July People Notes

Sawkat Anwer, interim dean, Distinguished Professor and chair of biomedical sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology Study Section for the National Institutes of Health. Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations on these applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board and survey the status of research in their fields of service. A program Anwer directs at Tufts to train D.V.M. students in biomedical research has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $94,068 annually for five years, starting June 1. NIH has supported the program since 1990. It provides stipends for 15 students each year to conduct biomedical research over the summer months under the mentorship of Cummings School faculty. First- and second-year veterinary students compete for the program by writing a research proposal, and the awardees are required to submit a written report and make an oral presentation of their research at the annual veterinary student research day in October.

Dr. Jon Bach, resident in small animal medicine at the Cummings School, gave a presentation on “Sildenafil as a Therapy of Pulmonary Hypertension in Dogs” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md. His faculty mentors on the project were Drs. Elizabeth Rozanski and John Rush.

Dr. Douglas Brugge, associate professor of public health and family medicine, has co-authored a new book, Community Research in Environmental Health: Studies in Science, Advocacy and Ethics (Ashgate Publishing, 2005), with H. Patricia Hynes of Boston University School of Public Health. The book examines case studies of asthma, lead-contaminated soil and housing conditions and highlights lessons to be learned in conducting community-collaborative research.

Dr. William B. Chan, D75A, DG82, was named one of Rhode Island’s top dentists in the May issue of Rhode Island Monthly magazine. Chan teaches part time at the dental school and has pediatric practices in Cumberland, R.I., and Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Mary Evenson and Mary Alicia Barnes, fieldwork coordinators in the Department of Occupational Therapy, presented a full-day workshop on field work supervision on May 24 at Tufts. More than 40 people attended, including alumni and affiliates from the New England area.

Dr. Maria Ferriol, D03, a postdoctoral student in periodontology at the dental school, was invited to address the guests at the Charles Tufts Society luncheon, held May 19 on the Medford/Somerville campus. She spoke about student indebtedness at private institutions and the ongoing need for scholarship support. Ferriol recently received the dental school’s Petralis Endowed Scholarship for Postgraduate Periodontics. The annual luncheon honors those who have donated funds to Tufts for student scholarships.

Dr. Lisa Freeman, associate professor at the Cummings School, presented her research on “Nutritional Effects of Dietary Modification in Early Canine Chronic Valvular Disease” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md.

Zahra Hosseini, D05, was sworn in as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps May 14 on board the USS Constitution, berthed in the Charlestown Naval Yard. Rear Admiral Peter Andrus performed the swearing in. Attending the event in support of Hosseini were Robert Goode, professor and chair of oral and maxillofacial pathology and a retired Air Force colonel; John Blust, administrative coordinator for academic services at the dental school, RMC, U.S. Navy (ret.); and Jared Geller, D07, an ensign in the Navy.

Dr. Mircea Ivan, assistant professor of medicine, is one of four pancreatic cancer researchers in the country to be awarded a grant from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). For the first time, PanCAN has listed the researchers and their projects on the PanCAN-NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP (http://www.cancermap.org/pancreatic), an innovative online tool with a searchable database of investigators and research projects relevant to pancreatic cancer. The online service tracks funded research that can assist in developing national strategies to combat the disease and in facilitating collaboration among researchers. Ivan’s research will investigate hypoxia resistance in pancreatic tumors. PanCAN is a nonprofit organization founded in 1999 by survivors of individuals who died of pancreatic cancer.

James Joseph, chief of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and adjunct associate professor at the Friedman School, is the recipient of the 2005 International Prize for Modern Nutrition in recognition of his work related to nutrition, aging and brain function. The selection committee noted in particular Joseph’s contributions to the field of the neurobiology of aging and the various mechanisms associated with age-related decline in brain function. His research has demonstrated that fruits and vegetables can reverse age-related alterations in brain and behavioral function in rats, opening the door for similar results in humans. He will receive the award on September 7 in Luzern, Switzerland.

Dr. Boaz Levitin, resident in neurology at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, gave a presentation on “Use of Ultrasonography to Diagnose Caudal Occipital Malformation Syndrome in Dogs” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md. Faculty mentors on the research were Drs. Dominik Faissler and Amy Tidwell.

Qing Liu, a research associate in the HNRCA Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research, is the 2005 recipient of the Hamish N. Munro Postdoctoral Research Award for her work on “Ubiquitin and Lens Cell Cycle Control.” The award, named after founding HNRCA Director Hamish Munro, is given annually for outstanding scientific research conducted by an HNRCA postdoctoral fellow, research associate or visiting scientist within five years of receiving a Ph.D.

Glenn McCune, a sergeant with the Tufts Police Department on the Grafton campus, is this year’s recipient of the Captain William J. O’Brien Award for outstanding service to the Tufts community. The award was created in 1993 in the memory of O’Brien, who served Tufts for 20 years before losing his battle with cancer. In presenting the award, Tufts’ Director of Public Safety John King said, “Glenn, you exemplify the spirit of Billy O’Brien in the manner in which you serve the Tufts Grafton community. In your role as the station supervisor, you share many of the same duties and responsibilities once held by Billy. You demonstrate a sincere desire to help others, solve problems, create partnerships and are always seeking new ways to improve customer service. Along with your wife, Sheila, you have devoted much of your personal time instructing female members of our community on ways to defend themselves against attack through your involvement in the RAD program. Students, staff and faculty of the Grafton campus respect you, admire you and appreciate your work on their behalf.”

