significantly altered by human activities.

Shubhada Kambli and Thomas Dugan, graduate students in urban and environmental policy and planning, won first place in the $20,000 Frigon Family Prize Social Entrepreneurship Competition, sponsored by the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program at the School of Engineering’s Gordon Institute and funded by alumnus Hank Frigon, E57. The first-place team was awarded $10,000 to start a student-run, socially responsible consulting firm that works with nonprofits, government agencies and for-profit organizations with a social mission. Their aim is to connect graduate students with innovative social action programs in need of technical assistance and to create a community of student leaders within the urban and environmental policy and planning fields. Additional awards were second-place prize of $5,000 to Chelsea Bardot, A06, and third-place prize of $2,000 to Ramsay Huntley and Martin Smith, graduate students in urban and environmental policy. Honorable mentions of $1,000 went to three teams: Joe Mead, A05, Will Dunn, A06, and Alison Savery, A06; Jarred Sakakeeny, E04, and Jay Meattle, A04; and Adam Wilson, E04, and Kagan Erdil, A06.

Robert H. Kelley, E70, has been named co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Real Estate Section. Kelley practices law as in-house real estate counsel for Staples Inc. and has taught property law at three law schools. He is licensed as a Massachusetts Registered Professional Structural Engineer and received a B.S. in civil engineering from Tufts in 1970 and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 1984.

Eileen Kennedy, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and James Tillotson, professor of nutrition, have been included in the McGraw-Hill Annual Editions series as two of 47 authors of the “best-of-the-public-press” articles from magazines, newspapers and journals. The articles selected are geared to a general audience. Kennedy wrote an article on the 2000 federal dietary guidelines, and Tillotson’s piece, “Our Ready-prepared Ready-to-eat Nation,” explored food and dining trends in relation to health. In addition, a guide rating various websites about weight loss that was published in the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter is included in the anthology. The Health & Nutrition Letter is written and edited by Friedman School faculty and staff.

Dr. Philip Koralishn, clinical assistant professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, presented a lecture, “Communicating Functional and Esthetic Guidelines to the Dental Laboratory,” at the annual meeting of the Academy of General Dentistry in Anaheim, Calif., July 7-11.

Alice Lichtenstein, Gershoff Professor at the Friedman School, has been named chair of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee. Lichtenstein is also director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA). She will oversee a two-year project to revise the association’s dietary guidelines.

Ted Liszczak, associate director for grants and contracts, retired from Tufts on July 23, after a 16-year career with the university.

Dickens (Deke) Mathieu has joined the University Counsel’s office as senior counsel for employment and labor. He is responsible for all legal aspects of employment matters concerning students, faculty and staff, including policy development and training programs throughout the university. Prior to coming to Tufts, Mathieu was a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston. He previously worked in the labor and employment law department at Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Amherst College and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Dr. John Morgan, administrative director of the Tufts Dental Facility Serving Persons with Special Needs, based at the Walter E. Fernald State School in Waltham, Mass., and assistant professor at the dental school, was the June inductee into Tufts’ Hall of Diversity. The hall is an initiative of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action to recognize individuals, departments and committees in the Tufts community who work to promote diversity.

Julie A. Nelson, senior research associate at the Global Development and Environment Institute, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant in economics. The specialists program provides Fulbright grants of two to six weeks so that U.S. faculty and professionals can collaborate with their counterparts outside the country on curriculum and faculty development, institutional planning and other activities. Nelson presented lectures on gender and economics in late July and early August at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Dr. Maria Papageorge, professor and chair of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the School of Dental Medicine, has been appointed assistant dean for hospital affairs. She was part of a surgical team at Tufts-NEMC this summer that removed a grapefruit-sized benign tumor, an ameloblastoma, from the jaw of a Haitian man. The surgery was arranged by the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation in Randolph, Mass. The team of doctors performed the 12-hour surgery for free.

Jessica Papatolicas has been appointed director of the Tufts Parents Program, succeeding Ellie Short, who retired earlier this year. Papatolicas has been at Tufts for five years as a Tufts Fund officer and major gifts officer.

