September People Notes

Dr. Ayman Aboushala, associate professor of endodontics at the School of Dental Medicine, was recognized by the American Association of Endodontists Foundation as the first recipient of the John and Joyce Ingle Fellowship Award that paid for his training in endodontics at Tufts. The fellowship was created to recognize the critical role that endodontic educators play in strengthening their specialty and to address the need for more endodontists to teach in dental schools.

Dr. Charles Allen, A71, M75, clinical instructor of surgery at the School of Medicine, has been appointed chief of surgery at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford. He is a senior staff surgeon at the hospital and has a private practice in Medford.

Dr. Robert R. Allen, M85, has been appointed executive officer for science and medicine at SCIREX Corp., a leader in the delivery of Phase I-IV drug development services to the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In his new role, Allen is responsible for the scientific and medical oversight of studies conducted at SCIREX’s clinical research sites and will formulate and oversee the execution of the division’s research and development strategy. He joins SCIREX from AstraZeneca, where he was executive director for discovery medicine and neuroscience. Allen completed residencies in internal medicine at Faulkner Hospital in Boston and in neurology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Marah Atwell has been promoted to senior business analyst in Advancement Information Systems. In this newly created position, she will continue to steward University Advancement through the final phases of the implementation of its new software package.

Carol Baffi-Dugan, health professions advisor, has been named the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students’ (MAPS) Advisor of the Year for 2005. MAPS represents undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), an organization that supports underrepresented minority medical students, addresses the needs of underserved communities and works to increase the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians. MAPS members make up about a third of the SNMA’s 5,000 members.

Kate Bayard, a 1996 graduate of Harvard University, has been hired as the new head coach of women’s tennis and squash. Bayard was head tennis professional at the Dedham Country and Polo Club during the summer months and assistant pro during the indoor season. Bayard, who becomes the first female coach in either sport at Tufts, formerly was head tennis coach at Wellesley and Dartmouth colleges and was senior tennis professional at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Mass. Bayard began playing tennis at the age of 2 and was ranked as high as No. 3 nationally in doubles and 26th in singles as a U.S. Tennis Association junior. At Harvard, she was captain of two Ivy League Championship teams and was the Crimson’s No. 1 singles and doubles player. She was a first team All-Ivy selection for singles in 1993 and for doubles in 1993, 1994 and 1996. “I’m excited to build on the success of Tufts tennis and squash,” said Bayard. “When the job opened, it seemed like the perfect fit. The teams are very competitive, but the players also have a well-rounded college experience. They haven’t chosen Tufts just for the great athletics but for everything else that goes with it. College coaching is more than just on the court. It’s planning, recruiting, traveling, forming a team bond.”

Brigette Bryant has been appointed senior director of development for the School of Arts and Sciences. She comes to Tufts from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where she was associate vice president for philanthropic development. In that role, Bryant provided strategic leadership for a team of 18 professionals responsible for soliciting major gifts across the university. She also maintained an active portfolio of her own, working with principal gift prospects and on presidential initiatives. During her tenure at Case Western, she also served as interim associate dean for development and alumni relations at the School of Medicine. Bryant played a key role in several seven-figure gifts to Case Western, including two new endowed professorships. She also helped coordinate a $10 million foundation gift. Prior to joining Case Western, Bryant was a senior development officer with the School of International Relations at Columbia and the director for advancement for the College of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She will officially start at Tufts on October 3 and will have responsibility for the major gifts team for Arts and Sciences and work in close coordination with the leadership of the annual fund for Arts, Sciences and Engineering. She and her husband, Lance, an accomplished jazz musician, will be moving their family to the Boston area over the next few weeks.

Joshua Cohen, senior research fellow at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, chaired a session on “Formulary Decisions in the U.S. and U.K.” and gave a presentation on “U.S.-U.K. Comparison of Pharmacoeconomic Assessments of 70 Recently Approved High-cost, High-impact Drugs” at the 41st annual Drug Information Association meeting June 27-29 in Washington, D.C.