Gilbert E. Metcalf, professor of economics, participated in a panel at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on “Tax Reform and The Environment.” Metcalf spoke on the opportunities for using a carbon tax along with other environmental taxes to help finance reforms to the federal tax code currently being considered by President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. He reported on research he is doing measuring the industry impacts of using a carbon tax to finance corporate tax reform. Discussants at the forum included William Frenzel, a member of the president’s advisory panel and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Dr. Simin Meydani, associate director of the HNRCA and director of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory, was invited to give a presentation on “Vitamin E, Nutritional Status and Infectious Diseases in Nursing Home Residents” at the First International Conference on Nutritional Needs of Elderly People in Long-term Care in Washington, D.C., May 4-5.

Dr. Rose Nolen-Walston, a resident at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, received an award for the best equine research by a resident for her presentation, “Effect of Detomidine Sedation on Respiratory System Resistance and Histamine Bronchoprovocation Measured with Forced Oscillatory Mechanics,” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md. Her faculty mentors on the research were Drs. Melissa Mazan, Daniela Bedenice and Andrew Hoffman. Also, Dr. Mike Wood, V02, a medicine resident at North Carolina State University, received the award for best research in small animal infectious disease for his project, “Use of Pre-enrichment Media to Enhance Detection and Isolation of Bartonella spp. from Dogs.”

Katherine Pelullo, a dental hygienist at Tufts Dental Facilities for Persons with Special Needs at the Fernald School in Waltham, Mass., is the recipient of a national award, the Irene Newman Professional Achievement Award, from the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA). Pelullo has been working with patients with special needs for 27 years. She was nominated for the award by the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists Association and received it at the annual meeting of the ADHA in Las Vegas June 25-26. Dr. John Morgan, director of the program at Fernald, said that Pelullo also runs a training program in which dental hygiene students from the Forsyth Dental Center come to Fernald for a six-week rotation to learn techniques for working with patients with special needs. The program has received high marks from students, Morgan says.

Dr. Liz Rozanski, assistant professor at the Cummings School, gave a presentation on “Effects of Body Position, Sedation and Thoracic Bandaging on FRC in Healthy Deep-chested Dogs” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md.

Dr. John Rush, professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, presented his work on “Cardiac Effects of Dietary Modification in Early Canine Chronic Valvular Disease” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md.

Sharan L. Schwartzberg, professor and chair of occupational therapy, gave a presentation on “Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD): What’s It All About?” during a poster session at a meeting of the American Occupational Therapy Association May 14 in Long Beach, Calif.

Dr. Scott Shaw, assistant professor at the Cummings School, presented his work on “Risk Factors for Development of Hospital-acquired Infections in Critically Ill Dogs” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md.

Dr. Anthony Silvestri, associate clinical professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, and Dr. Iqbal Singh, associate professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry, had a 2003 Journal of the American Dental Association article, “The Unresolved Problem of the Third Molar: Would People Be Better Off without It?” that that they wrote quoted in an article on “When to Pull Those Troubled Wisdom Teeth” in the April 26 edition of The New York Times.

Caren Smith, V07, gave a presentation on “Relationship between VPCs and Fatty Acid Concentrations in Boxers vs. Doberman pinschers” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md. Her faculty mentors on the research were Drs. Lisa Freeman and John Rush.

Enrico Spolaore, professor of economics, gave the keynote speech at an international conference that took place at the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on June 11. The conference addressed the current political and economic situation in Europe and the implications for the future of Flanders, the Dutch-speaking state of the Belgian federation that includes about 60 percent of the Belgian population. The conference was organized by prominent Flemish politicians and government officials and included academics, parliamentarians and journalists from several European countries. That same day Spolaore was interviewed on VRT, Belgium’s Dutch-language public broadcast service that is the Flemish equivalent of the BBC. The host was the prominent Flemish journalist Jean-Pierre Rondas. The interview, in English with comments in Dutch by Rondas, covered Spolaore’s research on the political economy of borders; economic and political integration and the size of nations; and the implications for the future of Europe in general and of Belgium and Flanders in particular. Spolaore was quoted in a June 5 article in the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger about how the stability of the European market will affect the U.S. economy.

Jeff Taliaferro, assistant professor of political science, had his book, Balancing Risks: Great Power Intervention in the Periphery (Cornell University Press, 2004), selected for the 2005 Jervis-Schroeder Award for the best book in international history and politics. The award is given by the international history and politics section of the American Political Science Association.

Dr. Kelli Weaver, resident in small animal medicine at the Cummings School, gave a presentation on “Comparison of Glargine and Lente Insulin in Cats with Diabetes Mellitus” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md. Her faculty mentors on the project were Drs. Elizabeth Rozanski, Daniel Chan and Lisa Freeman.

Christine Yenke, V05, gave a presentation on “Tracheostomy in Cats: 17 cases (1998-2004)” at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine June 1-4 in Baltimore, Md. Her faculty mentor on the research was Dr. Elizabeth Rozanski.