Jong-Beak Park has joined the veterinary school as a research assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. He holds a B. Pharm and M. Pharm from KyungHee University School of Pharmacy in Seoul, Korea. After working for several years as a pharmacist in Korea, he received his Ph.D. in 1996 from Toyama Medical & Pharmaceutical University School of Pharmacy in Toyama, Japan. Since 1999, he has been a post-doc in the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, developing mucosal vaccines against several infectious bacteria. He manages the school’s botulinum toxin laboratory under the direction of Dr. Saul Tzipori, professor of biomedical sciences.

Jeanne Marie Penvenne, associate professor of history, has received a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship and will spend the 2004-05 academic year in Maputo, Mozambique. Her colleagues there have invited her to help them revise the humanities/history undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum to build in research and presentation skills that more fully respond to the nation’s need for skilled labor and problem-solvers. “We will approach that challenge through our work with a team of master’s degree candidates and communities of Mozambicans who experienced exile, displacement and/or refugee status during the country’s civil war,” Penvenne said. “We will develop a history of that experience from the perspective of those who lived it. Their taped testimony will contribute to national memory of this difficult era, but we also hope it promotes healing and reconciliation. At the very least, we will honor their resourcefulness, endurance and suffering. Units on research, ethical, presentation and analytical questions will shape this oral history project,” she said. While in Mozambique, Penvenne also will work on her own research about urbanization and migration as gendered phenomena.

Peter Phan, D07, is the winner of the Massachusetts Academy of General Dentistry’s 2004 essay contest and attended the national convention of the Academy of General Dentistry in Anaheim, Calif., July 7-11. All expenses were paid by the Massachusetts academy and a grant from Biolase. Phan’s article about his time with the academy will appear in the fall issue of Yankee Dentist.

Betsy Rowe, F83, associate director of the Fletcher School’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations and director of the Fletcher Fund, will reduce her work schedule to 60 percent as she plans to retire at the end of December. From September 15 to December 31, she will provide transitional support and guidance to the annual fund effort. Rowe has been at Fletcher since 1998 and has succeeded in growing the Fletcher Fund by more than 29 percent, with 30 percent alumni participation. Also effective September15, Julia Motl will be promoted to acting annual fund director. Motl currently serves as annual fund coordinator.

Dr. Robert Russell, director of the HNRCA, has been appointed to the Organizational Development/Effectiveness Committee of the 2004 Board of Trustees for the International Life Sciences Institute (ISLI). Founded in 1978, ILSI is a nonprofit, worldwide foundation that seeks to improve the well being of the general public through the pursuit of balanced science. Its goal is to further the understanding of scientific issues relating to nutrition, food safety, toxicology, risk assessment and the environment by bringing together scientists from academia, government and industry.

Anil Saigal, professor of mechanical engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Tufts now has five mechanical engineering faculty members who have been elected to fellowship in the society. The others are Ken Astill, Robert Greif, Vincent Manno and Frederick Nelson.

Lindsay Shanholt, a senior civil engineering major, and Melissa Pickering, a senior mechanical engineering major, won Walt Disney’s Imagi-Nations University Design Competition. The annual international design contest enables students to showcase their talents and gain practical knowledge in design. Winners earn scholarship money and an opportunity to intern with Disney Imagineering. Shanholt and Pickering presented their proposal and architectural model for an “Invention Kitchen” to executives at Disney Imagineering in California this summer. Their design for the whimsical Mickey Mouse-shaped restaurant combines Disney magic with modern technology, including electronic “Buzz Buddies,” given to patrons to interact with different parts of the restaurant, and an “ele-waiter,” a small elevator that rises through the middle of each patron’s table.

Dr. Lokesh Suri has been promoted to assistant professor of orthodontics at the dental school.

Dr. Hilde Tillman, professor of geriatric dentistry, and seven Tufts dental students participated in the “Building a Healthier Tomorrow” health fair on June 25 at the New Covenant Christian Church in Mattapan, Mass. Tillman and her students screened 29 individuals, mostly senior citizens, and provided oral health care education, toothbrushes, toothpaste and adaptive devices.