Joseph DiMasi, director of economic analysis at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, chaired a session on pharmaceutical pricing at the International Health Economics Association’s 5th World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in July. The sessions focused on generic substitution of pharmaceutical products; the extent to which insurance co-payment levels and pharmaceutical marketing affect drug utilization; price competition among “me-too” drugs; and company launch price strategies when national markets are interdependent.

Christina Economos, who holds the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition at the Friedman School; Miriam Nelson, associate professor and director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity at the Friedman School; and Eileen Naughton, president of Time magazine, were named the American Diabetes Association’s Women of Valor for 2005 for their work in combating the nation’s obesity epidemic.

Denis W. Fermental, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Vincent Manno, professor of mechanical engineering, associate dean of engineering and associate provost, shared the 2005 Fischer Award as the Engineering Teacher of the Year. The award-winners were chosen based on responses to a survey of the graduating Class of 2004.

Christos Georgakis, professor of chemical engineering, and Daniel Richards, professor of economics, have been elected to the Arts, Sciences and Engineering Budget and Priorities Committee.

Boriana Georgieva, who received her master of arts in teaching from Tufts in 2001, is one of four recipients of the North Shore Science Supervisors Association’s awards for Outstanding Science Teachers for the 2004–05 academic year. Georgieva teaches chemistry in Swampscott, Mass.

Kenneth Getz, a research fellow at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, chaired several sessions and presented on a variety of topics at the 41st annual Drug Information Association meeting June 27-29 in Washington, D.C.: “Monitoring and Managing a Changing Investigative Site Landscape;” “A Look at Today’s Drug Development Outsourcing Practices: Successes, Failings and Ways to Improve Them;” “Perspectives on the Future Workforce for the Clinical Research Enterprise;” “Prevention of Fraud and Noncompliance in Clinical Research: What Was and Is Being Done?;” “Capturing Drivers of Outsourcing Growth and Quantifying Outsourcing Value” and “Adoption of New Technologies by Investigative Sites.”

Dr. Brian F. Gilchrist, A77, M84, associate professor of surgery and surgeon-in-chief at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts-New England Medical Center, was named the 2005 Teacher of the Year by the surgical residency program at Tufts. The award was presented during ceremonies for the graduating chief surgical residents at Tufts-NEMC in June.

Michael Goodrow, a special procedures technician at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, has been selected the school’s Employee of the Quarter. Goodrow has worked in the Foster Hospital for Small Animals since 1996 and oversees and assists others with special procedures and the instrumentation required for them. He is part of the founding group of veterinary technicians who are establishing a National Veterinary Internal Medicine Technician specialty.

Barbara Grossman, associate professor of drama and dance; Sharan Schwartzberg, professor and chair of occupational therapy; and Rachel Bratt, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, have been elected to the Arts, Sciences and Engineering Grievance Panel.

Dr. James B. Hanley, a periodontologist, has been appointed assistant dean for clinical affairs at the School of Dental Medicine. He brings to the role a very keen perspective on the school and its clinical operations, expertise with the Axium electronic recordkeeping system and a thorough knowledge of postgraduate dental education.

Rebecca Hartshorn has joined the Advancement Division as a prospect research associate. She came to Tufts from the Harvard University Press, where she was an editorial assistant in the social science department for the past four years. Prior to that, she was an editorial assistant for the academic journal Providence: Studies in Western Civilization. Hartshorn earned her B.A. and M.A. in history from Providence College. She is a volunteer for Big Sisters of Greater Boston.

Boris Hasselblatt, professor of mathematics; George Norman, professor of economics; Kent Portney, professor of political science; and Cristelle Baskins, associate professor of art and art history, have been elected to the Arts, Sciences and Engineering Executive Committee.

