Washington University Record, February 22, 2007
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Washington University School of Medicine Digital Commons@Becker Washington University Record Washington University Publications 2-22-2007 Washington University Record, February 22, 2007 Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record Recommended Citation "Washington University Record, February 22, 2007" (2007). Washington University Record. Book 1099. http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record/1099 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington University Publications at Digital Commons@Becker. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Record by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Becker. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Medical News: Premature birth 'Dance like a fight': DanceBrazil Washington People: Dr. Bob' has more likely in African-Americans comes to Edison Theatre Feb. 23-25 a multi-faceted career in medicine 8 Feb. 22, 2007 record.wustl.edu Dred Scott case revisited Children's Discovery Institute National symposium takes place on 150th anniversary awards first research grants To commemorate the sesqui- The Children's Discovery In- progress toward the develop- centennial of the infamous stitute (CDI) has awarded ment of materials to tackle this U.S. Supreme Court deci- $2 million in research grants to medical problem," said Karen L. sion, the University is hosting a investigators across the Univer- Wooley, Ph.D., the James S. Mc- national symposium on "The sity's schools of Arts & Sciences Donnell Distinguished Universi- Dred Scott Case and Its Legacy: and Medicine. ty Professor in Arts 8c Sciences. Race, Law and the Struggle for These are the first funding Wooley is part of a team that Equality" March 1-3. awards since the launch of the includes pediatric neurosurgeon The symposium examines the Institute in 2006. A second wave Jeffrey R. Leonard, M.D.; and impact and legacy of the case and of funding, worth about $3 mil- Sheila Stewart, Ph.D., and John- brings to campus nationally lion, will be announced in April. Stephen A. Taylor, Ph.D., both renowned historians, legal schol- The CDI's Scientific Advisory in the Division of Biology and ars and judges; a Scott descen- Board, charged with determin- Biomedical Sciences. dant; and rare documents per- ing the most outstanding awards St. Louis Children's Hospital taining to the case in Missouri, from a large applicant pool, gave and the School of Medicine where the 11-year legal battle special consideration to interdis- joindy launched the CDI in Jan- began. ciplinary research initiatives. uary 2006. In 1846, slaves Dred Scott and "Our goal is to conduct re- Grants will be made to fund his wife, Harriet, filed suit for search in a way that has never multidisciplinary investigator their freedom in the St. Louis been done anywhere on behalf teams, faculty recruitment, re- County Circuit Court. After more of children," said Jonathan D. search fellows and unique edu- than a decade of reversals and Gitlin, M.D, the Helene B. Rob- cational initiatives. appeals, the case reached the Su- erson Professor of Pediatrics and The CDI initially is focusing preme Court. scientific director of the CDI. on four broad areas encompass- That court's landmark deci- "We're pulling people togeth- ing some of the most pernicious sion, issued in 1857, upheld a er with unique skills who've diseases affecting children Missouri appellate court ruling never worked together," Gitlin through the McDonnell Pedi- that denied the Scotts their free- said. "We're asking them to in- atric Cancer Center, the Center dom. The Supreme Court deci- vestigate a problem in a new, for Musculoskeletal Diseases, sion declared that blacks were not imaginative and interdisciplinary the Center for Pediatric Pul- citizens and, therefore, could not way that completely leverages the monary Disease and the Con- sue in federal court. Further, the intellectual capital of this Uni- genital Heart Disease Center. court ruled that the federal gov- versity." With these awards in place, ernment did not have the power One newly funded initiative research will begin immediately. to prohibit slavery in its territo- supported within the McDon- "With pediatric brain cancer, ries. The decision contributed to nell Pediatric Cancer Center is we can now start figuring out rising tensions between the North providing a remarkable oppor- how to get nanoparticles into and South just before the Civil tunity to explore the potential of brain tumors taken from chil- War. nanostructures, tiny particles dren and placed in mice and "Although a bloody Civil War that could help detect and treat how to begin manipulating produced three Constitutional pediatric brain cancers. those brain tumors for new The Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis was the site of the first amendments to reverse that deci- "By bringing together