JOSHUA ADLER, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology, presented “GDFN Regulates Somatostatin Content and Release in Adult Sensory Neurons” at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. Co-authors included Anne Marie Skoff and Paul Walker.

AGUSTIN ARBULU, MD, professor of surgery, has been named vice president of medical staff affairs at the Detroit Medical Center.

GEOFFREY BARGER, MD, assistant professor of neurology, has been appointed chairman of the Brain Committee of the Southwest Oncology Group, one of the nation’s largest collaborative cancer research groups.

SANDER BREINER, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences, has published the following papers: 

• “Children of the Holocaust” in the Newsletter of the Michigan Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology, February 2000.

• “Insight Inside the Heart and Hospital” in the Bulletin of American Society Psychoanalytic Physicians, December 2000.

He also made the following presentations: 

• “Plagues and Psychohistory” at the International Psychohistorical Association Annual Convention, June 2000. 

• “Violence by the Older Adult” at the Northville Psychiatric Hospital, October 2000. 

SEEMANT CHATURVEDI, MD, associate professor of neurology and associate director of the WSU/DMC Stroke Program, gave a presentation at the World Stroke Congress in Melbourne, Australia. The presentation was “Angiography in the Evaluation of Patients with Carotid Stenosis” and included WSU co-author Vidya Kulkarni, MD.

JOHN CRISSMAN, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, was honored at a reception held by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services.

BRUCE DESCHERE, MD, associate professor of family medicine, was the designated team physician at the North American International Synchronized Skating Competition in Orlando, Fla. He was appointed by the United States Figure Skating Association as one of its international team physicians to take care of U.S. skating competitors at international competitions.

FERNANDO DIAZ, MD, PhD, JD, professor and chair of neurosurgery, has been named interim chief medical officer for the Detroit Medical Center.

PAULA DORE-DUFFY, PhD, professor of neurology, chaired a session at the Neurotrauma Society Symposium and served as a judge for student awards at the meeting.

JOHN FINN, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine and executive medical director of Hospice of Michigan, has been named president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

HOWARD FISCHER, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, and Teresa Holtrop, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, received a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation for their project, “At Their Wit’s End: Early Intervention for Families.”

JOHN FLACK, MD, professor of internal medicine, has been named to the board of directors for the Michigan Peer Review Organization.

BARRY FRANKLIN, PhD, adjunct professor of physiology, received media attention for his report presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2000. His studies show that people who exercise sporadically have an increased risk of an exerciserelated fatal heart attack.

ROBERT JOHNSON, PhD, professor and associate chair of biochemistry, has been appointed to the Ann Arbor City Council, where he has been active in local park millage initiatives and environmental citizens’ groups.  

PETER KARPAWICH, MD, professor of pediatrics (cardiology), was an invited presenter at the 2nd International Meeting of the Egyptian Society of Cardiology, Working Group of Electrophysiology and Pacing. His presentations focused on “Pacemaker Therapy and Follow-Up in the Young” and “Radiofrequency Ablation in Children and Young Adults.” He was also a visiting professor in the pediatric cardiology department at Ain Shams University School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt.

STEVEN LEVINE, MD, professor of neurology, has received media attention for a study conducted by Operation Stroke, an initiative Dr. Levine chairs. The study shows that residents of Wayne, Macomb and Oakland Counties know little about the warning signs of a stroke. Operation Stroke has launched many public awareness campaigns to increase the number of patients receiving early care.

KATHY LING-MCGEORGE, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, worked with medical students to organize Health Focus 2000, a program at Children’s Hospital, that focused on urban health issues.

ROBERT LISAK, MD, professor and chair of neurology and professor of immunology/microbiology, has been appointed to a four-year term as a member of the Research Programs Advisory Committee of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). Dr. Lisak has previously served on multiple committees and task forces for the NMSS, including the research grants committee, which he chaired for three years. He is also a member of the society’s medical advisory board. In addition, Dr. Lisak was a featured speaker at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Education Conference, “MS Research – 2000 and Beyond.” The conference was broadcast via the National MS Society website.

JEFFREY LOEB, MD, PhD, assistant professor in neurology and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, had an abstract accepted at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. It was called “Regulation of Acetylcholine Receptor Genes by Neuregulin- Extracellular Matrix Interactions.”

WILLIAM LYMAN, PhD, professor of pediatrics and founding director of the Children’s Research Center of Michigan at Children’s Hospital, is the first holder of the Carman & Ann Adams Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research.

MAUREEN MAYES, MD, professor of internal medicine, has been awarded a $4.5 million competing renewal from the National Institutes of Health for her work on the Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository. Dr. Mayes will continue using the national registry to characterize the genetic basis for the expression of scleroderma.

CHUCK POKRIEFKA, JR., facilities manager at the School of Medicine, was appointed to chair the by-laws and government affairs committee of the Southeastern Michigan Chapter of the International Facilities Management Association.

DRS. ARTHUR PORTER, HERBERT SMITHERMAN, AND JOHN WALLER, JR., were recognized in a special resolution from the Detroit City Council for their commitment to urban health issues.

DAVID ROSENBERG, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences, has been elected a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

HOWARD SCHUBINER, MD, associate professor of internal medicine, is offering a course in “Mindfulness Meditation” for people living with HIV or AIDS. The eight-week course teaches skills for stress management, coping with a chronic illness, and how those living with HIV/AIDS can get more out of life.

MICHAEL SIMON, MD, associate professor of internal medicine, is leading a study on “Family History and Breast Cancer.” Researchers are trying to determine why breast cancer kills more African-American women than white women who are diagnosed with the same disease.

JAYNE WEISS, MD, professor of ophthalmology, has been named by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as one of the six permanent members of the Ophthalmic Devices Committee, which votes on the devices approved and used for laser vision correction.

SUZANNE WHITE, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine, is assisting in the establishment of an Institute for Toxicology and Environmental Health in Cairo, Egypt. She hosted a three-day training session on poisoning, and was an invited lecturer on pediatric carbon monoxide poisoning.