Sara Hellmold is the permanent, full-time staff assistant for major gifts in the medical school’s Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations. She earned her undergraduate degree in European cultural studies from Brandeis University, with a minor in art history and French, and is writing her master’s thesis on non-governmental organizations in Central Asia for the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Dr. Aidee Herman, associate clinical professor of periodontology at the dental school, has been named an ambassador for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). The NHSC called her “a role model for students and a valuable resource with knowledge of the community, relationships with students and NHSC Scholars and the reputation as a leader in primary care on campus.” Herman led her second humanitarian mission to El Salvador last spring. She was accompanied by dental students Cristina Dominguez, Amaury Valle, Jelena Radovanovic, Jeremy Ueno and Orlando Romero. The mission took place in partnership with the University Evangelica of El Salvador Dental School. Tufts dental students provided oral health care to more than 200 people from the local and rural communities. The group also traveled to the village of San Isidro de Los Planes, located in the volcano of San Salvador, to participate in the opening of a new dental clinic there.

Karen Jacobsen, a visiting associate professor at the Fletcher School and the Friedman School and director of the Refugee & Forced Migration Program at the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tufts, has published a new book, The Economic Life of Refugees (Kumarian Press, 2005). In the book, she stresses that refugees fleeing violence and persecution are economic actors and explores how some of the innovative ideas influencing migration theory can be applied to the study of refugees and the ways in which humanitarian programs can support their efforts to pursue their livelihoods. Jacobsen’s earlier research included analyses of security and protection issues for refugees and relief workers in refugee camps; the policy responses of host governments in Africa and Southeast Asia to refugees; and the environmental impact of refugees in asylum countries. She has done consulting work in refugee camps in East Africa and was a journalist in Zambia from 1979 to 1980 during the Rhodesian war.

Kenneth I Kaitin, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, and Christopher-Paul Milne, assistant director, chaired a symposium on “Health Reform in Europe and the United States: Is There Common Ground?” that was held at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France, July 13-15. Kaitin attended the 41st annual Drug Information Association meeting June 27-29 in Washington, D.C., where he moderated a panel discussion on “Medicines and Healthcare: Rebuilding the Trust, Reshaping the Future.” He was a keynote speaker in a plenary session on “Transforming the Product Development Lifecycle: Where are the Opportunities and What Happens If We Don’t Start Changing the Way Drugs are Developed?,” and he gave a presentation on “R&D Trends Driving Past and Projected Changes in the Clinical Outsourcing Market.” At the D.C. meeting, Milne gave a presentation on “R&D Trends and Their Impact on the Study Conduct Market.”

Dr. Ki-Ho Kang has been promoted to associate professor of prosthodontics and operative dentistry at the dental school.

Joan Kroll-Chambers, director of strategic marketing and development at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, chaired a session on “The Career Trends and Challenges for Clinical Research Professionals” and gave a presentation on “A Look at Industry Trends Impacting Clinical Research Positions” at the 41st annual Drug Information Association meeting June 27-29 in Washington, D.C.

Joanne Lena has been promoted within Advancement Information Systems to the newly created role of quality assurance specialist. She will ensure that University Advancement staff members are receiving the most accurate data via the most bug-free programming products possible.

Dr. Stuart B. Levy, professor of molecular biology and microbiology and of medicine and director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance at the School of Medicine, is one of 24 members U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has appointed to the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity. The board will recommend strategies for oversight of federally conducted or supported dual-use biological research, taking into consideration both national security concerns and the needs of the research community. “We all realize some research that results in new medical treatments, agricultural advances and biodefense countermeasures could end up in the hands of terrorists who could twist it for their own purposes,” Leavitt said. The science advisory board will provide a forum to help educate scientists on biosecurity and a means for the federal government to receive advice on how to advance scientific knowledge without compromising security.