spe- treatments," Gitlin said. two trials of the Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850. Slaves Scott and sion, the achievement of full cialists in the fields of chemistry, The CDI funding provides his wife, Harriet, eventually lost their suit for freedom with a U.S. Su- racial, religious and ethnic equal- biology and medicine, we are for eight research initiatives, re- preme Court decision in 1857, the sesquicentennial of which will be ity in this country remains an un- in a unique position to make See Grants, Page 6 commemorated with a University-sponsored symposium March 1-3. See Dred Scott, Page 6 Marlow makes USA Today's 2007 Academic First Team Three other WUSTL undergraduates recognized in competition BY TONY FITZPATRICK ing in Washington University tying with the University of Al- Jeffrey J. Marlow, a senior in abama for the most students se- Arts & Sciences, is one of 20 lected in the newspaper's compe- students nationwide named to the tition. 2007 All-USA College Academic The All-USA College Academ- First Team, USA Today's recogni- ic Team was announced in USA tion program for outstanding Today's Feb. 15 issue. A bio and undergraduates. photo of Marlow, who is pursu- Two other Washington Univer- ing a bachelor's degree in earth sity students were named to the and planetary sciences, chemistry third team and one student re- and geobiology, all in Arts & Sci- ceived honorable mention, result - See Marlow, Page 6 Genetically modified crops add new layer to Indian farming BY NEIL SCHOENHERR by — local culture. The study, published in the The arrival of genetically modi- February issue of Current An- fied crops has added another thropology, focuses on cotton level of complexity to farming in production in the Warangal Dis- the developing world. trict of Andhra Pradesh, India, Glenn D. Stone, Ph.D., profes- one of the nation's key cotton- sor of anthropology and of envi- growing areas. There, Stone ronmental studies, both in Arts & found several factors affecting Happy New Year Xiaoqi Shi performs on violin and Fei Sun plays the pipa (a Chinese lute) dur- Sciences, has completed the first farmers' ability to adjust to new ing the Chinese New Year Celebration Feb. 17 in Brown Hall Lounge. Nearly 400 people attended detailed anthropological field- developments by practical meth- the event, which was sponsored by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. The Chinese work on these crops and the way ods. Among them are the speed Lunar New Year 4705 began Feb. 18, and 2007 is the Year of the Pig. they impact — and are impacted See Crops, Page 6 2 RECORD WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Renowned African-American historian to be visiting scholar BY SUSAN KIIXENBERG MCGINN can studies at Columbia, helped shape programs for the university's Robin D.G. Kelley, Ph.D., one Institute for Research in African- of the country's pre-eminent American Studies. scholars in African-Ameri- Prior to his tenure at Colum- can history, will serve as a distin- bia, he was chair of the history de- guished visiting scholar at the partment and professor of history University Feb. 28-March 1. and Africana studies at New York Kelley, who is professor of his- University. He also had been a tory and American studies and professor of history, African- ethnicity at the University of American studies and American Southern California (USC), is a culture at the University of Michi- leading scholar of the modern gan, where, in 1994 at age 32, Kel- civil rights movement, jazz stud- ley became one of the youngest ies, and African-American music full professors in the United States. and culture. In 2005, he was a visiting pro- He is coming to campus as fessor in Harvard University's De- part of the University's Distin- partment of African and African guished Visiting Scholars Pro- American Studies. gram, which was instituted in He is the author of seven 1998 as part of books, including the award-win- an effort to in- ning "Hammer and Hoe: Alabama crease the rep- Communists During the Great resentation of Depression," "Race Rebels: Cul- minority schol- ture, Politics, and the Black Work- Tom Biehl, a mechanic with Maintenance Operations, installs a peephole in the door of a Hurd House ars on the Dan- ing Class," "Yo' Mama's Disfunk- dorm room. Seven two-man crews installed peepholes in residence hall doors last week as an added forth Campus. tional!" and "Freedom Dreams: security measure for students. The program The Black Radical Imagination." invites individ- A prolific essayist, he has pub- uals to campus lished dozens of articles in schol- Security measures added on campus who have dis- Kelley arly journals, anthologies and in tinguished the popular press, including fre- The University is taking steps to increase security on ty offers, including escorts, a women's self-defense themselves as leaders in their quent contributions to The New campus following a crime alert issued Feb.