Medicine@Yale Advancing Biomedical Science, Education and Health Care Volume 2, Issue 4 July/August 2006 A faster pipeline speeds new treatments from lab to patient fi ce of Cooperative Research (ocr), catalyzing the creation of brand-new to obtain Food and Drug Administra- Small biotechs which takes the lead in licensing the companies tailored to the needs of tion (fda) approval to test one of with big ambitions fruits of faculty labors to biotechnol- particular therapies. Crews’s cancer drugs in people. ogy and pharmaceutical companies, The result has been a signifi cant Likewise, Achillion Pharmaceu- hasten drug testing currently lists a dozen additional contraction of the time it takes to ticals, a start-up company whose potential therapies under license and move new treatments from licensing fi rst compound was discovered by The fl ow of discoveries from the medi- poised to start early stage clinical trials to fi rst trials in humans. For example, Yung-Chi “Tommy” Cheng, ph.d., cal school’s labs to patients in need (see graphic, p. 6). Proteolix, founded in 2003 to com- the Henry Bronson Professor of is proceeding at a blistering pace—in This unprecedented success in mercialize compounds discovered by Pharmacology, began a Phase I trial the last four years, no fewer than fi ve pushing investigators’ fi nds out of Craig M. Crews, ph.d., associate pro- of the drug to treat hiv⁄aids only new therapies invented by School of the lab comes from ocr’s strategy fessor of molecular, cellular and devel- a year and half after the company’s Medicine researchers have advanced of partnering with up-and-coming opmental biology and pharmacology, inception. into human clinical trials. Yale’s Of- biotech companies, and in some cases took just 18 months from its founding Pipeline, page 6 “Teacher’s teacher” to A love of Yale, oversee curriculum a vision for as education dean In June, Associate Professor of Psy- chiatry Richard Belitsky, m.d., was its future named deputy dean for education at the medical school. Unprecedented gifts Belitsky, a popular and respected professor as well as a skilled clinician provide funds for and administrator, is “a teacher’s fi ve professorships teacher and a doctor’s doctor,” Having had a remarkably wide- Dean and Ensign ranging career during which he Professor of headed companies involved in Medicine Robert J. everything from small aircraft to Alpern, m.d., said shipbuilding to cement, Greenwich, David and Jean McLean Wallace at their Greenwich, Conn., home with Dean Robert Alpern. in announcing the Conn., businessman and philanthro- appointment. pist David W. Wallace has some dif- Reproductive Sciences; and the tional in magnitude and places Richard Belitsky “He is an out- fi culty arriving at a term that neatly Robert R. Young Professorship, the Wallaces in a small and select standing educator sums up his profession. But when which is currently unfi lled but has group of supporters of Yale School who has received many of the top pressed, he fi nally settles on “lucky.” been designated for a faculty mem- of Medicine,” says Dean and Ensign teaching awards from Yale—one of In a stroke of good fortune for ber involved in research in ophthal- Professor Robert J. Alpern, m.d. them twice—and from his colleagues the School of Medicine, Wallace and mology and visual science. “Their gifts have allowed us to at- in psychiatry nationally,” Alpern his wife, Jean McLean Wallace, have Largely unrestricted bequests tract key faculty to Yale and will be said. “He is also a highly effective donated $6 million to endow two to Yale from John William Sterling instrumental in those faculty mem- administrator, adept at framing issues new professorships, adding to three in 1920 and Eugene Higgins in 1975 bers’ success.” and working through them with col- professorships they have previously have endowed 10 Sterling Profes- Wallace has also been an im- leagues in many departments, at con- funded since 2000: the Jean McLean sorships and four Higgins Profes- portant donor to his alma mater. ceiving and launching new programs, Wallace Professorship, held by sorships at the medical school. But Just prior to his 50th reunion, he and at sorting and extracting the data Margaret K. Hostetter, m.d., profes- the Wallaces’ combined gifts, $13.5 and Jean gave a $9 million gift for needed for good decision making.” sor and chair of the Department of million specifi cally earmarked to the renovation of Branford College, A native of Philadelphia, Belitsky Pediatrics; the Anita O’Keefe Young support fi ve professorships, are whose Gothic-style York Street wing received his bachelor’s and medical Professorship of Women’s Health, unprecedented at the School of is now called Wallace Hall. In all, degrees from the University of Florida. held by Charles J. Lockwood, m.d., Medicine. the Wallaces have donated over He came to Yale as a resident in 1979 professor and chair of the Depart- “The funding of fi ve professor- $30 million to Yale. and continued on as a fellow in foren- ment of Obstetrics, Gynecology and ships by a single donor is excep- Gifts, page 8 sic psychiatry until 1983. Belitsky, p a g e 8

Non-Profit Org. Inside this issue Medicine@Yale U. S. Postage Lifelines An Eye for Science 300 George St., Suite 775 PAID Science-minded surgeon Science imitates art in New Haven, CT 06511 New Haven, CT Larry Moss, p. 2 new gallery, p. 7 www.medicineatyale.org Permit No. 526 Protecting preemies The highest prize A powerful new protein Drug innovator wins the probe for preterm labor, p. 3 Parker Medal, p. 8 Patients are a virtue Also Injecting medicine Advances, pp. 3, 5; Out & About, p. 4; into biology, p. 5 Grants, p. 7; Awards & Honors, p. 8

Want to fi nd out more about medicine at Yale? E-mail us at [email protected] or phone (203) 785-5824.

M@Y_July_Aug06_BG_gr1.indd 1 8/14/06 12:33:16 PM Process CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowProcess BlackPANTONE 7496 CgVarnish Superb teaching is rewarded at graduation