Carmen Lowe, assistant director of the Academic Resource Center, has been appointed director of the center. She succeeds Nadia Medina, the longtime director of the Academic Resource Center and the Writing, Speaking and Thinking Center, who will not be returning from her leave. Medina’s contributions to the university have been enormous. As the founder of the Academic Resource Center and the Writing, Speaking and Thinking Center, she spearheaded programs for students who needed specialized tutoring, wanted to improve their writing and study skills and needed accommodations for learning and physical disabilities. Medina developed the Writing Fellows Program, teaching “The Writer’s Craft,” a course designed to train the fellows on the theory and pedagogy of writing. Medina’s workshops helped many faculty hone their teaching, lecturing and advising skills. Prior to becoming director of the Academic Resource Center, Medina served for many years as a lecturer in the English department and taught the first “Introduction to Women’s Studies” course in the Ex College. Lowe holds a Ph.D. in English from Tufts. She has been assistant director for writing resources for the past five years and has taught in the American Studies program.

Dr. William S. Lynn has joined the Cummings School as an assistant professor with the Center for Animals and Public Policy. He received his Ph.D. in geography in 2000 from the University of Minnesota, where he was coordinator of undergraduate advising in geography and then assistant to the director of the master’s degree program in environmental learning and leadership. From 1998 to 2000, he was faculty advisor, internship supervisor and work-study supervisor at Green Mountain College in Vermont. Since 1997 he has worked for Practical Ethics, an independent consultancy committed to the well-being of people, animals and nature, and has worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Scientific Review Panel of the National Institutes of Health, the International Wolf Center and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Lynn also has worked as an associate for ethics, nature and society at the Hastings Center in Garrison, N.Y., and as executive director and senior research scholar for the Center for Humans and Nature in New York City. Since 2002, he has been advising graduate students in the geography and environmental studies programs at Florida State University and the University of Montana.

Patrick Mahoney has been hired as coordinator of audio-visual services for Information Technology Services (ITS) and will direct the operations of the service, which has undergone a significant change on the Medford/Somerville campus. For many years, Tufts Light, Sound & Video (TLSV), a student-run organization, was the primary provider of A/V needs for campus events, productions and guest speakers. Last semester the students decided that campus A/V needs had outgrown TLSV’s ability to staff and manage it. The Arts & Sciences administration examined several alternatives and decided to continue the service under the auspices of the ITS group. Students will continue to make up most of the workforce. Mahoney received his electrical engineering degree from Tufts in May and had worked for the past four years in TLSV as a technician and equipment manager. You can reach him at ext. 7-3578 or at patrick.mahoney@tufts.edu. For more information about A/V services on the Medford/Somerville campus, go to http://ase.tufts.edu/its/trainAvServices.htm.

Meghan Mandeville has joined University Relations as a member of the web communications team. She will produce content for the university’s online and electronic communications channels, including E-News, the infoscreen network and the upper-level Tufts web pages. Mandeville earned a marketing degree from Providence College and a master’s in journalism from Boston University.

Dr. Melissa Mazan has been promoted to associate professor of clinical sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. After receiving her D.V.M. from Tufts in 1993, Mazan completed an equine surgery internship at Tufts and an equine surgery residency program at Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala, Fla. From 1995 to 1998, she was a resident in large animal medicine at Tufts. She has been a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine since 1998. Mazan has directed the school’s large animal internship program and the Issam Fares Equine Sports Medicine Program since 2001. She has an international reputation for her research on respiratory disease in horses. She is a member of a research team headed by Dr. Andrew Hoffman, associate professor of clinical sciences, investigating the pathogenesis of emphysema and novel treatments for the disease.

Joseph Neubauer, E63, vice chair of the Tufts Board of Trustees, received the Corporate Citizenship Award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for his “contributions to the growth and expansion of the Philadelphia community.” Neubauer is CEO and chairman of ARAMARK, headquartered in Philadelphia. When former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean presented him with the award last spring, Neubauer expressed appreciation for the full scholarship he received to the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, which he attended after Tufts. “What did one of the great schools of business have to gain by accepting me?” he said. “Now I realize that my professors could see that I was becoming imbued with American ideals, that an American education might lead to success, that American success so often includes giving back to society and lending a hand to someone else struggling up the ladder.”

Dr. Lonnie H. Norris, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, and Samuel Sommers, assistant professor of psychology, are the newest inductees into the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action’s Hall of Diversity. Norris was recognized for the work he has done at the dental school, especially his efforts to create and maintain a welcoming, inclusive environment. Sommers organized the psychology department’s Diversity and Cognition Colloquium Series.

Allison Davies Norton has been appointed director of the Tufts Dental Fund. As assistant director of the Tufts Fund for Arts, Sciences and Engineering since 2003, Norton has led the fund-raising effort for the 25th and 45th reunion classes, seven non-reunion classes and the Friends of Tufts Libraries and coordinated the reunion giving program. During the last reunion cycle, she led the Class of 1980 to break two 25th reunion records, win the Deans’ Cup for the largest annual fund gift among reunion classes and achieve the highest number of annual fund leadership donors. Prior to Tufts, Norton was an account executive for Clear Channel Communications in Boston and an associate account executive in national Internet and print media for Fox Family Worldwide in New York. She holds a B.S. in communications with a concentration in marketing from Cornell.

John Papp, A06, who is pursuing a double major in quantitative economics and mathematics, has been awarded the highly selective Beinecke Scholarship, which funds students who are planning to enter master’s or Ph.D. programs in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Only 18 students are selected each year. The scholarship provides $32,000 toward graduate school. At the end of his sophomore year, Papp participated in the Summer Scholars Program, which provides research opportunities for undergraduates. He worked with Gilbert Metcalf, professor of economics, on a project titled “Estimating the Effect of Transfer Pricing on the User Cost of Capital.” Papp also worked with Fred Rothbaum, professor of child development, to create the Tufts Child and Family WebGuide, and he has been a GED tutor in Somerville. Currently studying abroad at Oxford, Papp is volunteering as a teaching assistant in the Learning Together program. He is also a member of the varsity crew team. After graduating from Tufts next year, Papp anticipates pursuing a Ph.D. in economics.

Judy D. Ribaya-Mercado, a scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and an assistant professor at the Friedman School, gave a presentation on “Use of Deuterated-retinol-dilution Methodologies for Assessment of Vitamin A Status and Evaluation of Vitamin A Nutritional Interventions in Rural Philippine Communities” at a meeting of the Philippine American Academy of Science and Engineering in Cebu City, Philippines, on June 26. She also gave talks on “Vitamin A, Carotenes and Human Health” at symposiums held at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, on June 22, and at the University of San Carlos, Talamban, Cebu City, on June 27. Ribaya-Mercado is one of eight members of an international Vitamin A Tracer Task Force, a consulting group for the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, and HarvestPlus International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Mark J. Rivard, associate professor of radiation oncology, was editor and director of the brachytherapy physics summer school in Seattle in late July. Brachytherapy is a radiotherapy treatment in which sources of radiation are positioned in close contact or within the human body to treat both cancerous and non-malignant lesions. This international, weeklong program was sponsored by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the American Brachytherapy Society to provide training on state-of-the-art techniques applicable to medical physicists. Additionally, Rivard gave three presentations on topics ranging from radiation dosimetry formalisms to novel electronic brachytherapy sources. Following the summer school, Rivard attended the AAPM annual meeting, where he chaired a session on “New Radiopharmaceuticals and Emerging Applications” and gave a presentation on radiation biology for neutron-emitting Cf-252 brachytherapy sources.

Dr. Omar Salem, assistant professor of orthodontics at the School of Dental Medicine, has been promoted to director of the pre-doctoral orthodontics program.

Dr. Alfredo Sanchez-Londono has joined the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor of environmental and population health at the Ambulatory Clinic in Woodstock, Conn. He received his M.V. (the equivalent of a D.V.M.) from the Universidad De La Salle in Colombia in 1997. Over the next two years, he completed an Academic Review Program and his Education Commission on Foreign Veterinary Graduates Clinical Year at Purdue University. In 2002, he completed a one-year large animal internship at Purdue and followed that with a three-year residency in large animal medicine combined with an M.S. program, also at Purdue.