Students weren’t the only ones cel- ebrating when the School of Medicine held its Commencement ceremonies on Harkness Lawn last May. Many of their mentors were also given recogni- tion as great educators. Professor of Medicine Herbert S. Chase Jr., m.d., who left the School of Medicine at the end of June after shaping the medical school’s cur- riculum for six years as deputy dean for education, received an especially When weighing fi tting tribute when he was awarded treatment options, the Bohmfalk Prize for basic sci- surgeons should look to trials, not tradition, ence education. Andre N. Sofair, says Yale’s Larry Moss. m.d., m.p.h., assistant professor of medicine, won the Bohmfalk Prize for clinical teaching. Rebel with a cause Mark D. Siegel, m.d., associ- To Moss’s dismay, “real science” 15-center study comparing the two ate professor of medicine, won the Pediatric surgeon backs Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine science over subjectivity is scarce in his field. When he and options. The May 25 issue of the colleagues reviewed over 80,000 New England Journal of Medicine Award. in the operating room studies in pediatric surgery pub- reported the results: the two proce- Two people won the Leah M. Low- lished from 1966 to 1999, they dures have virtually the same sur- enstein Award for promoting humane m.d., and egalitarian medical education: Larry Moss, professor of surgery found only 134 randomized con- vival rate, about 65 percent. m.p.h., m.d. and chief of surgery at Yale-New trolled trials. As The research shows that invest- Nancy R. Angoff, , as- Haven Children’s Hospital, is a mav- reported in 2001 in Lifelines ing time and resources to develop sociate dean for student affairs, and, nec for the second year, Catherine Chiles, erick among mavericks. Surgeons the Journal of Pediat- Larry better operations for perforated m.d. prize decisiveness and independence ric Surgery, only 16 of is probably not worthwhile, says , associate clinical professor of of mind, but Moss is out to trans- these trials compared Moss Moss. “Once the illness has reached psychiatry. form the way his colleagues choose two procedures, and most were perforation, the die is cast. We need The Francis Gilman Blake Award the procedures they use to treat sick poorly designed. to redirect our energies into identi- for outstanding teaching of the medi- children. Instead of relying largely Moss’s campaign for evidence- fying which infants will develop cal sciences went to Interim Chair of Internal Medicine David L. Cole- on personal experience or custom, based surgery arose from his own perforation and target this group m.d. Moss wants pediatric surgeons to uncertainty about treating perforat- with new therapies.” With a $1 million man, , and the Betsy Winters nec House Staff Award went to Robert W. base clinical decisions on sound sci- ing necrotizing enterocolitis ( ), grant from the Glaser Pediatric m.d. entific studies of what works best. an inflammation of the gastroin- Research Network funded by the Chang, , chief surgical resident. Professor of Internal Medicine Fred This seems like common sense testinal tract that affects roughly Gerber Foundation, Moss has begun m.d. in an age when medical journals one in 20 premature babies. If the a six-center study to do just that. S. Gorelick, , received the Alvan routinely publish clinical guidelines disease progresses to the point that But as the first randomized and R. Feinstein Award for an outstanding derived from large, rigorous drug intestinal tissue dies and perforates, controlled multi-center trial compar- teacher of clinical skills. trials. But according to Moss, surgery between a quarter and a half of ing pediatric surgical procedures, journals mostly report experience, these children die from overwhelm- the new study established the more not science. ing bacterial infections. For 30 fundamental point that surgeons, Medicine@Yale “At surgical meetings, some very years, surgeons debated the relative like other physicians, can and should Peter Farley, Managing Editor experienced surgeon whom every- merits of two treatments—remov- test their strategies in clinical trials, Contributors: Amy Chow, Janet Emanuel, one reveres will talk about his last ing infected and dead tissue versus Moss says. Michael Fitzsousa, Pat McCaffrey, Kara Nyberg, Karen Peart, Cathy Shufro, Jacqueline Weaver 100 cases of some procedure, and inserting a drain to clear stool and Moss surmises that his noncon- Photographs and Illustrations: Susan Baserga, say, ‘I think you should do it this way, pus—but no researcher had ever formist streak stems from his study John Curtis, Terry Dagradi, Hannah Fairfi eld, because that’s how I do it, and I get done a controlled study to find out of literature as a Stanford under- ©Images.com/CORBIS, Catherine Joyce, Harvey Kliman, good results.’ And everyone will go which approach saves more lives. graduate. “If you’re immersed in the Frank Poole, Margaret Sasaki, Harold Shapiro home and do it that way,” says Moss, “I read everything published on culture of surgery, it can be difficult Design: Peter W. Johnson, Maura Gianakos/Yale RIS

who came to Yale from Stanford Uni- the subject and realized that there to stick your head out of the sand Medicine@Yale is published six times each year versity School of Medicine four years was no scientific evidence to tell us and say, ‘Wait a minute, this whole by the Offi ce of Institutional Planning and ago. “Experience is a very important what to do, and if there was going field is looking at things the wrong Communications, Yale School of Medicine, 300 George St., Suite 775, New Haven, CT 06511. component of judgment, but you to be any, I’d better generate it,” way,’” he says. “Literature helps you Telephone: (203) 785-5824 can’t confuse experience, and its Moss says. So six years ago, while look at what you do in your daily life Fax: (203) 785-4327 limitations, with real science.” still at Stanford, Moss launched a in a broader perspective.” E-mail: [email protected] Website: medicineatyale.org

If you have a change of address or do not wish to receive future issues of Medicine@Yale, Yale biochemist is elected to the world’s oldest scientifi c society please write to us at the address above or via e-mail at [email protected].

Nigel D.F. Grindley, ph.d., professor carried out studies winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship Postal permit held by Yale University, and former chair of molecular bio- of dna polymerase, in 1978 and a merit award from the 155 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520

physics and biochemistry at Yale, was an enzyme involved National Institutes of Health in 1991. Yale School of Medicine elected a fellow of the Royal Society in dna replication. Founded in England in 1660 by Robert J. Alpern, m.d., Dean in May. In naming Grindley one of its Grindley Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle and Ensign Professor of Medicine Mary Hu 44 new fellows for 2006, the Society received his under- other luminaries, the Royal Society is Director of Planning and Communications called his studies on site-specifi c re- graduate degree at the world’s oldest scientifi c academy Michael Fitzsousa combination a “landmark in the fi eld Cambridge Univer- in continuous existence. More than Director of Publications [that] have paved the way for further Nigel Grindley sity and his ph.d. 60 Nobel laureates are among the fundamental discoveries.” at the University of 1,400 fellows and foreign members on nato Grindley does research on en- London. He was a Postdoctoral the Society’s roster, which through its Correction: Two medical school students who zymes that break apart and stitch to- Fellow at Carnegie-Mellon Univer- history has included Isaac Newton, appeared in a photograph accompanying an gether strands of dna when genes are sity in 1974 and at Yale from 1975 to Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, article in our May/June issue on the haven free clinic were identified incorrectly. The rearranged. In collaboration with his 1978. He returned to Yale in 1980 after Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein, students pictured were Erica Mintzer and wife, senior research scientist Cath- serving as an assistant professor at the Dorothy Hodgkin, Francis Crick, Susan Mathai of the Class of 2009. erine M. Joyce, d.phil., he has also University of Pittsburgh. He was the James Watson and Stephen Hawking. 2 www.medicineatyale.org

M@Y_July_Aug06_BG_gr1.indd 2 8/15/06 2:31:49 PM Process CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowProcess BlackPANTONE 7496 CgVarnish Advances New protein chips are a window on the womb Health and science news from Yale A rapid, reliable test to make preterm births safer for mother and child

Preterm birth is the leading cause of death and disease in newborns world- wide, but it is diffi cult to prevent or to manage because premature labor can Trading life and limb result from several causes, including in pursuit of being thin infection and intrauterine infl am- mation. It is well known that infl am- Considering the social stigma and mation is damaging to babies, but adverse health effects, most people infl ammation itself has many causes. would never choose to be obese. But just how far would people go Sometimes infection leads to infl am- Catalin and Irina Buhimschi have designed a protein chip that is providing new insights into to avoid being fat? mation, but as often as not, other preterm labor and other complications of pregnancy. Marlene B. Schwartz, ph.d., biological processes are at work. director of research and school Because of this complexity, that determines which proteins in the then scored 24 additional amniotic programs at Yale’s Rudd Center obstetricians treating mothers at risk sample are most abundant and rapidly samples, this time without knowing for Food Policy and Obesity, and for preterm birth must decide within generates a protein profi le, a graph in what the patient’s outcome had been, colleagues polled nearly 4,300 a brief time window whether to which the most plentiful proteins are and found that the MR score predict- individuals across the weight prescribe anti-infl ammatory agents, represented as peaks. ed with great accuracy which women spectrum—from underweight to antibiotics or both, while they simul- The Buhimschis put seldi had preterm births, and what the extremely obese—and asked what taneously weigh whether aiming for a technology to use in a study reported nature of their test results had been. they would sacrifi ce to not be fat. quick delivery or slowing down labor in the February 2005 issue of bjog, In a more recent study, presented As reported in the March is- at the February meeting of the Soci- sue of Obesity, 46 percent of the with drugs will be better for the baby. a British journal of obstetrics and respondents said they would give Physicians fi nd their way through gynecology, in which they analyzed ety for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the up a year of life, 30 percent would this clinical thicket by counting white samples of amniotic fl uid that had Buhimschis tested fresh samples of divorce their spouse, and 25 percent blood cells (wbcs) in a sample of been obtained during the 1990s from amniotic fl uid taken from women would forego bearing children. amniotic fl uid or culturing a sample. 77 women with symptoms of preterm with symptoms of preterm labor and Some went further: 5 percent However, these tests take time, and labor and placed in cold storage. found that their MR scores not only reported that they would prefer to they provide a crude and unreliable Seventeen of these patients, called predicted preterm births but when lose a limb and 4 percent said they measure of infl ammation. the “normal group” in the study, had those births would occur. “An MR would rather be blind than obese. But new work using cutting- low wbc counts and normal cul- score of 2 indicates the median time The researchers found anti-fat edge protein-chip technology by the ture results when the samples were for delivery is four days,” says Catalin bias in all respondents, even those husband-and-wife research team drawn, and these women eventually Buhimschi. “If all four biomarkers for who are obese. “The fact that even of Catalin S. Buhimschi, m.d., and had normal deliveries. Sixty other infl ammation are present, delivery obese individuals exhibited a sig- m.d. nifi cant implicit anti-fat bias sug- Irina Buhimschi, , both assistant women had preterm deliveries, but in occurs within hours. Our test has gests that they have internalized professors in the Department of Ob- a vivid illustration of the complexity more clinical value because we can negative stereotypes, such as be- stetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive of premature labor, only 21 (the “dis- obtain results in half an hour.” lieving they are lazy,” says Schwartz, Sciences, may soon make doctors’ ease group”) had high wbc counts The Buhimschis hope this latest who adds that such stereotypes decisions surrounding preterm birth and cultures indicating infection; the work, which won the 2006 March of may undermine people’s motivation faster, easier and healthier for both remainder had low levels of wbcs and Dimes Award for Best Research in to make healthy behavior changes. mother and child. negative cultures, or had inconclusive Prematurity, will add momentum to Irina Buhimschi says that relying test results—negative on one and their efforts to move their technique How immunity is on wbc counts or cultures to manage positive on the other. into clinical practice, and they are premature labor allows for “educated When the Buhimschis applied now exploring the use of seldi for MIFfed by malaria guesses” at best, and in 2000 she began a statistical technique known as the diagnosis and management of exploring the newly emerging fi eld of mass restricted (MR) analysis to other prenatal conditions, such as Half of the 2 million deaths from seldi malaria each year result from se- proteomics—the study of the struc- the disease group’s -derived preeclampsia. vere anemia caused by the duplici- ture and function of proteins—to protein profi les, four peaks emerged In a scientifi c bonus, one of the tous Plasmodium parasite, which fi nd a better way. She settled on a that were not present in the normal proteins the Buhimschis identifi ed not only destroys healthy red blood technique known as seldi (surface- group. To test whether these proteins, with seldi has never been associ- cells, but also blocks the production enhanced laser desorption ionization), all of which are involved in infl amma- ated with preterm infl ammation. of new cells to replace them. New in which a biological sample, such as tory pathways, could serve as reliable “In addition to its diagnostic power,” research shows Plasmodium adds amniotic fl uid, is placed on a small biomarkers to manage preterm labor, Catalin Buhimschi says, “seldi also insult to injury in accomplishing aluminum strip coated with chemicals the researchers devised an “MR score,” opens the window for new studies to this latter task by turning the im- that bind proteins (see photo). The assigning one point for the presence understand the biology of the process mune system against itself. strip is then inserted into equipment of any of the peaks in a sample. They of infl ammation.” Richard Bucala, m.d., ph.d., pro- fessor of medicine and pathology, and collaborators discovered that Expert on autism is named new director of Child Study Center the macrophage migration inhibi- m.d. tory factor (mif), a key immune sys- Fred R. Volkmar, , a longtime Yale rics and psychology, came to Yale as a of the National tem protein that is often expressed faculty member and world authority fellow in 1980 and joined the medical Research Council’s at high levels during malarial in the diagnosis and treatment of au- school faculty two years later. At the Committee on infection, suppresses red blood cell tism, has been named director of the csc, Volkmar directs an autism clinic Educational production. Mice lacking the mif medical school’s Child Study Center that attracts patients from all over the Interventions for gene were better at regenerating (csc) and chief of the Department of world and conducts cutting-edge re- Children With red blood cells after malarial infec- Child Psychiatry at Yale-New Haven search on the basic biology of autism Autism, Volkmar tion, thereby curbing the severity of Hospital for a three-year term. and its diagnosis and treatment. made major Fred Volkmar anemia and boosting their chance The csc is an internationally An editor of the Handbook of contributions to for survival. known research and treatment facility Autism and Pervasive Developmental the U.S. Department of Education’s Bucala’s group identifi ed subtle variants of the human mif gene for children’s mental health with ac- Disorders, Volkmar was the primary 2001 report Educating Children with that lead to low or high mif levels claimed programs in early childhood author of the autism section in the Autism, which documented the during Plasmodium infection. The development, trauma, Tourette syn- latest edition of the Diagnostic and effectiveness of early intervention research, published in the May issue drome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, programs. of the Journal of Experimental Medi- mental retardation, autism and other the standard guide to psychiatric Volkmar succeeds Alan E. Kazdin, cine, points the way to a genetic developmental disorders. diagnosis. In 2007, he will become ph.d., who has served as csc director test that could identify individuals Volkmar, the Irving B. Harris editor of the Journal of Autism and since 2002. Kazdin has returned to prone to severe malarial anemia. Professor in the Child Study Center Developmental Disorders, the fi eld’s teaching and research as a professor in and professor of psychiatry, pediat- oldest academic journal. As a member the Department of Psychology at Yale. Medicine@Yale July/August 2006 3

M@Y_July_Aug06_BG_gr1.indd 3 8/15/06 2:31:58 PM Process CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowProcess BlackPANTONE 7496 CgVarnish Out & about

1 2 1 2 May 4: A reception for attendees of the inaugu- ral kavli symposium, dedicated to the memory 3 4 of the late 3 4 opening of the tac gallery Patricia S. February 17: At a reception for the Goldman-Rakic, ph.d., was (see An Eye for Science, p. 7) researchers saw their scientific images held at the New Haven home displayed as art. 1. Lorraine F. Roseman, operations manager and cus- of Pasko Rakic, m.d., ph.d., tomer advocate at the School of Medicine’s Office of Facilities, with Eric ph.d., chair and Dorys McConnell Uscinski, director of Facilities Operations. 2. Ann M. Haberman, Duberg Professor of Neurobi- associate research scientist in the Department of Laboratory Medicine. ology and director of the Kavli 3. Ruth R. Montgomery, ph.d., senior research scientist in the Depart- ph.d. Institute for Neuroscience. 1. ment of Medicine, with Cécile M. Chalouni, , associate research From left: Keynote speaker scientist in the Department of Cell Biology. 4. Valeswara-Rao Gazula, Thomas R. Insel, m.d., direc- ph.d., associate research scientist in the Department of Pharmacology, ph.d. tor of the National Institute of and Sudhakar Ravuri, , of the medical school’s W.M. Keck Foun- Mental Health, Rakic and Arvid 5 dation Biotechnology Resource Laboratory. Carlsson, m.l., m.d., a winner of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2000. 2. Amy F.T. Arnsten, March 20: The Medical ph.d., professor of neurobiology, with colleague Gordon M. Shepherd, m.d., Historical Library of the ph.d., professor of neurobiology. 3. Paul Greengard, ph.d., of Rockefeller Uni- Harvey Cushing/John Hay versity. Greengard shared the 2000 Nobel Prize with Carlsson and with another Whitney Medical Library Kavli Symposium keynote speaker, Eric R. Kandel, m.d., of Columbia Univer- was the setting for the pre- sity. 4. From left: Helen Barbas, ph.d., of Boston University, Michael Petrides, sentation of the medical ph.d., of McGill University and Joaquin Fuster, m.d., ph.d., of the University school’s class of 2006 of California, Los Angeles. 5. From left: Wen-Jun Gao, m.d., ph.d., of Drexel gift, a $6,000 dona- University, Clare M. Bergson, ph.d., of the Medical College of Georgia, and tion to the Yale School of Nenad Sestan, m.d., ph.d., assistant professor of neurobiology. Medicine Annual Fund’s Society of Distinguished Teachers (sdt). The sdt was formed “to honor, preserve and enhance the legacy of medical education” at the School of Medicine. Seated: Marcus Coe (left) and Josh Shofner, co-presidents of the class, presented the gift to (standing, from left) G. Eric Schonewald of the medical school’s Office of Development, and Frank J. Bia, m.d., direc- tor of the sdt and professor of medicine and laboratory medicine.

1

May 15: A reception followed the inaugural lecture sponsored by the gilbert h. glaser, m.d., fund for research and education in neurology. Glaser, professor emeritus of April 30: Students and faculty went head-to-head at the dean’s neurology, was instrumental in establishing neu- team softball challenge, an annual event hosted by Dean rology as a medical specialty. 1. At a plaque pre- and Ensign Professor of Medicine Robert J. Alpern, m.d. At the sentation commemorating the establishment of medical school’s 2005 Hunger and Homelessness Auction, a bidding the fund were (from left) Timothy Pedley, m.d., competition among students led by Misaki Kiguchi won the privi- the Henry and Lucy Moses Professor and chair of lege of competing against “Bob’s Bulldogs.” Back row, from left: David the Department of Neurology at the Columbia L. Coleman, m.d., Mark McRae, Gabriel Widi, Misaki Kiguchi, Kaoru University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 2 Kiguchi, Karl Laskowski, Maulik Shah, Peter Juran, Joshua Shofner, who delivered the lecture, Morfydd Glaser, Gareth Scott Kennedy, Matthew McRae, and Ryan Kaple. Front row, from Glaser, Sarah Glaser, Barbara Glaser and Stephen G. Waxman, m.d., ph.d., left: David L. Rimm, m.d., ph.d., Sam Glazer, Peter M. Glazer, m.d., Bridget Marie Flaherty Professor of Molecular Neurology and chair of the ph.d., Dennis L. Cooper, m.d., Alpern, Barbara Watts, Diane Kowalski, Department of Neurology. 2. Gilbert Glaser with Frank Esposito, former instru- m.d., Jon S. Morrow, m.d., ph.d., Maritza Martel, m.d., James S. mentation specialist for the Department of Neurology. Duncan, ph.d. Not pictured: Caryn St. Clair, Richard Silverman. (Sil- verman, the School of Medicine’s director of admissions and Bulldogs pitcher, lost a towering pop fly in the sun and left the game early to have his lip stitched up. Rimm injured his Achilles tendon, and Coleman tore a hamstring.)

4 www.medicineatyale.org

M@Y_July_Aug06_BG_gr1.indd 4 8/14/06 12:33:19 PM Process CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowProcess BlackPANTONE 7496 CgVarnish Advances Biology, medicine unite in new grad initiative Health and science news from Yale Program will infuse I possibly can get to clinical relevance, the exposure is not directed,” Yarbor- graduate training ough says. “The strength of this pro- with medical import gram is the intention from the outset to strategically expose and train Biology and medicine have been ph.d. students in clinical pathology tightly intertwined since antiquity, and patient interaction.” but the bond between the two has One possible benefi t of programs mrsp Placenta may hold loosened over the past few decades. like the will be a quicker trans- With the rise of molecular biology lation of discoveries in basic biology autism’s earliest mark and the more recent advent of the labs to useful treatments for patients, says John D. Alvaro, ph.d., lecturer in Autism, a complex disability post-genomic era, the life sciences have become increasingly complex psychiatry and administrative direc- affecting social interaction and bbs communication skills, typically and specialized. It can be daunting for tor of . “Scientists are not trained emerges in children between 1 and biologists to stay abreast of develop- to know all the ramifi cations of their 3 years of age. But autism is a so- ments in their own specialized realms, own discoveries, or to be able to move them forward,” Alvaro says. “Bridging called spectrum disorder—symp- let alone keep track of trends in John Alvaro and Lynn Cooley are launching toms vary widely across individuals medicine. At the same time, increas- a new program to give graduate students in basic science and medicine is one way in both degree and kind. Early ing clinical demands and the need to biology a broad exposure to medicine. to change this.” diagnosis is therefore challenging, master ever-changing medical tech- Students have greeted the mrsp yet critical for initiating specialized nology have placed limits on doctors’ basic research projects toward the goal initiative with enthusiasm. Out of intervention programs, which have ability to keep up with the rapid pace of helping those people,” Cooley says. 102 new students entering the BBS the greatest impact if begun as The mrsp has been given a head program in the fall, 27 applied for the soon as possible. of advances in basic biology. start with an $800,000 grant from mrsp; in the current fi rst-year class A new study by Harvey J. Kli- Nonetheless, many students man, m.d., ph.d., research scientist entering graduate programs in basic the “Med Into Grad” initiative of the of 78, 13 applied. “This response is a in the Department of Obstetrics, biological disciplines are primarily Howard Hughes Medical Institute great indication that the program is Gynecology and Reproductive motivated by a deep desire to improve (hhmi), an effort to increase under- hitting a chord and providing an op- Sciences, may make it possible human health. To help bridge the gap standing of medical issues among portunity that is quite timely, ” says to diagnose autism at birth. The between biological and medical train- researchers working toward the ph.d. Cooley. research, conducted with research ing, Yale’s Combined Program in Bio- degree in biological science. The When the mrsp’s fi rst 10 students scientist George M. Anderson, logical and Biomedical Sciences (bbs) mrsp program will enroll eight to enter the program this fall, they will ph.d. , and colleagues at the Yale has launched the Medical Research 10 students per year—half fi rst-year face some familiar challenges as they Child Study Center and published Scholars Program (mrsp), a new and half second-year students—in tackle courses in physiology and cell in the June 22 issue of Biological clinically oriented coursework and biology. But they will also have the Psychiatry, shows that abnormal initiative aimed at helping graduate “mentored clinical experiences,” unusual opportunity to meet patients foldings known as trophoblast students in the life sciences embark on inclusions (dark purple area, center careers devoted to medically relevant during which they will interact who may one day benefi t from their left; dark oval, lower right) appear research. with patients under the guidance of discoveries. “Students may be inspired three times more frequently in “As training in biology has be- physician-scientist faculty members by this kind of experience in terms placentas of autistic children than come more specialized, it has gotten who actively treat patients while of what kinds of projects they choose in placentas of normal individuals. further away from clinical applica- carrying out basic research on the to work on,” says Cooley, “based on Further studies based on these tions,” says bbs Director Lynn Cooley, biology of human disease. knowledge not just of disease mecha- fi ndings will seek to understand ph.d., professor of genetics, cell OrLando Yarborough, a graduate nisms, but of people who have those the relationship between placental biology and molecular, cellular and student in genetics with a research diseases.” abnormalities, brain development developmental biology, who will act as interest in hypertension, says that he Khalid Fakhro, a second-year and the incidence of autism. mrsp co-director along with Michael has carefully chosen courses, mentors student who works alongside J. Caplan, m.d., ph.d., professor of and laboratory rotations to comple- Yarborough in the laboratory of Curbing the scourge cellular and molecular physiology and ment his clinical interest. Richard P. Lifton, m.d., ph.d., chair of deadly diarrhea cell biology, and Joseph E. Craft, m.d., But Yarborough, who is begin- and Sterling Professor of Genetics, is professor of medicine and immunobi- ning his fourth year at Yale, worries in the fi rst cadre of mrsp students. The human body favors balance. ology. “The goal of this new program that his and other graduate students’ “Now more than ever, it is imperative Too much of one thing or too little is to bring medical training to gradu- experience with patients and medi- to be trained both in the clinical fi eld of another often tips the scales ate students learning basic science, cally relevant courses is often a matter and the rigor of scientifi c research,” toward ill effects. So it is with the including exposure to patients who of “happenstance,” and he welcomes says Fakrho. “I’m very proud and devastating diarrhea seen in V. are dealing with diseases or disease the new program’s more formal route happy to be part of the group of cholera and E. coli infection. Toxins treatments. The hope is that this will to medical enrichment of the cur- students who will receive this once- produced by these bacteria force riculum. “Even though I’m as close as in-a-lifetime opportunity.” cells in the intestine to secrete inspire the students to direct their water and salts at rates faster than the cells can reabsorb them, lead- ing to severe dehydration that kills Blood cell researcher is named new chair of Laboratory Medicine millions of children each year. In the June 20 issue of Proceed- Brian R. Smith, m.d., a physician- laboratory medicine and microbiol- he has explored ings of the National Academy scientist who joined the Yale faculty ogy taught to medical students. how the combined of Sciences, John P. Geibel, m.d., in 1989, has been named chair of the Smith, professor of laboratory actions of these professor of surgery, Steven C. Department of Laboratory Medicine medicine, medicine and pediatrics, cells may contribute Hebert, m.d., c.n.h. Long Professor and chief of laboratory medicine at received his medical degree from to disorders of the and chair of the Department of Yale-New Haven Hospital for a three- Harvard Medical School and com- blood and cardio- Cellular and Molecular Physiology, year term that began on July 1. pleted his internship and residency vascular system, and colleagues report that switch- Members of the Department in internal medicine at the Peter Bent metastatic cancer, ing on a specifi c calcium-sensing Brigham Hospital. He completed fel- Brian Smith and complications receptor protein on the surface of of Laboratory Medicine study the lowships in hematology, oncology and of blood transfusion and circulatory intestinal cells with a jolt of cal- molecular and cellular constituents cium or with agents that modulate of blood and other body fl uids to research pathology at the Brigham, bypass during cardiac surgery. the receptor blocks fl uid loss and improve the diagnosis and treat- the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Smith succeeds Peter I. Jatlow, enhances absorption. ment of disease, and to gain further Children’s Hospital in Boston. He has m.d., professor of laboratory medi- According to Geibel and He- insights into the causes of disease. The served as vice chair of the Department cine and psychiatry, who has headed bert, stimulating the receptor de- department also oversees the School of Laboratory Medicine since 1997. the department since 1984. During stroys cellular signaling molecules of Medicine’s clinical laboratories, Smith’s research has focused on Jatlow’s tenure, the department’s triggered by bacterial toxins, and in which nearly fi ve million tests are how blood platelets and white blood research funding increased almost “development of specifi c agents performed each year for Yale-New cells, which adhere to one another 20-fold. Jatlow, an expert on drugs to target this intestinal receptor Haven Hospital and other national during infl ammation and blood coag- of abuse, will continue to direct could provide a new approach for ulation, interact in health and disease. the department’s clinical chemistry treating life-threatening diarrhea.” and regional health care centers. The faculty also teach the core courses in In approximately 150 journal articles laboratory.

Medicine@Yale July/August 2006 5

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In addition, Applied Spine Tech- small companies want to see results in nologies, another young company, 2 years.” is poised to begin human trials of If a biotech’s drug is promising in the M-Brace, an implantable device early-stage clinical trials, rights to the invented by Manohar M. Panjabi, drug—and sometimes the entire bio- ph.d., dr.tech., professor of tech company—may be acquired by orthopaedics and rehabilitation. a traditional “big pharma” fi rm. Such The M-Brace stabilizes the spine to acquisitions fi ll out big companies’ relieve chronic low-back pain. research and development pipelines, Because start-ups can garner ven- but the bigger fi rms’ greater expertise ture capital based on a few promis- in manufacturing, marketing and dis- ing clinical candidates or an exciting tribution also ensure that useful drugs technology, small biotechs are driving will reach the doctors and patients the most focused and aggressive de- who need them. velopment of new treatments, says Jon Yale picked up on this drug- Soderstrom, ph.d., managing direc- development trend early on, says Paul tor of ocr. “We know that the most R. Pescatello, j.d., ph.d., president important thing we can be doing in and ceo of New Haven-based biosci- medicine right now is developing new ence advocacy group cure (Connecti- John Puziss (left) and Jon therapies,” Soderstrom says. “What cut United for Research Excellence). Soderstrom (right) of Yale’s we’re seeing is that the time frame “Historically, Yale worked well with big Offi ce of Cooperative ocr Research say that a new that a biotech takes to do that is run- pharma, and understood pretty paradigm of drug develop- ning about half of what we see in the quickly that the more little compa- ment is moving treat- traditional pharmaceutical industry.” nies they could seed, the more they’d ments faster from labs to The intense focus of small increase the odds of the research being patients. biotechs on just a few compounds picked up by big pharma to be devel- benefi ts academic researchers looking oped and ultimately marketed.” doing business in Connecticut have lated story, p. 8), provided the bulk of to quickly translate their work to new A bonus for New Haven is the their roots in Yale research. the funds to build the Anlyan Center, medicines, says John W. Puziss, ph.d., fact that most of the new companies Yale’s success story starts with the medical school’s main research ocr’s director of technology licens- licensing Yale discoveries are local, the impressive research of its faculty, facility, completed in 2003. ing. “When we license a compound or a big plus for the area’s economy. ocr’s Puziss is quick to point out. But money isn’t the main point technology to a start-up, that com- By bringing together scientists with And their efforts have been reward- of ocr’s efforts, Puziss emphasizes. pany raises tens of millions of dollars entrepreneurs and venture capital- ed—royalties from the hiv/aids “There are a number of examples committed to taking that compound ists, ocr has helped launch 30 or so drug Zerit, the brainchild of William in our pipeline now entering the to market,” says Puziss. “Where big companies that form the core of New H. Prusoff, ph.d., professor emeritus clinic that could very well reach the pharma might take 5 years to get an Haven’s biotech cluster, and most of and senior research scientist in the marketplace—and save lives,” he says. invention into the clinic, investors in the 49 biotechnology companies now Department of Pharmacology (see re- “That’s what we’re all about.”

(Company confidential)

6 www.medicineatyale.org

M@Y_July_Aug06_BG_gr3.indd 6 8/18/06 1:53:58 PM Process CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowProcess BlackgVarnish An eye for science The TAC Gallery, located in the School of Medicine’s Anlyan Center, showcases scien- tifi c images created in medical school laboratories. Co-directed by Lorraine F. Roseman, operations manager and customer advocate in the medical school’s Offi ce of Facilities, ITS Indirect immunofl uorescence and Terry Dagradi, image specialist in the -Med Media Group, the gallery was made on polarized rat hepatocytes possible by the Facilities Operations group. We will feature additional images from the cultured in a sandwich of collagen gallery in this space in future issues. gel by Wei Wang, ph.d., associate research scientist in the Depart- ment of Medicine and imaged on Two images made by Cécile M. Chalouni, ph.d., a confocal microscope by Carol J. associate research scientist in the laboratory Soroka, ph.d., research scientist in of Ira Mellman, ph.d., Sterling Professor of Cell the Department of Medicine. The Biology. Left: Confocal micrograph of a mature apical bile canalicular membrane in vitro-derived human dendritic cell, a profes- is seen in green, the basolateral sional antigen-presenting cell of the immune membrane in red and cell nuclei system, made in collaboration with Jean Da- in blue. Both Wang and Soroka voust, ph.d., of Généthon, Evry, France. This cell, are affi liated with the Yale Liver derived from blood CD11c progenitor, is labeled Center. for the antigen-presentation molecule hla-DR (dark blue), which is strongly expressed on its cell surface. Below: Confocal image of a section of human colon labeled to visualize actin fi la- ments (green) and the adhesion molecule A33 (red) located on the basolateral membranes of the colon epithelial cells. Cell nuclei are labeled by the TO-PRO-3 dye (blue).

A section of mouse cerebellum imaged with laser scanning microscopy by Valeswara-Rao Gazula, ph.d., associate research scientist in the Department of Pharmacology, and Sudhakar Ravuri, ph.d., of the medical school’s W. M. Keck Foundation Biotechnology Resource Laboratory. Receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the cerebellum’s Purkinje cells are seen as red and dna is labeled green.

Grants and contracts awarded to Yale School of Medicine January/February 2006

4 years, $2,037,464 • Mark Shlomchik, nih, Polycystin 2: InsP3 Receptor Isoform Specificity $79,636 • Guillermo Mor, Laboratory Corpo- Federal Differential gvhd Induction by Naive and for Cyst Formation, 1 year, $65,000 • Gerald ration of America Holdings, Ovarian Cancer Memory T Cells, 4 years, $1,635,000 • Mark Friedland, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Support, 3 years, $150,000; Novogen Limited, Meenakshi Alreja, nih, Cholinergic and gaba- Solomon, nih, Anaphase Promoting Complex- Supplement Provision of hiv Care, Antiretro- Assay of Induction of Apoptosis by Phenoxodiol ergic Mechanisms in the Septohippocampal Mediated Proteolysis, 3 years, $1,406,100 viral Therapy and Prevention Through a Com- in Cancer Cells, 1 year, $89,920 • Utpal Pal, Pathway, 5 years, $1,545,940 • Peter Cresswell, Stephen Strittmatter, nih, Nogo Receptor munity-Based Program in Rural South Africa, American Heart Association, Molecular Patho- nih, Role of Endocytosis in Cell Recognition, Antagonist for Ischemic Stroke Recovery, 5 years, 1 year, $25,000 • Alan Garen, Breast Cancer genesis of Lyme Carditis, 6 months, $260,000 • 5 years, $2,043,750 • Sankar Ghosh, nih, $1,430,625 • Scott Strobel, nih, Mechanism of Alliance, Inc., Breast Cancer Immunotherapy A. David Paltiel, Massachusetts General Hos- Mechanism of T Cell-Receptor Mediated Acti- Ribosome-Catalyzed Peptide Bond Formation, Using Targeted Nanoparticles Encoding an Icon, pital, Optimizing hiv Care in Less-Developed vation of NFκB, 5 years, $2,043,750 • Tibor 3 years, $1,322,074 • Joann Sweasy, nih, dna 1 year, $100,000 • Walter Gilliam, Community Countries, 3 years, $14,668 • Reuven Rabinovici, Hajszan, nih, Antidepressant Effect on Hip- Polymerase β and Colon Cancer, 2 years, $341,715 Foundation for Greater New Haven, Mother Cellphire, Inc, The Efficacy of Freeze-Dried pocampal Synaptogenesis, 3 years, $850,966 • Read/Father Read Evaluation, 1 year, $87,000 • Platelets in a Rat Model of Uncontrolled Hemor- Nathan Hansen, nih, Intervention for hiv+ Nora Groce, International Labor Organization, rhagic Shock, 1 year, $125,000 • Robert Roth, Adults With Childhood Sexual Abuse, 4 years, Non-Federal The Impact of hiv⁄aids on Disabled Popula- Organon Laboratories Ltd., Influence of Ase- $899,966 • Ralph Hoffman, nih, rtms Clini- tions: Policy Interventions, 5 months, $30,000 napine on Dopamine and Serotonin Turnover cal Trial for Auditory Hallucinations, 5 years, Serap Aksoy, Ambrose Monell Foundation, Handan Gunduz-Bruce, National Alliance for in the Phencyclidine Model of Frontal Cortical $2,135,810 • Akiko Iwasaki, nih, Viral Recogni- New Strategies for African Trypanosomiasis Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, Dysfunction in Non-Human Primates, 2 years, tion by Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell, 4 years, Control, 1 year, $100,000 • Jeffrey Bender, gaba-Glutamate Interactions and Psychosis, 2 $68,670 • David Rothstein, University of Cali- $2,043,750 • Jeffrey Kahn, nih, The Role of a Pfizer, Inc., Atorvastatin’s Impact on Vascular years, $60,000 • Melinda Irwin, Fred Hutchin- fornia–San Diego, Endotoxin and Allergy: Mod- Novel Coronavirus in Kawasaki Disease, 2 years, Wall Inflammation by Interfering with Iso- son Cancer Research Center, trec Coordina- ulation by ctla4, 17 months, $8,226 • Joseph $437,795 • Robert LaMotte, nih, Satellite Glia prehylation and rac-1 Function, 16 months, tion Center, 1 year, $22,346 • Kathleen Koenig, Schlessinger, Ludwig Institute for Cancer and Sensory Coding: Implications for Pain, 1 $64,690 • Elizabeth Bradley, William J. Clinton Organization for Autism Research, Develop- Research, Coupling Between fgf and Signal- year, $404,663 • Peter Novick, nih, Structure Foundation, Ethiopia Hospital Management ment of an Instrument for Measuring Change ing via tgf Receptors, 1 year, $75,000 • Robert and Inheritance of the Endoplasmic Reticulum, Initiative, 1 year, $604,610 • Margaret Briggs- in Social Behavior in Children with Autism Schultz, Vanderbilt University, Perpetual Exper- 3 years, $1,209,900 • Jordan Pober, nih, Allo- Gowan, University of Illinois, Chicago, Obser- Spectrum Conditions: The Social Behavior tise Network: Dynamics of Object Perception, immunity to Progenitor Cell-Derived Human vational Measurement of Preschool Behavior Observation Measure, 2 years, $29,784 • James 1 year, $46,325 • Hong Wang, Harvard Univer- Vascular Cells, 4 years, $2,993,312 • Pasko Rakic, Problems, 7 months, $18,842 • Susan Busch, Leckman, New York Medical College, Role of sity, Social Experimental Study on rmhc Com- nih, Apoptosis and Renewal of Neural Progeni- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Effect Group A Streptococcal Infection and hla Type munity-Based Health Insurance in Rural China, tor Cells, 5 years, $1,636,221 • David Rimm, of State Parity Laws on Children, 1 year, $64,872 in TS and ocd, 1 year, $8,548 • Guoyong Li, 3 years, $86,237 • Carol Weitzman, The Chil- nih, Predicting Metastasis in Melanoma, 3 Jan Czyzyk, American Cancer Society, Inc., American Heart Association, Characteriza- dren’s Fund of Connecticut, Behavioral Health years, $1,044,764 • Scott Rivkees, nih, Anti- Alternative Effectors of Ras gtpase in T Cell tion of a Novel Monoamine Oxidase, Renalase, of Young Children in Primary Care Settings, Adenosine Therapy of Neonatal Brain Injury, Activation, 4 years, $720,000 • Maria Diuk- 3 years, $260,000 • Xingguang Luo, Alcoholic 2 years, $178,561 • Dagan Wells, art Institute of 1 year, $183,938 • Craig Roy, nih, Evasion of Wasser, G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Chari- Beverage Medical Research Foundation, Fine- New York and New Jersey, Analysis of Cell-Cycle Antigen Presentation by Vacuolar Pathogens, table Foundation, Development of an Interactive Mapping Risk Alleles for Alcohol Dependence Checkpoints in Human Oocytes, 15 months, 5 years, $2,043,750; nih, Modulation of Host Internet Site for Lyme Disease Education, 1 year, at the chrm2 Locus, 1 year, $50,000 • Linda $16,792 • Herbert Yu, American Association Cell Functions by Coxiella burnetii, 4 years, $51,425 • Barbara Ehrlich, pkd Foundation for Mayes, Patrick & Catherine Weldon Donaghue for Cancer Research, Methylator Phenotype of $1,839,375 • Kerry Russell, nih, Cardiovascular Research in Polycystic Kidney Disease, Molecu- Medical Research Foundation, Minding the Insulin-Like Growth Factors in Breast Cancer, Effects of Endothelial-Derived Neuregulin, lar Coupling Between the InsP3 Receptor and Baby: Home Visiting for Young Parents, 3 years, 2 years, $160,000

Medicine@Yale July/August 2006 7

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Myron Genel, m.d., profes- the Parker Medal, school’s highest honor sor emeritus of pediatrics, has HIV AIDS been appointed Anti- / compound by Mike Leavitt, discovered by awardee has Secretary of the U.S. Department improved lives worldwide of Health and Human Services, to the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human The Peter Parker Medal, the School of Research Protections. The commit- Medicine’s premier award, is named tee provides recommendations for for an intrepid alumnus and gradu- the responsible conduct of research ate of the Yale Divinity School who involving human subjects. Genel served for 19 years as associate traveled to China in 1834 as a medical dean and director of the School of missionary. By founding the Ophthal- Medicine’s office of government and mic Hospital at Canton, the Reverend community affairs. He is a former Peter Parker, m.d., set the stage for chair of the Association of American the extraordinarily close and wide- Medical Colleges’ Council of Aca- demic Societies and the Council on ranging ties between Yale and China Scientific Affairs of the American that endure to the present day. Medical Association. The 2006 recipient of the Peter Parker Medal, William H. Prusoff, William Prusoff (left), a trailblazer in pharmacology, receives the Peter Parker Medal from Aaron W. McGee, ph.d., spent his working life at the Dean Robert Alpern. ph.d., postdoc- lab bench instead of the bedside, but toral fellow in the his contributions, like Parker’s, have In a landmark decision in 2001, from Columbia University and an Department of had a lasting global impact. Bristol Myers Squibb, which devel- honorary doctorate from the Univer- Neurology, has received a Career In the 1950s, Prusoff, now profes- oped and markets Zerit, agreed to sity of Cagliari in Italy in 1989. Award in the Bio- sor emeritus and senior research sci- distribute the drug at no profi t to In 2000 the School of Medicine medical Sciences entist in the Department of Pharma- hiv⁄aids patients in the hard-hit established the William H. Prusoff from the Bur- cology, synthesized the fi rst antiviral countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Professorship in Pharmacology in roughs Wellcome Fund for his work compound approved for human use Royalties to Yale from sales of Zerit Prusoff’s honor, a post now held by on neural plasticity in the laboratory of Stephen M. Strittmatter, m.d., by the Food and Drug Administration in developed countries provided the Chair of the Department of Phar- ph.d., the Vincent Coates Professor (fda). the lion’s share of funding for the macology, Joseph Schlessinger, ph.d. of Neurology. The awards, estab- But he is best known for research construction of the Anlyan Center Prusoff “exemplifi es the Yale lished in honor of Gertrude B. Elion conducted during the 1980s with his for Medical Research and Education, researcher,” said Dean and Ensign and George H. Hitchings, provide late colleague Tai-Shun Lin, ph.d., on which houses state-of-the-art labora- Professor Robert J. Alpern, m.d., at $500,000 in “bridging support,” dis- hiv⁄aids tributed over five years, to sustain the d4T, a potent treatment for . tories and classrooms at the School an April ceremony and celebration research projects of senior postdoc- Under the trade name Zerit, d4T of Medicine. at New Haven’s Union League Café toral fellows as they move into junior forms part of the three-drug “cock- Prusoff joined the medical school marking the award of the Parker faculty positions. tail” that has extended the lives of tens faculty in 1953. He received his under- Medal. “I am proud and thankful of thousands of people with hiv⁄ graduate degree in chemistry from for Dr. Prusoff’s ambassadorship on Geralyn Spollett, m.s.n., a.n.p., aids worldwide. the University of Miami, his doctorate behalf of this institution.” c.d.e., nurse practitioner in the Belitsky continued from page 1 Section of Endo- crinology and After joining the School of Medi- He has served on numerous induction into the medical school’s Metabolism, was cine faculty, Belitsky rose quickly committees including the Medical Society of Distinguished Teachers named Diabetes through the ranks, serving at various School Admissions Committee, the in 2002 and the Irma Bland Award Educator of the Year at the 2006 annual meeting of times as unit chief and director of Educational Policy and Curriculum for Excellence in Teaching Residents the American Diabetes Association inpatient services at the Connecticut Committee, the Graduate Medical from the American Psychiatric (ada). Spollett has conducted Mental Health Center; as medi- Education Committee and the Physi- Association in 2005. The School of research on type 2 diabetes in black cal director of the Yale Psychiatric cian Associate Program Curriculum Medicine’s Class of 2000 chose Be- women, and has lectured nationally Institute; and as director of residency Committee. He also chairs the litsky as its Commencement speaker. and internationally on diabetes man- agement from a nurse practitioner education and of medical studies Committee on Physician Health at Belitsky, who took offi ce on perspective. She is on the board of in psychiatry. He has been deputy Yale-New Haven Hospital. July 1, succeeds Professor of Medicine directors of the ada, and of the chair of the psychiatry department His teaching awards include the Herbert S. Chase Jr., m.d., who an- American Association of Diabetes since 2001, where he has been deeply Charles W. Bohmfalk Teaching Prize nounced last December that he would Educators, where she served as chair involved in teaching both medical in 2002, the Francis Gilman Blake be stepping down at the end of the of the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators. students and residents. Award in 1998 and again in 2000, academic year.

Hongyu Zhao, Gifts continued from page 1 ph.d., Ira V. Hiscock Associ- According to David Wallace, a in medicine, and the length of life has Taking a job in New York at the ate Professor in 1948 graduate of Yale’s Faculty of been extended.” fi rm of White & Case after graduation the Division of Engineering, the couple’s gifts to the Wallace resided in Branford Col- “for the magnifi cent sum of $3,600 a Biostatistics at the Department of medical school are driven by gratitude lege during his undergraduate career year,” Wallace so impressed his client Epidemiology and for the medical progress they have at Yale, which was interrupted by Robert R. Young, the chairman of Public Health, has witnessed in their lifetimes coupled World War II. He served as an offi cer Allegheny Corporation, that Young been elected a fellow of the Ameri- asa with a recognition that continuing in the 1st Infantry Division and was asked him to join his company as can Statistical Association ( ), such advances will require substantial awarded the Purple Heart. general counsel. a scientific and educational society established to promote excellence funding. After the German surrender, Wal- From there, Wallace went on to in the application of statistics. Each “To have medical progress, you lace remained in Germany, where his work as a corporate manager at a year, no more than one third of 1 have to feed it money. It’s the nature division oversaw the infrastructure succession of companies, including asa percent of ’s members are named of the beast. Running labs, doing and security for the Nuremberg war United Brands (now Chiquita Ba- fellows. Zhao’s research interests are surveys, it’s all expensive,” Wallace crimes trials. He returned to Yale to nana), Piper Aircraft, Bangor-Punta developing mathematical, statistical and numerical methods to address says. “But I think we’re at a point in complete an engineering degree, but and Todd Shipyards. scientific questions raised in molecu- medicine where we’re making leaps soon decided to strike out in another But when he surveys a lifetime of lar biology and genetics. and bounds. In 1900 the life expec- direction. “The one thing I learned in memories, Wallace says that board- tancy was about 50 years, but I had a engineering school is that I was not rooms never compete with Branford. friend die recently at 115! The quality going to be a good engineer, so I went “Yale was the greatest thing I ever of life has been improved by progress to Harvard Law School,” Wallace says. did,” Wallace says. “I loved Yale.”

8 www.medicineatyale.org

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