Drs. Mark Sarnak, Lesley Stevens and Andrew S. Levey of Tufts-New England Medical Center’s Division of Adult Nephrology published two articles on chronic kidney disease in the elderly in the May 19 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Elderly patients with chronic kidney disease are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and should undergo intensive risk factor management. Sarnak, assistant professor of medicine, was co-author of an article about chronic kidney disease as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based cohort study in the elderly. In that study, an elevated serum level of cystatin C, a novel measure of kidney function, was a better predictor of risk of cardiovascular disease than elevated serum creatinine. The authors speculated that cystatin C may be a more accurate measure of kidney function in the elderly than creatinine-based measures, or it may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Stevens, assistant professor of medicine, and Levey, professor of medicine, wrote a companion editorial on how to interpret cystatin C levels and how to detect chronic kidney disease in the elderly.

Rebecca Scott has joined the Gift Planning Office as associate director. For the past four years, Scott worked for the national headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations as associate director of charitable gift and estate planning and then as coordinator of special gifts. A native of Canada, Scott’s other professional experience includes co-founding an interactive broadband production company in Toronto and serving as general manager of Playwrights’ Workshop in Montreal. She holds a B.A. from McGill University and attended the Banff Centre for Management, where she studied arts administration.

Dr. Abhineet Sheoran has been appointed an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. He received his B.V.Sc. and A.H. (equivalent to D.V.M.) in 1989, and his M.V.Sc. in 1991 from Haryana Agricultural University in India. He spent a year as a senior research fellow in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology at Haryana Agricultural University. In 1996, he received his Ph.D. in molecular immunology from the University of Cambridge in England. From 1996 to 1999, Sheoran was a postdoctoral scholar at the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky and then worked as a research specialist at the same institution from 1999 to 2000. He came to Tufts in May 2000 as a research assistant professor of biomedical sciences. Sheoran is internationally recognized in the field of immunology.

Dr. Paul C. Stark has been appointed an assistant professor of general dentistry at the dental school.

Allen Taylor, director of the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the HNRCA, gave a talk on “Ubiquitin Mutants Compromise Cellular Response to Oxidative Stress” June 2 at the National Cancer Institute. He emphasized the importance of the ubiquitin proteolytic pathway (UPP) on control of protein quality, cell proliferation and differentiation. He met with leading educators in Israel in June to initiate plans for a new science graduate training program, Science Training Encouraging Peace—Graduate Training Program (STEP-GTP). The program plans to train pairs of highly qualified Israeli and Palestinian scientists in the United States and Israeli-Palestinian environments. Also in Israel, he gave a presentation at the Meeting on Visual Function: Insights from the Revolution in Biology at the Molecular Level titled “Roles for the Ubiquitin Pathway in Protein Quality Control Responses to Oxidative Stress in Lens and Retina.”

Kimberly Thurler has been appointed associate director of public relations in the University Relations Division. Thurler fills the position that has been vacant since the departure of Siobhan Arnold and has been working as a public relations consultant for Tufts since January. Thurler will lead the Medford/Somerville campus public relations team in providing internal and external communications, counsel and support. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the communications field. In addition to her own consulting practice, she held senior management positions with public relations agencies Clarke & Co. and Jackson & Co. and the public affairs firm BMc Strategies. She also directed communications programs for Harvard University’s summer school and lifelong learning programs; Fortune 500 technology firm Computervision and Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Earlham College and holds a master’s degree in literature from Boston University.

Jo Wellins, associate director for principal and leadership gifts, has been promoted to deputy director of development in the Advancement Division. She will work with Eric Johnson, executive director of development, to provide guidance to the school-based fund-raising teams; play a key role in strategic planning for the upcoming capital campaign; manage the Arts, Sciences and Engineering annual fund, the Parents Program and other initiatives and serve as the primary advancement liaison to the University College. Wellins came to Tufts in 1994 as an associate director in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations. In 1999, she became the director of development and alumni relations for the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, where she played important roles in several significant gifts, including the naming gift for the school, the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition.