medicine FALL 2008

The hidden truth about alcohol Chronic drinking takes its toll on the lungs

Inside: A Voice for Grady 14 The Trouble with Vaccine Trials 16 Love Affair with the Heart 18 Section title here David M.Zacks 70MR 66MR, 64MR, Sidney H.Yarbrough III,MD, 59C,63M, YarbroughRebecca J. Maxwell White Jr., MD, 73C,77M Mark C.West Martin Van Buren Teem Jr., MD, 63M E. Stephen Purdom, MD, 72M,76MR Malcolm Powell Parker H.Petit Maria M.Peninger W. Jefferson Pendergrast Jr., MD, 72M,81MR William A.Parker Jr., 50C,emeritus William King, MD, R. 38C,41M Gayle Thornton Kennedy M.JonesCecile John S.Inman Jr., MD, 42C,45M Trudy Huger L.Haynes,Ralph MD, 70M,74MR SheltonRobert Harkey, 63C,65L Charles B. Ginden, 55C J. Harper Gaston, MD, 52C,55M,61MR Anne E.H.Gaston, MD, 55M,60MR Andrew C.Garling, MD, 94MBA William L.Effinger III Herbert L.DuPont, MD, 65M Thomas C.Dickinson, MD, 50C,54M,59MR Evern D. Epps Cooper André L.Churchwell, 86MR 80MR, John H.Burson III,MD, 75M,79MR Paul B. Brock, MD, 79C,83M,88MR Linton H.Bishop Jr., MD, 47M Anne P. Berg Julie Balloun Lanier W. Shain Schley, MD, 62C,66M,chair Board of Advisers Emory School ofMedicine Charles W.Charles WickliffeJr., 69MR 67M, MD,64C, WatersWilliamC. 60MR 58M, MD,50C, III, F. Bruce Walker, 90MR 85M, MD,81C, J.Tookes, Darryl 92MR MD,87M, 82MR 78M, Suarez,MD,74C, A. Ramon Stone,JohnMD,H. 68MR Jr.,Smith Carter 66MR 60M, MD,56C, W.Thomas MD,Schoborg,73M 07MR 04M, MD,Satterwhite99C, Gilmer Lewis WalkerRay,68MR L. 65M, MD,62C, W.JeffersonPendergrast Jr., 81MR MD,72M, KrawczynskaAnnaParé,95MR MD, 90M, T.Jeffrey Nugent, 70MR MD,68M, 01MR Nahai,96M, MD, Farzad92C, R. Patricia80MR HerndonMeadors,77M, MD, 73C, Law,StephenS. 76M MD,71C, Karp,51M MD, 43C, R. Herbert PeterGordon,83MR MD, 79M, StephensonBarbaraBruner, MD,56M CarolynF. Bannister, MD,89MR 95MR MD,Amerson,90M, Jennifer L. P.Charles 55MR Adams54M, Sr., 48G, 44C, 42Ox, J.MaxwellWhiteJr., president77M, MD, 73C, Alumni Board Emory School ofMedicine www.emoryhealthpubs.org Visit us online at [email protected] E-mail for class notes: E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 404-712-9265 Atlanta, GA30322 1440 Clifton NE,Suite Road, 318 ofSchool Medicine UniversityEmory Editor, and letters to theeditor to: address changes send Please MolterJeffrey Communications Health Sciences Associate Vice President, Carol Pinto Production Manager KayTorrance Staff Writer Kearse Jack Director of Photography ChristopherHickey Art Cover PetaWestmaas DirectorArt PamAuchmutey Editor KaronSchindler Editor Executive a check for $20 (made out to Emory University)editor. the Emory tooutto 2008. (made ©Fall $20 forcheck a Articles may be reprinted in full or in part if sourceMedicine isEmory acknowledged. Persons not on the mailing list can order a one-year subscription by sending contents Emory Medicine is published by the School of Medicine, a component of the Robert W. Robert componentMedicine,University. a the ofof School Emory of WoodruffCenterthe publishedby is Sciences Health 3 class notes class and gifts Baker Sherry By elderly. amongthe womenand cardiovasculardisease half-century,Fora Nanette Wenger long-heldassumptionstested has about with affair love WrobelSylvia By falters.promisingvaccine a HIV after stock researchers take Emory The NolanMarthaMcKenzie By hospital.Studentsa savecampaignto grady for voice a ValerieBy Gregg lungs. the to isn’t drinking Chronicliver. the for bad It’sjust morehazardouseven hidden The Brief In Message Dean’s h vaccwith trouble ine medicine Suppor t alcohol 8 about truh 8 FALL 2008 he hear the 18 t 16 trials 18 14 20 24 3 2 Dean’s Message In Brief Ramping up health care Pediatric powerhouse

mory has ramped up an earlier plan to expand its Children’s Healthcare of patient care and research facilities. Atlanta has designated uring summer, the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) is barely This summer, the Board of Trustees approved E $430 million from its visible from Emory’s Lullwater Preserve. The center is obscured by the thick a $73 million proposal that includes replacing Emory University Hospital with a new hospital. Two years ago, endowment to create tangle of trees along Peachtree Creek, the natural dividing line between our cam- D Emory announced plans to construct a new Emory Clinic a pediatric research puses. But the ties between the School of Medicine and the VAMC run deep. complex, along with a replacement for Emory Hospital, powerhouse involving to be located and built in phases across Clifton Road Our partnership began more than 50 years ago when the U.S. government first encour- Emory, Georgia Tech, from the hospital’s current site. The new proposal calls for aged VA hospitals to affiliate with medical schools as a way to raise the level of medical expanding facilities at Emory and other research and academic institutions care for veterans. Today, the VAMC annually treats more Expansion of the Midtown Crawford Long Hospital in In all, more than campus includes the addi- Midtown, which was not part in Georgia. than 60,000 veterans who are seen primarily by Emory of the 2006 plan. 400 Emory investi- tion of 125 new hospital Over time, the physicians. beds, a 137,000-square-foot New Clifton Road facili- gators are engaged ties now include a 250-bed investment will change The center also provides a rich training ground for Emory Clinic building, and the pediatric research in approximately 75,000 square feet of new hospital, replacing 100 beds medical students, residents, and fellows. During the past currently in Emory Hospital 150 research proj- research space. landscape, especially in for a net gain of 150 beds; two years, the VAMC increased its support for graduate areas such as heart disease, oncology, and neuroscience. ects at the VAMC, a new 395,000-square-foot medical education by 14% and will provide an additional Additionally, the partnership will attract top medical tal- which ranks consis- Emory Clinic to be built next to the current clinic; a larger 2% next year. emergency department in the new hospital; and a new ent and grants as well as prime the pump for start-up tently near the top 100,000-square-foot research building across from the In all, more than 400 Emory investigators are engaged companies to help develop new treatments and vaccines. Emory-Children’s Center. 10 of VA centers The initiative opens the door to further collabora- in approximately 150 research projects at the VAMC, which Expansion of the Midtown campus includes the addi- in research dollars tion between Emory and Children’s. Since 2004, pediatric ranks consistently near the top 10 of VA centers in research tion of 125 new hospital beds, a 137,000-square-foot received. Emory Clinic building, and 75,000 square feet of new researchers, clinicians, and teachers have lived under one dollars received. Among the researchers who thrive there research space. roof in the building that houses the Emory-Children’s The new proposal is founded on several years of plan- is David Guidot, director of the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology Center (see the story Center (ECC) on the Egleston campus. In 2006, Emory and ning guided by community input to create a more inte- about his research on page 8). The VAMC is also home to top research centers in geri- grated approach to health care that can respond nimbly to Children’s agreed to operate ECC jointly as the largest atrics, HIV/AIDS, and rehabilitation medicine. Their work is complex but their goal is patient demand. pediatric multispecialty group practice in Georgia. simple: to serve the nation’s heroes today and improve health care for past, present, and future veterans. Several years ago, the bridge that once joined our campuses was removed. This sum- From mouse to monkey mer, VAMC director James Clark and I were among those who dedicated a new bridge Scientists at Yerkes National characterize people with the we are obtaining by using five to 10 people in every over Peachtree Creek that once again links us. Designed to blend with its natural environs, Primate Research Center inherited disorder. Patients Yerkes’ imaging capabilities, 100,000 who are affected. and the Department of experience uncontrolled we are developing a more Patients succumb to the the suspension bridge makes our campuses more pedestrian friendly. But for those of us Human Genetics have movements, loss of mental comprehensive view of the disease within 10 to 15 in the School of Medicine, the bridge takes on deeper significance as physicians, scientists, developed the first trans- processing capabilities, and disease.” years of symptom onset. genic nonhuman primate emotional disturbances. The researchers believe residents, students, and others cross back and forth between our co-joined worlds and model of Huntington’s dis- “The transgenic mon- their progress bodes well with every crossing make a difference in patient care and research, now and in the future. ease (HD). keys provide us with unpar- for developing transgenic Until now, researchers alleled opportunities for monkey models of other used transgenic mice to assessments that mirror the neurodegenerative diseases, Sincerely, study HD, but the models ones used with humans,” such as Alzheimer’s and did not completely paral- says lead researcher Parkinson’s. In the case lel the brain changes and Anthony Chan. “With such of HD, such models may behavioral features that information, much of which bring hope to the Thomas J. Lawley Dean 2 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 3 In Brief

Real-life lessons Slowing down Alzheimer’s

The patient winced with pain. A steel construction beam increasingly important role as health care gravitates toward By 2040, some 81 million people worldwide are expected fell on his leg, and now he was in the hospital, asking the allowing family members to stay in the patient’s room. to have Alzheimer’s disease. School of Medicine scientists attentive medical team for a strong painkiller. He wanted One nursing student liked how her team established a want to make sure that doesn’t happen. morphine, and the team decided that prescribing the drug first-name basis with each other to put everyone on equal Neurologist Allan Levey is leading the first clinical trial was the right course of action. footing. “I liked it too,” added a of a new vaccine designed to slow Alzheimer’s progression. If the patient had landed in medical student. “I didn’t walk The vaccine targets the beta-amyloid protein that forms a typical emergency room with into the room and think, ‘I’m the plaque and eventually damages brain cells. stretched resources, he might not doctor and that’s the nurse.’ ” Previous research on have had so many people attend- While all of the students genetically engineered ing to him. This patient was a learned valuable lessons that day, mice found that vaccina- mannequin in the experiential few medical and nursing schools tion with beta-amyloid at

learning center, with third-year incorporate team training into birth protects them from howard Photo by billy medical students and senior nurs- their curricula. And they’re plaque formation and men- ing students in attendance. missing a golden opportunity tal decline; older mice also Bringing vaccines to light in India It also was the first time in to improve patient care, says showed some benefit from Emory history that both medi- Douglas Ander, director of the the vaccine. Scientists from Emory and New Delhi will soon begin cal and nursing students trained Emory Center for Experiential The Merck vaccine pre-clinical trials of an HIV vaccine in India, marking the together. Students were briefed Medical and nursing students practice team- Learning and an emergency that Levey is testing uses first scientific collaboration of the International Center for on basic teamwork and skills work in the experiential learning center. medicine physician. a smaller piece of beta- Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the and then ran through one of two “When health care teams amyloid protein to stimu- Emory Vaccine Center, based in the School of Medicine. scenarios: a 52-year-old construction worker with a leg are properly trained on how to work together, the result is late antibody production The vaccine is a promising candidate, says Rafi Ahmed, injury or the same patient who later develops chest pain. better teamwork, reduced medical mistakes, and improved but avoid stimulating T director of the Emory Vaccine Center. It is an off-shoot Afterward, students talked about what worked and what patient care,” says Ander. “The more time students train cells, the shock troops in of the HIV vaccine developed by Yerkes National Primate didn’t with medical and nursing faculty who served as together at an earlier stage, the more it will be ingrained an inflammatory response. Research Center microbiologists Harriet Robinson (who facilitators. in their normal mode of operation. Typically, students and Levey’s four-year study will now serves with GeoVax, the Emory startup company One point the students learned: Don’t talk over the residents have little to no understanding of how teams David Wright (above) and evaluate vaccine safety, that developed the vaccine) and Rama Amara that will patient. Designate a team member to be the “explainer,” an function in a real health care environment.”—Kay Torrance Michelle LaPlaca developed possible side effects, and soon enter phase 2 trials in the United States. The vaccine, DETECT to screen patients for how well the vaccine stimu- Amara believes, can be tailored to fit the dominant strain early-stage Alzheimer’s. lates the immune system of HIV in India, where the largest number of HIV-infected in men and women age people in the world live. He and ICGEB immunologist TLC for damaged hips and shoulders 55 and older. Shahib Jameel will shepherd the Indian vaccine. Another Emory physician helped devise a tool to diag- While the vaccine trial is the center’s first, more part- Used to be that total hip replacement was the best option increase in activity. “Most patients find that resuming a nose early-stage Alzheimer’s. Called DETECT, the helmet nerships are in store after Emory hires three faculty mem- for patients with arthritis of the hip. A new surgical proce- more normal, pain-free lifestyle occurs rapidly,” says Emory device includes an LCD display in a visor, along with a bers by the end of 2008 to be stationed in New Delhi. At dure introduced recently to the United States offers a less orthopaedic surgeon Greg Erens. computer and noise-reduction headphones. DETECT gives least one of the new hires will specialize in tuberculosis to drastic alternative for young, active patients with significant He cautions that the procedure isn’t for everyone. the patient a battery of words and pictures to assess cogni- fulfill a center mandate to develop a research program in hip degeneration. People with brittle bones, severe deformity of the hip, or tive abilities—reaction time and memory capabilities. The tuberculosis. Known as hip resurfacing, the surgery preserves more of dead bone or who are significantly overweight are not good low-cost test takes approximately 10 minutes. The ICGEB-Emory Vaccine Center was launched this the hip’s natural bone structure and provides a larger head candidates. In those cases, total hip replacement may be the “With this device, we might be able to pick up impair- year to develop vaccines for some of the world’s most prev- ball, contributing to a more stable hip joint and potentially best option. ment well before serious symptoms occur and start alent and deadly infectious diseases, particularly in under- increased range Another new technique is helping patients with rota- patients on medications that could delay those symptoms,” served nations. HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are two top of motion. tor cuff injuries. The “double-row” arthroscopic repair says emergency medicine physician David Wright, who interests, along with hepatitis C, dengue fever, and malaria. Recovery is allows the tendons around the shoulder joint to heal more co-developed DETECT with Michelle LaPlaca, a scien- Founded by the United Nations, the ICGEB has similar to total hip dependably and lowers the risk of reinjury by securing the tist in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical facilities in India, Italy, and South Africa and focuses on replacement, with tendon to the bone at two sites rather than one. Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory. research and training in molecular biology and biotechnol- most patients up “It is much stronger than a typical ‘single-row’ repair DETECT’s creators formed the company Zenda ogy. In addition to allowing Emory and ICGEB researchers and walking within and does a better job of restoring normal rotator cuff Technologies to commercialize the device, expected to be to work side-by-side, conducting research in India brings 24 hours of sur- anatomy,” says Speros Karas of the Emory Sports Medicine available later this year. They hope the device will become access to patient populations, biological materials, and gery with physical Center. “Recent studies also show that the ‘double-row’ part of a regular medical exam, much like a PSA test or Indian epidemiological data not readily available in the therapy, followed repair heals in a more stable fashion, which results in better ECG given by general practitioners. United States.—Kay Torrance by a progressive long-term outcomes.”

4 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 5 In Brief

Sorting through a pricey dilemma Josh Ziperstein, 11M (right photo), men- Ophthalmologists treating patients with age-related macu- The FDA approved Lucentis based on clinical trial tors Atlanta High lar degeneration (AMD) often face a dilemma. Is it better to results showing that the drug slows the rate of progressive School students treat their patients with Lucentis or Avastin? Manufactured vision loss from advanced AMD. Approximately one-third through the Pipeline by Genentech, both drugs are chemically similar and inhib- of patients treated in these trials showed improved vision Program, founded by it the vascular endothelial growth factor that stimulates at 12 months. Although not approved by the FDA for oph- two Emory medical abnormal blood vessel growth under thalmic use, Avastin is approved for students. the macula, causing “wet” AMD. treating colorectal cancer and also is Yet there are major differences. used for lung cancer. The FDA approved Lucentis (ranibi- “Since these are the two primary Tapping into supplies of future scientists zumab) for ophthalmic use in 2006. drugs for treatment of this disease, it Before then, physicians prescribed is important for the visual health of Working through a case study about sickened churchgo- to launch the program at South Atlanta School of Health Avastin (bevacizumab) off label and the public to understand if there is ers following a picnic, the high-schoolers diligently figured and Medical Sciences, a division of South Atlanta High continue to do so. Lucentis costs any difference between them,” says out the responsible party: Staphylococcus aureus endotoxin. School. Then they recruited other medical students and $2,000 per dose, while Avastin is retina specialist and study leader Exclaimed one sophomore: “I didn’t know I was so smart.” undergraduates from Emory to guide the students. about $50 per dose. Daniel Martin. It was just the kind of sentiment that his mentors hoped In the first two sessions, the high school students came A two-year nationwide study “This study has huge socio- to hear, given that many students at South Atlanta High to the School of Medicine to get a taste of advanced medi- led by the Emory Eye Center is economic implications, not only for School perform poorly academically. In fact, 90% of them cal concepts and terminology. Then Funt, Marshall, and comparing the drugs’ benefits head to head. Funded by ophthalmic care but health care in general,” adds Timothy live in poverty. Attendance is far from daily for many, who other mentors visited the high school to work on case stud- the National Eye Institute, the Comparison of Age-Related Olsen, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology. “Newer often do not go on to college. The students were a good fit ies related to food poisoning and HIV. Students looked up Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials (CATT) will biologics may also be studied in a similar manner, and the for the Pipeline Program, created by two Emory medical epidemiologic terms, sorted data on Excel, and calculated involve 1,200 patients newly diagnosed with “wet” AMD. CATT study will set the stage for future comparisons.” students. incubation times. The mentors also talked about colleges Samuel Funt and Zwade Marshall started the program and careers. to improve academics and foster interest in the sciences By early spring, attendance by the 26 students was up among at-risk high school students. They modeled the pro- 26%, and 86.6% of students had passed their courses, says New options for heart patients gram after one that Funt participated in as a University of principal Termerion McCrary. (Last fall, 39% failed at least Pennsylvania undergraduate. one course.) Several Pipeline students also expressed inter- “After three months of first-year classes at Emory, it est in a health career. Physicians at Emory University Hospital are the first in the Southeast became clear that I had many years to go before I would be Funt wants the students to have the same supportive to use percutaneous aortic valve replacement, a nonsurgical experi- able to really help people in a clinical setting,” says Funt, relationships that he had. “Because the population at South mental option for patients with aortic stenosis. now a third-year medical student. “Zwade and I created the Atlanta High is affected by generational poverty, many of In this new procedure, doctors create a small incision in the groin Pipeline Program because we didn’t want to wait to become the students are not able to develop these ties and therefore or chest wall and then feed a wire mesh valve through a catheter and master diagnosticians to begin improving the health of our come to school with limited expectations for success,” he place it where the new valve is needed. French cardiologist Alain community.” says. “The Pipeline Program is designed to foster meaning- Cribier performed the first percutaneous heart valve replacement in With the help of Robert Lee, associate dean for multi- ful relationships that will give these young people the confi- 2002. Interventional cardiologist Vasilis Babaliaros learned along- cultural medical student affairs, Funt and Marshall contact- dence and motivation to continue on to college and develop side Cribier and brought the procedure to the United States and David DeLurgio uses Sensei to destroy ed the Atlanta public school system and got the go-ahead healthy attitudes and practices.”—Kay Torrance Emory. Babaliaros and cardiologist Peter Block are leading a clini- cells that cause heart arrhythmias. cal trial at Emory, one of five sites nationwide. “This procedure is much easier on the patient, and it offers a POP quiz quicker recovery time,” says Babaliaros. “Most important, it may also extend the lives of many people who are too ill or too frail to endure open-heart surgery.” Patients with heart arrhythmias also have a new treatment option at Emory Crawford Long Hospital (ECLH). The hos- Do you know the name of the first woman pital is the first in the Southeast to offer a robotic catheter ablation system known as Sensei. Using live x-ray, the physician guides the robotic catheter with an electrode at its tip into the heart and places the tip at to chair a department in the School of Medicine? the exact site where cells are giving off electrical signals that stimulate the abnormal heart rhythm. Mild and painless radio- That’s Luella Klein, who led the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics from 1986 to 1992. Today, four frequency energy is transmitted to the targeted area, destroying the heart muscle cells in a small area (about 1/5 inch). The women chair departments: Sarah Berga (gynecology and obstetrics since 2003), Katherine Heilpern (emergency treatment stops the area from conducting the extra impulses that cause the rapid heartbeats. Sensei provides advantages for both patient and doctor, says David DeLurgio, who directs the electrophysiology labs medicine since 2007), Carolyn Meltzer (radiology since 2007), and Barbara Stoll (pediatrics since 2004). at ECLH. It improves accuracy and control over the tip of the robotic catheter. And because Sensei is operated remotely, This issue of Emory Medicine happens to feature another prominent woman in School of Medicine history. physicians are exposed less to radiation and experience less fatigue, since they sit rather than stand during the procedure. For more about her, see the story on page 18. Hint: She joined the Department of Medicine 50 years ago.

6 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 7 By Valerie Gregg Christopher Hickey The Illustrations by hidden truth The genteel professor was admitted to the ER about wearing the academic uniform of a bygone era—bow tie, suspenders, and suit coat. He had alcohol suffered a heart attack, and by the second day of his hospitalization, it became apparent that something else was seriously wrong. The Chronic gentleman’s trembling hands and agitated affect worried the physi- drinking cians caring for him. But until his wife acknowledged her prominent husband’s drinking problem, they didn’t know for sure that the patient isn’t just was suffering from alcohol withdrawal. bad for That omission could have cost the patient his life. “It’s important for us to know if someone has a chronic drinking prob- the liver, lem when they come to the hospital for any reason,” Pulmonologist it’s says David Guidot, director of the Emory Alcohol David Guidot, and Lung Biology Center at the Atlanta Veterans a pioneer hazardous Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). “When alcoholics in how excess are in septic shock or have suffered severe trauma, drinking affects to the they are far more likely to develop acute respiratory the lungs. lungs distress syndrome (ARDS).” About half of ARDS patients die, their condition usually deteriorating until they end up on ventilators in intensive care. ARDS is deadly for anyone. But clinical studies 8 EMORY MEDICINE at Emory and elsewhere have shown that, overall, the risk of developing and therefore dying of FALL 2008 9 this severe form of lung injury is four times higher for alcoholics than non-alcoholics. Name your poison Wine, beer, hard cider, whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila, rum—it doesn’t matter how the ethanol molecule enters the body. The process of getting drunk is the same. About 20% of the drink swallowed enters the blood- stream from the small intestine. The amount entering the small intestine is controlled by the pyloric valve, which closes when the stomach is full of food. That’s why “drinking your dinner” is a faster way to feel alco- hol’s effects. The little known The immediate process of getting drunk is well truth is that more documented. Ethanol impacts the brain severely, imped- alcoholics may die ing coordination and judgment. With heavy drinking, from lung injury the brain stem is affected, producing an effect similar to than liver damage. general anesthesia. A bout of heavy drinking can leave the brain dehydrated, like an old dishrag—hence the The reason: too dread hangover headache. much alcohol Guidot studies what happens when getting drunk depletes the lungs becomes a habit. Being a pulmonologist, he concen- of the vital antiox- trates on the long-term health of drinkers’ lungs. idant glutathione. “The lungs are especially vulnerable because chronic drinking depletes them of glutathione, and the alveoli and small airways are very dependent on it,” he says. “Normally, they have 1,000 times more glutathione than other parts of the body. Chronic alcoholics have “And these alcoholics die young,” says Guidot. “The extremely low levels of glutathione in the lungs.” The average age of death from ARDS related to underly- alcohol itself doesn’t cause these changes. “It causes oxi- Humanity’s dependence on ing alcohol abuse is about 30, even among otherwise dative stress, which depletes glutathione in the lung.” healthy people. By contrast, the average age of death In 1996, results of a landmark study published in alcohol didn’t develop from alcohol-related cirrhosis is 60 to 65.” JAMA from University of Colorado scientists estab- Alcoholism is well known for its role in cirrhosis of lished a relationship between chronic alcohol abuse and the liver, pancreatitis, gout, brain damage, and other ail- ARDS. Marc Moss, the lead author on the study, joined overnight. Anthropologists ments that usually develop after many years of alcohol the Emory medical faculty just before the study was abuse. The little known truth is that more alcoholics published. Together, Moss, Guidot, and Lou Ann Brown believe people enjoyed alco- may die from lung injury than liver damage, Guidot in pediatrics began a collaboration that resulted in the notes. The reason: too much alcohol depletes the lungs formation of the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology hol during the Stone Age. of the vital antioxidant glutathione. Center. To study the mechanisms underlying this newly Exactly how much does moderate daily drinking recognized association between alcohol abuse and deplete glutathione? Does sporadic binge drinking affect ARDS, they fed alcohol to rats and discovered that the it’s going to take a lot of glutathione levels? How exactly should alcoholism be glutathione levels in their lungs plummeted within just defined? four to six weeks.“Nobody knew drinking had any effect work to learn more fully All of these questions require further study. In the on the lungs,” says Guidot, who has led numerous relat- meantime, Guidot knows that much more should be ed studies at Emory for more than a decade. how a legal substance as done to treat the medical complications of alcoholism, Since 2003, the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology especially in emergency situations. That is certain to Center has received $1.8 million annually from the NIH change, as researchers at Emory and elsewhere work to investigate alcoholism’s relationship to lung disease. widely abused as alcohol to understand the immediate and long-term effects of In all, 25 Emory faculty in fields such as neonatology, alcoholism. physiology, and pulmonary and critical care medicine inflicts its damage.

10 EMORY MEDICINE SPRING 2007 11 are engaged in related research at Grady Hospital, on other serious alcohol-related problems. However, once to drink alcohol safely is still relatively nonspecific. The the Emory campus, and at the VAMC. Center research- acute illnesses from trauma or septic shock come into National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ers are competing for an additional five years of NIH play, glutathione supplements may not work. states that two drinks a day for men and one for women funding for the center. Guidot’s rat studies also have shown that alcoholism are safe minus any complicating factors. But assessing “Emory is the hot spot for the alcohol and lung dis- affects the body’s absorption of zinc and thiamin as well an individual’s response to chronic drinking is fuzzy at ease connection,” Guidot says. “It’s an important public tens of thou- as glutathione. best. health issue, and we put it on the map.” sands of people “We’re making a good case for providing people in “It’s very difficult to know based on grams of alcohol Guidot and his colleagues hope to lessen the risk in the United how much is too much,” says Guidot. “We know from of ARDS for alcoholics suffering from trauma. Goals experience that if someone is getting into car accidents include finding better ways to identify alcoholics when States die prema- while drunk, having DUIs, going into detox—they’re at they arrive in emergency departments and developing turely every year “For alcoholics, the only a higher risk of developing medical problems.” drugs to increase glutathione levels in patients before because of lung available treatment is to To complicate the scenario, people metabolize alco- they develop ARDS. Researchers also are studying how injury related to tell them to stop drink- hol at different rates, and many people cannot metabo- alcohol abuse intersects with asthma, pneumonia, HIV, alcohol abuse. ing. We’ve done nothing lize alcohol at all. For example, some Asians have and lung transplantation. The public enzyme insufficiencies, making them less able to digest to minimize the medical alcohol. Smaller women generally are more vulnerable health ramifica- complications.”—VAMC to the effects of alcohol than men. One day at a time tions are enor- researcher David Guidot “That’s an important distinction that our research The dangers of alcohol abuse can be as big as a 20-car mous. addresses,” says Guidot. “A person doesn’t have to be interstate pileup or as small as a molecular doorway. drunk at the time of an auto accident to develop ARDS. When drinking heavily becomes a habit, it takes a lot The effects on the lung from chronic drinking are not longer than a day to recover physically. from the alcohol molecule itself but rather from the In a clinical study involving the VAMC alcohol inpa- metabolic consequences.” tient detoxification program, Guidot’s team evaluated Much work remains to learn more fully how a legal otherwise healthy drinkers to examine the effects of substance as widely abused as alcohol inflicts its dam- alcohol on their lungs before trauma or illness occurred. 1 than the 2 to 1 risk that was identified in the original age. For example: Results of a study using a rat model Glutathione levels in the lungs of these adults were 1996 study,” says Guidot. “The results were dramatic.” of lung transplants, published recently in the American decreased by 80% to 90% compared with healthy non- Based on his own recent studies and confirmatory Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, show alcoholics, closely mimicking results from Guidot’s rat results from other investigators, Guidot estimates that that chronic alcohol consumption by the donor pro- studies. Researchers chose young people with normal tens of thousands of people in the United States die motes scarring and airway injury after transplantation. nutrition (relatively functional alcoholics), waited two prematurely every year because of lung injury related Guidot’s findings prompted doctors at Emory to begin to three days after their last drink, made sure they were to alcohol abuse. The public health ramifications are a clinical study of the post-transplant effects of heavy medically stable, and then measured the glutathione enormous and have gone largely unrecognized because alcohol use among human lung donors. levels in their lungs. After the subjects had gone a week drinking, like smoking, is a legal choice for people. “We need to figure out what doctors can do to without alcohol, researchers again measured their glu- Studies like Guidot’s make a good case for devoting restore recovering alcoholics to health,” says Guidot. tathione levels, which remained very low. Exactly how more federal research dollars to alcohol-related illness. “We don’t wait for people to lose weight and exercise long it takes the lungs of a chronic drinker to normalize “The people in our studies wouldn’t have developed detox with vitamins,” he says. “There’s a very specific to treat their high blood pressure or their diabetes. For after quitting remains unknown. ARDS in the first place if they were not problem drink- protein in the lining of the intestines that helps cells alcoholics, the only available treatment is to tell them In another study, Guidot and colleagues performed a ers,” he says. absorb zinc. It’s like a doorway that zinc goes through. to stop drinking. We’ve done nothing to minimize the weeklong prospective multicenter study involving hos- Chronic alcohol ingestion suppresses expression of that medical complications. We hope work like ours will pitals in Atlanta, Denver, and Seattle. The patients stud- protein. If that proves to be the case in humans, even if help change the situation.” ied had been admitted with septic shock, critical blood Rescue 911 you try to have a good diet, some of the consequences pressure problems, or other life-threatening conditions. Interestingly, Guidot’s animal studies show that alco- on immune function could be dire.” Researchers interviewed patients and their families holic rats fed with dietary glutathione supplements no Online: To learn more about research on ARDS using standardized questionnaires to identify which longer are susceptible to changes in their lungs, even and other types of lung disease, visit www.whsc. patients were alcoholics. with continued ingestion of alcohol. The implications A long and mysterious history emory.edu/centers_resp.cfm. For more about “We followed the alcoholic patients to see how many of these findings could be enormous if they translate to Humanity’s dependence on alcohol didn’t develop over- Emory research at the VAMC, visit http://whsc. developed ARDS, and it turned out that the relative risk humans. In particular, glutathione and other nutritional night. Anthropologists believe people enjoyed alcohol emory.edu/r_va.html. of ARDS for those with alcohol abuse was closer to 4 to supplements may prove effective in preventing ARDS or during the Stone Age. Even so, knowledge about how

12 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 13 I have seen national and professional associations with multi-million-dollar budgets that are not nearly as well organized, focused, and disciplined as HealthSTAT. —Arthur A voice For Grady Kellermann, associate dean for health policy

Students campaign to save a hospital By Martha Nolan McKenzie

Visitors to the Fulton County Commissioners’ vote One of the group’s first moves set the tone for the entire campaign. Up to that point, public discussion had centered on “saving” Grady. “We didn’t this year on the fate of Grady Memorial Hospital want to portray the hospital as something that needed saving. We wanted a might have thought they had walked into a medical message that conveyed the strength of Grady and how vital it is not just to convention by mistake. Indeed, 100 of the 150 people attend- Atlanta but to the state,” says Neuhausen. ing wore white lab coats and sported stethoscopes. They were members of The students came up with a slogan, and the campaign was off and run- HealthSTAT—Health Students Taking Action Together—and had turned ning. HealthSTAT printed 4,000 “Grady Is Vital” buttons and passed them out to save Grady. out to students, faculty, employees, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce members, The commissioners voted to approve the nonprofit agreement that and county and state officials. They printed and mailed 5,000 postcards with was critical in ensuring the beleaguered public hospital’s survival. This the names and numbers of Fulton and DeKalb commissioners, urging people past spring, the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority approved restructuring to call in their support of Grady. They organized a letter-writing campaign Grady’s management as a nonprofit board, clearing the way for a promised and delivered—in front of the media—more than 500 handwritten letters to influx of $200 million and preventing the hospital’s closure. A small but Georgia’s governor, lieutenant governor, and house speaker. And they orga- dedicated group of students can claim some of the credit for that victory. nized a rally attended by 350 students, residents, and faculty. “HealthSTAT has been a pivotal force in the Grady discussion,” says HealthSTAT ran training sessions for its members to teach them how to Arthur Kellermann, associate dean for health policy in Emory’s medical effectively meet with county officials and legislators. It armed its members school. “I have seen national professional associations with multi-million- with concise, sophisticated fact sheets detailing different facets of Grady’s dollar budgets that are not nearly as well organized, focused, and disciplined role—as the only Level 1 trauma center for Atlanta and North Georgia, as a as HealthSTAT. I’m still trying to figure out where they learned this.” safety net for indigent patients, as the training ground for one out of every The organization got its start in 2001, when a handful of medical stu- four doctors in the state. And it organized student- and resident-run tours of dents from Emory and Morehouse got into a discussion about the problems Grady for legislators. After attending one of the tours, Rep. Edward Lindsey of people who lack insurance. They decided they could make a difference told fellow legislators that it was the most eye-opening experience of his four through advocacy, and their first effort was a candlelight vigil to raise aware- years in the state legislature, according to Andrew Kobylivker, 03M, an inter- ness of the plight of the uninsured. nal medicine resident and Grady tour organizer. From those humble roots, HealthSTAT has grown into a sophisticated And, of course, HealthSTAT members turned out in force at the Fulton lobbying/advocacy nonprofit with student members from across health pro- and DeKalb commission votes on the fate of Grady. “Much of their strength fessions, including nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and public health, comes from the fact that they don’t play to the stereotype of lobbyists,” says from five Georgia schools. The group honed its focus on three issues: health Kellermann. “They are young, idealistic, committed, and broke. They are nat- disparities and access to care, childhood obesity, and HIV/AIDS. urally sympathetic. You can’t saddle them with any special-interest motives. When the survival of debt-plagued Grady fell into jeopardy last year, You can just be amazed that they took time out from their demanding sched- HealthSTAT took on the cause in trademark fashion. Before they launched ules to come out to speak. That is what made them so powerful.” their first effort, they organized an information-gathering panel composed Even though Grady is governed by the new nonprofit board and of Grady stakeholders and decision-makers, including the Fulton County Kate Neuhausen (left) has received funds for capital equipment from the Robert W. Woodruff commissioners, state legislators, and Grady’s chief of medicine. and Anjli Aurora, a Foundation, HealthSTAT’s efforts are not through. “We see Grady as the “We wanted to bring a variety of perspectives together to educate stu- canary in the coal mine,” says Neuhausen. “Grady is in crisis because of the dents on what was at stake, who the stakeholders were, what challenges nurse-midwifery alumna crisis of the uninsured in Georgia. We’ll continue advocating for Grady but faced Grady, and what solutions were possible,” says Kate Neuhausen, 08M, and HealthSTAT presi- also for larger issues that have contributed to the crisis at public hospitals.” who co-coordinated HealthSTAT’s Grady campaign as a fourth-year medi- dent, helped lead the cal student. “We were overwhelmed by the student turnout. More than 200 Online: To learn more about HealthSTAT, visit www.healthstatgeorgia. students were involved.” Grady Is Vital Campaign. org. Also see the Grady Is Vital Campaign at www.gradyisvital.org.

14 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 15 Efficacy STEP Community

Worldwide, investigators halted vaccinations overnight, through a similar process of hope, failure, and renewal before Risky behavior unblinded study volunteers as to whether they received vaccine the Salk/Sabin vaccines proved successful. Further analysis of or placebo, and began the discouraging task of telling volun- the adenovirus-vectored AIDS vaccine trial will help determine inoculate teers what the results might mean to their own disease risk if whether some people actually were protected (i.e., those with- their activities had exposed them to HIV. The trial involved 130 out pre-existing response to the vector) and the exact nature Atlanta volunteers at the Hope Clinic, the clinical trial arm of of any protective immune response, a question that researchers T cells Adenovirus Safe sex the Emory Vaccine Center, an HVTN member and a world lead- still seek to answer in terms of protection against either HIV er in vaccine research. Carlos del Rio, co-director of the Emory infection or disease. STEP data also reaffirmed several earlier Center for AIDS Research, led the testing at the Atlanta site. studies showing the protective impact of circumcision. Two upcoming HIV vaccine tri- What happened? “We learned how extraordinary als at the Hope Clinic have been Susceptible Why did the Merck vaccine prove to our volunteer community is— postponed, possibly halted, until be so disappointing? It contained they understand the research researchers fully understand what only three genes from the virus, process and remain committed happened in the STEP trial. Still other condoms to participating in research assuring that the vaccine itself could trials using different approaches will Volunteers Pla c ebo Infection not infect volunteers. The vaccine to help fight HIV.”— Mark Mulligan, move forward this year. Participating vector (designed to carry these genes executive director of the Hope Clinic (shown left) centers will be named for an upcom- By Sylvia Wrobel into the body and present HIV pro- ing phase 2 clinical trial of a promis- teins to the immune system) consisted of three adenoviruses, ing HIV vaccine developed by Harriet Robinson and NIH and weakened and altered to render them unable to replicate and CDC collaborators. Robinson directed the microbiology and Collaboration cause the common colds or upper respiratory infections for immunology division at Yerkes National Primate Research which they are known. Center and is a co-founder of GeoVax, an Atlanta biotech com- Those who acquired HIV infection after vaccination were pany that licensed the vaccine. She recently left Emory to lead more often people with pre-existing immunity to the adenovi- GeoVax research and development. rus used as a vector. Participants with the highest risk of infec- Currently, the Hope Clinic is recruiting for a phase 1 study tion had this pre-existing immunity and were uncircumcised. to test the safety and tolerability of a microbicide gel, using The Trouble with Vaccine Trials Mark Mulligan, executive director of the Hope Clinic, what Mulligan calls “woman-controlled technology” to poten- believes that when the immune system recognized the adenovi- tially prevent vaginal HIV transmission. The clinic—one of Emory researchers take stock after a promising HIV vaccine falters rus in the carrier, it may have attracted more T cells to mucosal NIAID’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units, also is begin- surfaces, providing an environment more susceptible to HIV ning trials for prevention of avian flu, malaria, and other infec- By Sylvia Wrobel acquisition. However, “It’s still an unfolding study,” he says. tious diseases. “The results will likely provide more insight into how HIV infec- Mulligan and other AIDS experts at Emory recently gave Hope that scientists had finally developed a vaccine to protect against HIV infection took a giant step tion works and how it can be combated.” voice to the need for continued HIV/AIDS vaccine research in backward last fall when a large, international phase 2B efficacy trial was halted abruptly, throwing the In the meantime, the Hope Clinic continues to follow an Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial. They responded its STEP study volunteers, tracking the longevity of immune to a previous editorial advocating that all vaccine research worldwide HIV vaccine community into shock and dismay. response to the vaccine, counseling about safe sex, and test- be halted in order to allocate more resources for prevention, ing for infection. Support from volunteers has not wavered. routine testing, and universal access to treatment. The editorial Most vaccine candidates against the ever-mutating AIDS virus Safety Monitoring Board recommended halting further vac- This past spring, the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of cited the halted Merck trial as one reason. Mulligan and his never make it past phase 1 into phase 2 trials, which assess cinations following analysis of interim data. By then, more Commerce presented its Guardian Angel award to the clinic for colleagues countered with the polio vaccine. Nearly 25 years safety (1) and protection against disease (2). The HIV vaccine than 3,000 volunteers—men and women ages 18 to 45 from its commitment to community involvement in HIV research. passed between discovery of the polio virus in the 1930s until being tested at 30 STEP trial sites worldwide had passed earlier diverse racial groups—had been inoculated, half of them Despite the STEP trial setback, the study offers lessons an effective vaccine became widely available in 1955. tests with flying colors. Study participants tolerated the vaccine with the vaccine. All had been chosen because they were at for researchers and study participants alike. “We learned how “Persistence, sustained scientific effort, and increased col- well, and it induced strong T-cell response to HIV proteins. high risk of exposure to infection through sexual and other extraordinary our volunteer community is,” says Mulligan, who laboration will drive the quest for an HIV vaccine forward,” Excitement had grown at Merck, developer of the drug; the behaviors. It was not surprising that some receiving placebo counseled volunteers with del Rio after Merck halted the study. wrote Mulligan and his co-authors, “just as they did for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), co- became infected, despite safe sex counseling and free con- “They understand the research process and remain commit- polio vaccine.” sponsor of the clinical trial; the NIH-funded HIV Vaccine Trials doms from investigators. It was disappointing that some ted to participating in research to help fight HIV.” The STEP Network (HVTN), coordinator of the trial; and HIV/AIDS scien- volunteers became infected, despite having been vaccinated. trial also “reminds us that no matter how much we dislike Online: To learn more about vaccine and therapy tific and lay communities worldwide. Never had an HIV vaccine It was shocking—and completely unexpected—that a sub- the results, clinical trials efficiently yield the truth, giving new testing for HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, candidate seemed more promising. group of those receiving vaccine appeared more, not less, meaning to the word ‘re-search.’ ” visit www.medicine.emory.edu/id/hopeclinic/ or call But two years into the study, the independent Data and susceptible to HIV infection. As Mulligan points out, polio vaccine researchers went 877-424-HOPE (4673).

16 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 17 As a new faculty member in the Department of Medicine in the 1950s, Wenger was one of the country’s rarities—a “lady doc- tor” and one of only a handful of female physicians at Emory. 1960s William Walters (left), 1977 Wenger takes office as 2006 Wenger at her beloved with the Nanette Wenger, and Charles Harrison president of the Georgia Heart Grady Memorial Hospital. help develop an emergency response Association. Love Affair for heart attacks at Atlanta Stadium. For a half-century, Nanette Wenger has tested long-held assumptions about cardiovascular disease among women and the elderly By Sherry Baker

anette Kass was one of only 10 women out of a class It was a time not only of discovering new ways to test tive cardiology at Emory. “We need accurate, fact-based data about this popula- of 120 when she received her medical degree from for and treat heart ailments, but also of learning about her Wenger continues to study women and heart disease, tion,” says Wenger, a founder of the Society for Geriatric NHarvard in 1954. Harvard’s 10-year probationary peri- patients as individuals. “I found out how fabulous they and the 2005 book Women and Heart Disease, which she co- Cardiology and now editor-in-chief of the American Journal od for co-eds ended when her class graduated, and women were—how much they valued family and friends, and their edited with British cardiologist Peter Collins, is the standard of Geriatric Cardiology. “Because of our Medicare orientation, at last were incorporated into the university charter. medical caregivers and how willing they were to participate medical text on the subject. ‘elderly’ has been defined as 65 and older. Where we really But it never occurred to the high-spirited young New in training young doctors and in research studies,” Wenger “All the studies derived from registries have shown lack information is for octogenarians, the fastest-growing Yorker, a ballet-dancing, museum-loving daughter of Russian says. “I also learned that ‘honey’ was a label to be cher- that women with heart disease still remain under-treated,” sub-population. They are poorly represented in clinical trials.” immigrants, that medical school, or being a woman in medi- ished.” Wenger says. Consequently, she works diligently on behalf During the past year, Wenger joined forces with Emory cine, might be a problem. An integral part of the medical school and Grady ever of the Go Red for Women campaign, sponsored by the AHA medical faculty, residents, and students to help rescue Grady “And it wasn’t. Trailblazing was exciting, and I was fortu- since, Wenger became professor of medicine at Emory in and the NHLBI, to promote heart disease awareness among from the financial black hole that threatened its existence. nate to have spectacular male mentors,” says Nanette Kass 1971 and reared three daughters (two are physicians and women. “Emory medical students and residents deserve the credit Wenger, chief of cardiology at Grady Memorial Hospital. one is a history professor) in the process. She also wrote During her journey through medical school, residency and for the success of this effort,” she says. “They launched a It also was the beginning of what she calls her “love more than 1,300 articles and book chapters, chaired con- fellowship training, and her early days on the faculty, female campaign to save Grady and remained committed to their affair” with her chosen specialty—studying, researching, and ferences for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute role models and female mentors in cardiology were notably patients, the need for access to care for the underprivileged, treatingHeart the heart. (NHLBI), and led numerous professional medical organiza- lacking. That fueled her own drive to mentor women and and the importance of training physicians who will practice In 1958, after completing a residency in medicine and tions and meetings. She is a longtime member of the Georgia men at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. within our state,” she says. “They became leading citizens of a cardiology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York Heart Association and served as its first female president. Michele Doughty Voeltz is among those who credit Atlanta, and I’m so proud of them.” City, Wenger moved to Atlanta. Her husband, gastroenter- Two awards are named in her honor: the Wenger Award Wenger with helping create opportunities for women cardi- With a new governing board in place and a growing infu- ologist Julius Wenger, accepted a position at the Atlanta for Service, created by the Department of Medicine, and ologists and women patients with heart disease at Emory. sion of new funds, Grady is poised to remain a top-notch Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Nanette soon joined the annual Wenger Awards for Excellence, presented by “I see a clinic made up mostly of female patients, ranging teaching hospital where patients receive state-of-the-art Emory. WomenHeart, a national patient-led organization that edu- in age from their teens to their 90s,” says Voeltz. “I’m in care. “Now that Grady’s transition is beginning to take place, As a new faculty member in the Department of Medicine, cates and advocates for women with heart disease. the process of starting the Emory Crawford Long Women’s we can successfully recruit a new chief of cardiology for Wenger was one of the country’s rarities—a “lady doctor” Although Wenger herself has earned dozens of awards, Cardiovascular Research Center, which will incorporate com- Grady,” says Wenger. But that doesn’t mean her and one of only a handful of female physicians at Emory. perhaps her greatest professional achievement, and the prehensive clinical care and research opportunities for our love affair with cardiology is ending. Grady’s mission of serving the medically indigent com- one that has brought her international recognition, was female patients.” Wenger will help raise funds and serves as “My plans, at least for the short term, are to munity appealed to Wenger. For about six months, she treat- changing a major paradigm in cardiology: the assumption primary adviser for the clinic’s evolution. “We will lead the complete a number of research studies and manu- ed patients in the “old Grady”—two small buildings across that heart disease affects only men. She also was one of the city, and potentially the Southeast, in our ability to care for scripts and continue teaching, which I cherish.” the street from each other, one a hospital for whites only first physician-scientists to speak out about the under- women with heart disease,” Voeltz says. and the other a “colored” hospital, with limited facilities and representation of women in research studies and clinical In the same way that Wenger challenged unproven Online: To hear Nanette Wenger discuss resources. With the advent of a new building, Grady quickly trials. “Nanette clearly has been one of the most influential assumptions about women’s heart disease risk, she contin- her 50-year career in medicine, visit www. became a springboard for applying the latest advances in forces in helping shape our current knowledge of heart dis- ues to replace long-held assumptions about cardiovascular pcsw.emory.edu/audio.htm#wenger. cardiovascular diagnostics, surgery, and pharmacology. ease in women,” says Laurence Sperling, director of preven- disease and care of the elderly.

18 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 19 Gifts & Support

A sound investment Fulfilling a dream

ndrew McKelvey was and perhaps make him bet- A12 the first time he ter,” says Lawrence. “We wonderfully gifted man in New Jersey. “He was became a household name did, and he improved. He with a passion for life like loving and compassionate, by selling fresh eggs door- was very grateful and very I have never seen. He was and his brotherly advice to-door in New Jersey. interested in my research.” an amazing son, husband, and guidance will always be Today, he is known world- At Emory, McKelvey’s brother, and father. His missed.” wide as founder of the $20 million gift is help- life was so full of promise. To honor Keith’s online job search engine ing physicians develop Keith had every gift but memory, Garet Pilling has Monster.com. new medical therapies for length of years.” made a $1 million commit- Coupled with his knack lung disorders—in hopes Now retired, Pilling is ment to establish the Dr. for business is a belief in of eliminating the need the former CEO of Park G. Keith Pilling Scholars sharing his good fortune for transplants—and new Steel & Iron Company Endowment. Once estab- with others. In 2001, strategies to improve out- of Neptune, New Jersey. lished, the full scholar- McKelvey made a $20 mil- comes after surgery. The Founded by his father in ship will be awarded to an lion commitment to estab- average number of patients the early 1900s, the com- Emory medical student lish the Andrew McKelvey receiving lung transplants pany is now led by Pilling’s who demonstrates merit Lung Transplantation annually has risen from 10 son Scott. Pilling, along and need. Members of the Garet Pilling (left) has created a scholarship honoring his late with Scott and his daugh- Class of 1992 will be invited Center. He recently gave to nearly 30. Additionally, son. ”Keith took our breath away,” says Pilling. an additional $5.4 mil- McKelvey’s initial gift has ter Laurie, were present to contribute to the scholar- lion to grow transplant brought 12 new faculty to the day Keith graduated ship as well. research and Emory’s abil- Emory and enabled young y all accounts, Keith of a rare pancreatic tumor from medical school. “We “I am giving this gift to ity to help patients with investigators like Allan BPilling, 92M, trea- in 2001 at age 35. At the were all so very proud Emory School of Medicine lung disease. Ramirez to launch their sured being a doctor. An time of his death, he had of him and knew that he because my son, my friend, “His support has careers at a time when interventional radiologist, two young sons with his had the fortitude to make died,” says Pilling. “I hope been remarkable for its federal research funding is he was regarded as an wife, Jennifer Kraus, 92M. it through the grueling I will be able to help those impact,” says Clinton tight. A McKelvey Scholar, excellent clinician, diag- “There is a famous years of residency, intern- who have the same passion Lawrence, McKelvey’s Ramirez is studying the nostician, teacher, and quote that states, ‘Life is not ships, and fellowships,” says about medicine as Keith friend and medical underlying causes of lung mentor by his patients and measured by the breaths we Pilling. did. Sadly, he was taken adviser for more than 25 transplant rejection and colleagues in and around take, but by the moments “I can give Keith no from us too early, and he Andrew McKelvey’s gifts to Emory have broadened Medford, New Jersey. that take our breath away.’ greater compliment than could not fulfill all of his years. Today Lawrence pulmonary fibrosis. He is the scope of caring for patients with lung disease. holds the Augustus J. among several McKelvey Photo by Annemarie Poyo Less than 10 years after Well, Keith always took our to say he was an extremely dreams. I hope that those McKelvey Chair in Lung Scholars to receive federal graduating from medical breath away,” says his father, good man,” says Laurie who receive this gift will be Transplantation Medicine, grant support for research includes basic studies of money in this country, school at Emory, Keith died Garet Pilling. “He was a Pilling, who practices law able to fulfill theirs.” named for Andrew’s late initially sponsored by the the immune response to you need to give it back,” father, a general practi- McKelvey Center. transplantation, multi- he says. “And Clint did a tioner. More recently, center clinical trials of new good job and improved my The two friends met in McKelvey’s $5.4 million medications for lung trans- health.” Teacher, mentor, friend the early 1980s at Baylor gift has broadened the plantation, and treatment The return on Frank and Ann Critz recently provided a College of Medicine, scope of both clinical care of pulmonary hyperten- McKelvey’s investment $2 million gift to create the Alfred W. Brann where McKelvey sought and laboratory research. sion. The center continues in lung transplantation Jr. Chair in Pediatrics for Reproductive Health to assist Georgians in need research and patient care treatment for sarcoidosis. To reflect this growth, and Perintal Care. Brann mentored Ann “I had received a grant the lung transplant cen- of lung transplants and is immeasurable, says during her residency in the early 1980s. She from NIH to look at ter has been renamed who often cannot afford Lawrence. “The benefits to is now associate professor of pediatrics. inflammatory lung dis- the McKelvey Center for the cost. individual lives and scien- eases, and based on my Lung Transplantation McKelvey cites two rea- tific discovery may go on Pictured with Brann is neonatology pioneer research, I felt we could and Pulmonary Vascular sons for his philanthropy forever.” Mildred Stahlman, his mentor at Vanderbilt. treat him with steroids Diseases. Current research to Emory. “If you make

20 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 21 Gifts & Support

The right stuff Putting where it counts

To supplement his f it weren’t for a group of Atlanta golfers, pharmacologist ficult to fund. “The support that GAC provides leads to income after World War IHaian Fu might not have pinpointed how the 14-3-3zeta substantial peer-reviewed funding from the NIH, the II, Ira Sr. consulted for the protein promotes lung tumor formation. American Cancer Society, the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration His discovery, published in last year’s and other sources,” says Khuri, chair of the Department of (VA), inspecting hospitals Proceedings of the National Academy of Hematology/Oncology and a collaborator on Fu’s study. throughout the Southeast Sciences (PNAS), may lead to new anti- Khuri first worked with GAC while on staff at M.D. and conducting disaster- cancer drugs targeting the protein. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The organization was training courses for national Using seed funding provided by formed there in 1997 when members of a local golf club defense. During visits to Atlanta Golfers Against Cancer (GAC), banded together to support club and staff members diag- the Tuskegee VA Hospital, Fu conducted a pilot study, the results of nosed with cancer. Nationally, GAC has raised more than Ferguson befriended which helped secure major funding from $10 million through city chapters. Asa Yancey, an African the NIH and other sources for his study. The Atlanta GAC supports research at Winship and the American physician from Fu is one of 10 Emory Winship Ovarian Cancer Institute laboratory at Georgia Tech. Atlanta and the hospital’s Cancer Institute researchers to benefit “We continue to fund projects at both institutions new chief of surgery. Yancey from GAC support. To date, the group because they are top quality,” says John Ray, an Atlanta-area was eager to establish a has donated more than $500,000 in seed entrepreneur whose first wife died of pancreatic cancer. surgical residency program funding for bench research, supplement- “Winship has been very active in attracting top-notch but lacked the required ed by matching funds from Winship and other sources. research professionals around the country. I’m very opti- teaching resources. Ira Sr. Support from GAC is vital, enabling Winship scientists mistic about the future of Winship and the results of the stepped up and organized a to pursue what Fadlo Khuri calls “high-risk research”— work being done there today. We want to accelerate those team from Emory to teach novel studies that are less mainstream and more dif- results as much as we possibly can.” at Tuskegee once a week. Thus, Ferguson helped establish Alabama’s first Ira A. Ferguson Sr. (second from left) performs the first surgery at the new Grady Hospital in surgical residency program 1958. Ten years earlier, he helped pioneer surgical training for black physicians in Alabama. Pursuing perfection for African American physi- cians in 1948. hen Ellis L. Jones, it will do for a medical stu- Jones trained had a tough Ira A. Ferguson Sr., 23M, never shied away from Ten years later, Ferguson convinced Yancey to return W63M, was in medical dent what Jones’ scholarship act to follow. In 1977, he doing the hard stuff. He helped his parents run a to Atlanta as director of the Hughes Spalding Pavilion, school, he received a schol- did for him—provide the received a Tiffany clock farm and dry goods store in his native Alabama. which served black patients at Grady. Yancey subsequently arship that allowed him to ability to pursue research with the inscription, “To He drove an ambulance during World War I and became medical director at Grady and professor and asso- pursue research. Jones went without financial concern. Ellis Jones on the occasion preserved cadavers to help pay for medical school ciate dean of the medical school at Emory. on to become a renowned Next spring, a fourth-year of performing 350 consecu- before transferring to Emory. The first of three genera- “Why did a young man from a small town in Alabama cardiothoracic surgeon at medical student who is tive and successful open tions to attend Emory, Ferguson established a private prac- spend such time and effort in helping develop surgical Emory, but he never forgot pursuing promising cancer heart procedures without a tice and became a professor and chief of surgery at Grady training programs for African Americans?” asked Charles the financial freedom the research will be selected as single death with the admi- Hospital. In the process, he tended the wounded during during the Ferguson lecture. “He had to overcome obstacles scholarship brought so he the first recipient. ration of the whole group.” both world wars in Europe and championed the education himself and was compelled to make things easier for oth- could follow his true calling. Among his talents, Jones Through the Ellis L. of African American physicians in the segregated South. ers. Few 46-year-old surgeons with a successful practice “It just meant the world was known for his perfec- Jones MD Scholarship for As a tribute to his late father, retired Emory surgeon Ira would volunteer for overseas military duty, much less to him,” says Beth Jones of tionism in the OR and his Oncology Research, Mrs. Ellis L. Jones Ferguson Jr., 52M, provided a $250,000 gift to create the accompany a beach invasion force at age 49 [during World the scholarship to her late joy in teaching residents Jones hopes a medical stu- annual Ira A. Ferguson Lecture. In the first talk this year, War II], with two teenage boys to support. Perhaps through husband, who died of can- his beloved craft of heart dent someday will make Charles Ferguson, 76M—Ira Jr.’s son and a former Emory such self sacrifice, one learns to truly serve others.” cer in 2007. surgery. He trained dozens contributions to the field To make a gift to the Ellis surgeon who now teaches at Harvard—traced his grandfa- To honor him, the family of them in the more than of cancer research that will L. Jones MD Scholarship ther’s role in what he calls “the other Tuskegee experiment,” ONLINE: Charles Ferguson also wrote about his grandfa- has joined more than 100 30 years he served on the gain the admiration of col- Fund, contact Vicki Riedel an event overshadowed by the infamous syphilis study of ther in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. friends to create a scholar- faculty. leagues and peers alike. at 404-778-5939 or black sharecroppers from 1933 to 1972. To download his article, visit www.sciencedirect.com. ship in his name. They hope The surgeons whom —Kay Torrance [email protected].

22 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 23 Class Notes alumni news

1950s

James D. Forbes, 59M, received the Florida Hos- pital Association’s 2007 Lifetime Heroic Achieve- ment Award. He has prac- ticed family medicine at Hendry Regional Medical Center in Clewiston, FL, for the past 40 years. Charles B. Gillespie, 61M Burton V. Reifler, 69M H. Vernon Anderson, 80M Michael W. Early Sr., 84M (left) Laurie J. Suitor, 85M Abigail, daughter of Craig Holden, son of Tina Rizack, Richman, 94M 98M

1960s Emergency Response. Gadsden Community 1970s tion’s 2007 Practitioner Richard N. Baney, 88M, Saira Hashmi-Alikhan, Feb. 3, 2007. The family The renovated building is Healthy Start Coalition of the Year Award at the of Indialantic, FL, placed 98M, has written the lives in Providence, RI. James A. Butts, 60M, of expected to open in fall Gala. He practiced pedi- William D. Knopf, 79M, group’s annual conven- first in his age group in children’s book Snuggly Gainesville, GA, a long- 2008. Gillespie taught atrics for 34 years. is chief operating officer tion in Honolulu. He also his first triathalon in No- Baby (Outskirts Press, 2000s time internist and oncolo- the first EMT course at of the Piedmont Heart received the 2008 Distin- vember 2006. He prac- 2007). She and her gist with the Northeast the school in 1972 and Leo Borrell, 67M, of Institute in Atlanta. guished Alumni Award tices internal medicine. husband have a 2-year- MARRIED: Mary Lester, Georgia Diagnostic Clinic, established the Georgia Houston, TX, is medical After completing his in Health from Florida old daughter, Sofia. Saira 00M, to Joel Samson was named chief physician Office of Emergency director of Senior Psych- cardiology fellowship A&M University. Early 1990s practices internal medi- Corvera on Sept. 29, at the Good News Clinic, Medical Services. He also Care, a multidisciplinary at Emory, he stayed on practices family medicine cine at Cape Canaveral 2007. Lester is a plastic a free clinic for under- received the Chairman’s mental health group to co-found the cardiac in Fort Valley, GA. BORN: To Craig Rich- Hospital in Cocoa surgeon at the Medical served patients. Award from the Georgia providing services to 100 transplant program. He man, 94M, and his wife, Beach, FL. University of South Caro- Association of Emergency long-term care facilities. then joined the Atlanta Laura Brooks Kezar, Kelly, 93C, 98MBA, a lina. Lester and Corvera Charles B. Gillespie, Medical Technicians in Cardiology Group in 85M, is a professor in the daughter, Abigail Lau- BORN: To Tina Rizack, met at Emory during 61M, was honored by October 2007. Sandy Carter, 69M, is 1987 and has served as Department of Physical ren, on April 18, 2007. 98M, and her husband, their general surgery Albany Technical College, one of five graduates who its managing partner Medicine and Rehabilita- Craig is an otolaryngolo- Christopher Langlois, a residencies. Her parents, which named one of its Pat M. Woodward, 62M, practice personalized since 1996. tion at the University of gist with Northside Ear, son, Holden Martin, on Charles T. Lester Jr., 64C, buildings as the Charles of Quincy, FL, was hon- medicine with MDVIP Alabama at Birmingham. Nose, and Throat in B. Gillespie Center for ored at the First Annual at Sandy Springs Inter- 1980s She has served as resi- Atlanta. The family lives nal Medicine in Atlanta. dency program director in Dunwoody, GA. His colleagues include H. Vernon Anderson, for 11 years and recently Kelly Ahn, 93M; Wil- 80M, is associate edi- became associate dean for BORN: To Eric Schuck, liam Gower, 78M; David tor of Cardiovascular students. Kezar’s daugh- 94M, and his wife, Rodriguez, 87M; and Interventions, published ter Carolyn graduated Stacy Rowles, a boy, Thomas Tucker, 70M. by the American Col- from Emory in May, and Rocco Anthony, on Nov. The practice has seven lege of Cardiology. He her husband Ed, 84M, 30, 2007. The couple, physicians on staff. also serves on the edito- is an anesthesiologist in who married in July rial board of the parent private practice. 2007, lives in State Burton V. Reifler, 69M, publication, Journal of College, PA. is board of directors the American College Laurie J. Sutor, 85M, president of the American of Cardiology. He is received an MBA from Jason Budde, 97M, is Board of Psychiatry and professor of medicine at the University of Texas at now a cardiothoracic Neurology. Reifler, the the University of Texas Dallas in December 2007. surgeon with the Centra Kate Mills Snider Profes- Health Science Center in She is chief medical Stroobants Heart sor of General Psychiatry, Houston. officer at Carter Blood- Center in Lynchburg, is senior adviser to the Care in Bedford, TX. VA. Budd previously dean at Wake Forest Michael W. Early Sr., practiced surgery in Standing, L-R: Kelly Ahn, 93M, William Gower, 78M, and Sandy University School of Orlando, FL. Carter, 69M. Seated, L-R: David Rodriguez, 87M, and Thomas 84M, received the Na- L-R: Charles T. and Nancy Lester with daughter Mary Lester, Tucker, 70M. All practice at Sandy Springs Internal Medicine. Medicine. tional Medical Associa- 05M, and Joel Corvera. Both couples met at Emory.

24 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 25 Class Notes alumni news

Catherine Liu, 07M Stephen D. Clements Athena P. Kourtis Robert Silverstein Brian Sippy Gregory D. Trachiotis Sterling Jernigan, 38M

67L, and Nancy, 66C, Stephen D. Clements work on perinatal and director of the Preven- Deaths his daughters, he compet- John W. McLeod, 43M, Richard M. Kafka, 46M, met at Emory, as did both (medicine) received the pediatric HIV. She is a tive Medicine Center in ed in eight national water of Moultrie, GA, on Dec. of Alexandria, VA, on sets of Mary’s grandpar- Lifetime Achievement senior fellow at the CDC Hartford, CT. 1930s skiing tournaments. He 9, 2006. He was 87. Jan. 30, 2008, at age 85. ents. Mary’s grandfather, Award from the Ameri- and a clinical associate served as president of the the late Charles T. Lester can College of Cardiol- professor of pediatrics at Brian Sippy (ophthalmol- Frank M. Wattles, 33M, southern region of the Arthur Wellesley, 43M, William H. Mathews, Sr., served Emory in a ogy for service to the Emory and OB/GYN at ogy) completed the Amer- of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, American Water Ski As- of Punta Gorda, FL, on 46M, of Palm Coast, FL, number of positions from Georgia chapter. Cle- Eastern Virginia Medical ican Academy of Oph- on Feb. 28, 2007, at sociation and as a board Sept. 5, 2007. on Nov. 11, 2007. He 1942 until his retirement ments directs the Outpa- School. thalmology Leadership age 98. He served in the member at the national practiced in Jacksonville, in 1982. tient Catheter Lab at the Development Program. U.S. Navy during WWII level. He also served as a William A. Hodges Jr., FL, until 1965, when he Emory Clinic. MARRIED: Rebecca He serves as president of and survived after his senior judge for national 44M, of Asheville, NC, became a medical exam- Catherine Liu, 07M, Sands (pediatric oph- the Montana Association ship was torpedoed and tournaments. on May 20, 2007, at age iner with Prudential In- continues to recover after William F. Hahne (sur- thalmology) and Jon of Ophthalmology. sunk on Armistice Day 88. He practiced cardiol- surance Company, serving being hit by a car in July gery) was named vice Braverman on Dec. 31, in 1942. After the war, Willis J. Taylor, 37M, ogy and internal medi- until 1987. 2007 during an early president of medical 2006. The couple lives in Debra A. Smith (public he returned home to of Baton Rouge, LA, on cine in Lakeland, FL. morning run. She began affairs at Vion Pharma- Denver. health and general pre- Orlando to specialize in Sept. 14, 2007, at age In 1975, he moved to George W. Barrow Jr., her internal medicine ceuticals in New Haven, ventive medicine) is the ENT medicine. He retired 94. He practiced ortho- western North Carolina, 47M, of Crestview, FL, residency at the Univer- CT. Prior to joining Vion, Bhagwan Satiani (sur- chief medical officer for after 40 years in private paedics in Shreveport where he served as chief on May 17, 2007. sity of California at Davis Hahne was vice president gery) published a three- the International Medical practice. before becoming chief of of intermediate ser- two weeks before the of clinical development at volume work titled The Group, a global health orthopaedics at the VA vices at the VA Medical 1950s accident. She underwent Celsion Corporation. Smarter Physician on and travel insurer in Edgar Stephens Jr., 36M, Hospital in Montgomery, Center in Asheville until three brain surgeries and the business of medicine, Indianapolis. of West Palm Beach, FL, AL, and later at the VA in 1986. William E. Darby, 50M, spent three months in the BORN: To Deborah S. including reimbursement, on Aug. 12, 2007. As an Fayetteville, AR. of Bartow, FL, on May hospital. In addition to Kelly (ophthalmology) compensation, and per- Gregory D. Trachiotis undergraduate, he trav- David W. Kinnaird, 24, 2007. He retired as physical therapy, she is and her husband, Paul, sonal finance for physi- (cardiothoracic surgery) eled throughout Georgia Sterling Jernigan, 38M, 45M, of Louisville, KY, a staff psychiatrist from undergoing speech thera- a daughter, Carolyn Ad- cians and medical manag- was named professor of selling class rings to of Rising Fawn, GA, on on Nov. 13, 2007. He Peace River Center for py to counter aphasia. dison, on June 14, 2007. ers. Satiani, who also surgery and chief of car- pay for tuition. He was Sept. 13, 2006. He was practiced surgery in Personal Development in Carolyn joins big sister holds an MBA, is profes- diac surgery at the Wash- 91. Louisville from 1953 1994. also part of the Geor- Michelle Jane, who was sor of clinical surgery ington, DC, Veterans Af- gia Caravan, a group until he retired in 1988. Residency born April 10, 2005. The at Ohio State Univesity fairs Medical Center and of students who visited 1940s He was clinical professor Daniel Stalker, 50M, of family lives in Wynne- College of Medicine. chief of thoracic surgery every national park in the emeritus at the Univer- Jensen Beach, FL, on May Notes wood, PA. at the George Washing- western United States. Peyton Jacob Jr., 43M, of sity of Louisville School 9, 2005. Robert Silverstein (car- ton Medical Center. He He practiced pediatrics Orinda, CA, on Dec. 26, of Medicine. Alan D. Burnstein (gas- Athena P. Kourtis (pedi- diology) has written a has been on staff at both for 60 years, beginning 2007, of congestive heart Norman F. Stambaugh, troenterology) retired in atrics) received the 2007 book, Maximum Healing: centers since 1998. in West Palm Beach and failure at age 88. He William R. Fisher, 46M, 50M, of Appleton, WI, June 2007 from Gastro- Outstanding Scientific Improve Your Immune later in Jupiter, FL. In practiced psychiaty and of Atlanta, GA, on on Feb. 4, 2008, at age enterology Consultants in Achievement Award from System and Optimize 1941, he started the first psychoanalysis in Oak- March 16, 2006. 82. He practiced ophthal- Roanoke, VA. He joined the Atlanta Federal Your Natural Ability Free Well Baby Clinic in land and Berkeley from mology in Dayton, OH, the practice in 1991. Executive Board for her to Heal. He is medical West Palm Beach. With 1949 to 1995. from 1954 to 1989 and

26 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 27 Deaths alumni news

David W. Kinnaird, 45M William H. Mathews, 46M Daniel Stalker, 50M Harrison L. Rogers Jr., 52M William H. Harrison, 54M Archibald Hampton, 57M Kermit Lowry Jr., 59M Thomas I. Scott, 59M

was an associate profes- his accomplishments, the throughout the Chesa- 1960s he began his internal 1980s ogy at Travis Air Force He went on to be chosen sor at Wright State Medi- Medical Alumni Asso- peake Bay, the Carib- medicine practice at Base in California and 12th overall in the 1990 cal School. ciation presented Rogers bean, and Europe, and Milton S. Goldman, Grady’s Asa G. Yancey James Ruttenber, 81M, Andrews Air Force Base NBA draft. He played with its Award of Honor was a longtime member 60M, of Alpharetta, GA, Health Center in Decem- of Boulder, CO, on June in Maryland. She also four seasons with the Mi- Harrison L. Rogers Jr., in 1983. of the Selby Bay Yacht on Nov. 16, 2007, at age ber 1973. He also served 16, 2007. Ruttenber was served as chief of internal ami Heat before starting 52M, of Atlanta on Club. 72. After graduating from on the Emory faculty. a University of Colorado medicine at Holloman medical school at Emory June 21, 2008, at age William H. Harrison Jr., medical school, he earned Hamilton came from professor leading a medi- Air Force Base in New and becoming an ortho- 84. A longtime leader in 54M, of Daytona Beach, Lee M. Stapp, 55M, of an engineering degree a musical family and cal student exchange pro- Mexico. paedic surgeon. In 2000, the medical profession, FL, on June 27, 2007. He Miami, FL, on Feb. 4, from the University of was selected by the late gram in Colima, Mexico, Kessler was inducted into Rogers practiced general was a general and tho- 2006. He was 76. Wyoming. He practiced conductor Robert Shaw when he was caught in a 1990s UGA’s Circle of Honor, surgery for more than racic surgeon in Volusia urology while using his to sing with the Atlanta riptide and drowned. He the highest award a 40 years. He was active County. He performed the Archibald Hampton, engineering skills to Symphony Orchestra was an epidemiologist Alec Kessler, 99M, of former athlete can receive in the Medical Associa- first surgery at the Uni- 57M, of Charleston, SC, design operating rooms Chorus. He came to with UC’s Health Sciences Gulf Breeze, FL, on Oct. from the athletics associa- tion of Georgia, serving versity of Florida Shands on July 19, 2007, at age and hospitals. He was a know Shaw well and Center and taught in the 13, 2007, at age 40. He tion. in many capacities, and Teaching Hospital. 80. contributing author to an traveled as Shaw’s family environmental studies was playing in a father- also served as president HVAC design manual for physician. Hamilton program. Ruttenber co- son basketball game in of the American Medical Herbert A. Moskovitz, Robert M. Dobbs, 58M, hospitals and clinics. was also a founding authored a 2003 study Pensacola, FL, when he Residency Association from 1985 54M, of Albuquerque, of LaGrange, TX, on member of the Atlanta which found that workers collapsed just minutes to 1986. He was a clini- NM, on Aug. 4, 2007, May 25, 2007. Stephen King Sr., 61M, of Singers. who built nuclear bombs after walking onto the Deaths cal professor of surgery at age 79. He practiced Hendersonville, NC, on at a former weapons court. at Emory and was on internal medicine and Kermit Lowry, 59M, of Aug. 24, 2007, at age 71. Chester O. Miller, 66M, plant were particularly Kessler was an aca- Steven R. Barker (OB- the active and teaching gastroenterology in the Bristol, TN, on March He was commissioned of Decatur, GA, on May vulnerable to lung cancer demic All-American and GYN) of Redding, CA, staffs at Emory Craw- Washington, DC, area 25, 2006. as a U.S. Navy officer 13, 2007. and more susceptible to captain of the Univer- on July 5, 2006. ford Long and Piedmont for more than 45 years. and retired from the U.S. brain cancer than the sity of Georgia Bulldogs’ hospitals. After retiring During his career, he was Thomas I. Scott, 59M, Public Health Service at 1970s general public. 1990 SEC championship James T. Boggs (radiol- from medical practice, he president of the medical of Orlando, FL, on Jan. the rank of captain after basketball team. He was ogy) of Edmond, OK, on served on the board of staff at Washington Hos- 9, 2008, at age 73. After 30 years of service. Fred W. Darr, 73M, of Deborah Gilmore Tracy, a three-time all-SEC selec- Nov. 15, 2006. directors of Sun Health pital Center and served completing his residency Arlington, VA, on Aug. 7, 81M, of Alamogordo, tion, earned all-America and Locum Tenens, for on the faculty at George at Emory, he served as Charles H. Hamilton, 2007, of prostate cancer. NM, on Sept. 2, 2007. honors, and was named William L. Bridges (pedi- which he helped estab- Washington University. a captain in the the U.S. 64M, of Atlanta, on He was 60. Darr, a pa- She served with the U.S. SEC Player of the Year atrics) of Tifton, GA, on lish a surgical division to After retiring from pri- Army Hospital medical Nov. 26, 2007, of com- thologist, worked for the Army and Air Force, in 1990, when he led the May 25, 2007. provide temporary staff- vate practice in 1997, he corps at the U.S. Military plications from cancer. American Red Cross for retiring in 2005. She was Bulldogs to their only ing of surgeons for local pursued medical research Academy in West Point, He was 73. After one 26 years and was medi- stationed at Landstuhl league championship. He Joseph Canipelli (sur- area needs. He also was with a private company NY. In 1965, he moved to year in private practice cal director of plasma Army Hospital during finished that season as gery) of Jacksonville, instrumental in develop- that led to the develop- Orlando to join an OB/ and four years with the services. the first Gulf War. After Georgia’s then all-time FL, on July 3, 2007, at ing surgical inventory ment of an instrument to GYN practice. His son Neighborhood Health transferring to the Air leading scorer. He gradu- age 90. He served as a software for Surgical detect early polyps. An joined him in the practice Service of the Office of Force, she served as chief ated from UGA with a flight surgeon with the Information Systems. For ardent sailor, he sailed 32 years later. Economic Opportunity, of hematology/oncol- degree in microbiology. 353rd Fighter Group of

28 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 29 Deaths alumni news

Deborah Gilmore Tracy, 81M (left), and family William L. Bridges Joseph T. Doyle Edward N. Duncan Harold Fishbain John F. Freihaut Francisco A. Herero

the Eighth Air Force in Edward N. Duncan (oph- served as the psychiatric ed the Piedmont Internal Arvell S. Luttrell (psychi- was a visiting professor obstetrician-gynecologist. Russell B. Smiley Jr. Raydon, Great Britain, thalmology) of Cleveland, director at Greene Memo- Medicine Association atry) of Knoxville, TN, in numerous countries. By the time he retired in (cardiology) of LaGrange, during WWII. After the TN, on Feb. 8, 2008, at rial Hospital and later of Spartanburg. He was on Nov. 24, 2007. 1984, he had delivered GA, on Aug. 20, 2007, at war, he completed his res- age 64. Duncan founded taught medical students a member of the First Allen Mays (cardiology) more than 8,000 babies. age 72. He established the idency at Grady Hospital the Cleveland Eye Clinic and residents at Good Presbyterian Church of Stephen J. Mathes of Athens, GA, on July 8, first coronary care unit at and began practicing in and Athens Eye Associ- Samaritan Hospital at Spartanburg since 1953. (plastic surgery) of San 2007, at age 44. He and Fred Mitchell (pediatrics) the Joan Glancy Memo- Jacksonville in 1949. He ates. He was a member Wright State University. Francisco on Nov. 20, his 12-year-old son, Mad- of Bristol, VA, on Sept. rial Hospital in Duluth, served as chief of the de- of the Bradley Memorial Francisco A. Herrero 2007 of amyotrophic ison, were killed when 10, 2003. GA, and ran a successful partment of surgery at St. Hospital board of trust- Conrad Freeman (anes- (plastic surgery) of Day- lateral sclerosis. Mathes their vehicle collided with private practice for more Vincent’s Hospital from ees and past president thesiology) of Atlanta on tona Beach, FL, on Aug. made his mark in plastic another on the way home George C. Motchan than 30 years. From 2000 1962 to 1972 and as of the Bradley County Dec. 3, 2006. 19, 2007. Francisco and surgery by developing from a family vacation (anesthesiology) of Staten to 2006, he practiced at chief of the medical staff Medical Society. his twin brother, Bruni, transplant procedures at Gulf Shores, AL. His Island, NY, on June 3, the Clark Holder Clinic there from 1967 to 1969. John F. Freihaut (oral and were born in the Do- using a patient’s healthy wife and their 10-year- 2007. He was 53. in West Georgia. After retiring in 1980, he Robert Gardner Ellis maxillofacial surgery) of minican Republic. Their tissue to cover wounds. old daugther survived the spent several summers (surgery) of Rockwall, Marietta, GA, on July 26, family immigrated to He became a professor accident. Vicente A. Negrin (psy- Reginald J. Stambaugh studying marble sculpting TX, on Nov. 18, 2007, 2007, of colon cancer. He the United States shortly at UCSF in 1984 and chiatry) of Miami, FL, on (ophthalmology) of in Carrara, Italy. at age 81. He graduated was 55. He served on the after they were born. went on to publish more Henry ”Speedy” Meaders July 20, 2006. Palm Beach, FL, on Dec. from Emory in 1947 and American Dental Associa- Francisco attended the than 200 articles and an (OB/GYN) of Marietta, 15, 2007, at age 77. In Alice Chelton (psychia- the Medical College of tion’s House of Delegates, University of Miami on eight-volume textbook on GA, on Jan. 5, 2008, William Olmsted (medi- 1987, Stambaugh was try) of Lawrenceville, Georgia in 1953. He was representing Georgia, and a music scholarship, and plastic surgery, published of pneumonia. He was cine) of Atlanta on May the first president and GA, on Aug. 29, 2007. board certified in family worked with many of both he and Bruni were in 2006. His first text- 95. In 1953, he joined 29, 2005. He was 51. board chair of the newly practice and geriatics. Georgia’s elected officials members of the first class book was published more Kennestone Hospital as founded Ophthalmic Joseph T. Doyle (physiol- on public health mat- of the University of Flor- than 30 years ago. He its first board-certified Mutual Insurance Com- ogy) of Albany, NY, on Harold Fishbain (psychi- ters. He also served as ida Medical School. He June 18, 2007, at age atry) of Yellow Springs, president of the Georgia established his practice in 89. Doyle served on the OH, on Sept. 13, 2007. Dental Association and Daytona Beach, and from faculty of Albany Medi- He graduated from the the Georgia Society for 1984 to 2006, Francisco cal College from 1952 to University of Wisconsin Oral and Maxillofacial was director of medical 1984. He led the Cardio- Medical School in 1949 Surgeons. affairs at Halifax Medical vascular Health Center and spent 16 years prac- Center in Daytona Beach. for 38 years until 1990. ticing family medicine. William Hugh Hamilton His articles in medi- In his 40s, he completed Jr. (internal medicine) of Wood Lovell (ortho- cal journals in the early a psychiatry residency at Spartanburg, SC, on July paedics), of St. Simon’s 1960s made the first link Emory and returned to 12, 2006. He directed Island, GA, on July 13, between smoking and Ohio to become medi- pulmonary services for 2007. He was 90. coronary heart disease. cal director of the Clark Spartanburg General County Mental Health Hospital and Mary Black Program. In 1979, he Hospital. He also found- Allen Mays Henry ”Speedy” Meaders Russell B. Smiley Jr. Reginald J. Stambaugh

30 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 31 Deaths alumni news

age 56. When Ziegler joined Emory in 1981, he already had observed “antigen processing and presentation,” a concept now quoted in current immunology textbooks. Through his research, he described the details of this process and the development of immu- a nity to pathogens, with a special focus on how the David H. Turner Lionel H. Yoe H. Kirk Ziegler This building’s a winner body handles exposure Alumni, faculty, and friends walked in students’ shoes to endotoxin as a result one evening last fall, viewing classroom demonstra- of bacterial infection; pany, underwritten by Frederick Haller Thomp- tion of gene expression tions when the School of Medicine opened its new the inter-relationship of Lloyds of London, which son (pathology) of Ameri- in normal and leukemic building. Among the guests were Rita Thompson, Kyle adaptive or T cell medi- insured ophthalmologists cus, GA, on Sept. 26, myeloid cells. Petersen, and Hamza Davis (Photo A: starting second ated immune responses throughout the country. 2007. In 1960, he became from left); Anne Gaston, 55M (Photo B: left), shown with and innate responses; and He served on the board the first full-time patholo- J. Gordon Barrow (pro- Claudia Adkison; J. Harper Gaston, 55M (Photo C: left), the role of gamma/delta of the American Academy gist for Sumter Regional fessor emeritus of medi- shown with Thomas and Chris Lawley; Joe Massey, T cells as early respond- of Ophthalmology, as Hospital in Americus. cine) of Winston, GA, 67M (Photo D, left); and Alan Otsuki, Chris Lawley, and ers to bacterial infection president of the Florida He also was a consulting on Jan. 10, 2008, at age Joe and Sally Keys (Photo E, left to right). Society of Ophthalmol- pathologist for several 88. Barrow, 43M, was a through generation of ogy and the Palm Beach hospitals in southwest cardiologist and served as immune cytokines to County Medical Society, Georgia and Alabama. chief of staff at Douglas control the development and as editor of Ophthal- General Hospital. of immune responses. mology Times. David H. Turner (oph- Students regarded him thalmology) of Ooltewah, Shirley Rivers (clini- as an enthusiastic and Robert R. Stivers (medi- TN, on Nov. 25, 2007. cal associate professor) engaging teacher. In the cine) of Atlanta on Feb. He was given the diagno- on Dec. 22, 2006, in view of his colleagues, 1, 2007, of cancer. He sis of leukemia five days Phoenix, AZ, at age 81. Ziegler embodied the was 72. Stivers began his prior to his death. Rivers taught at Emory, “scholar/teacher” and up- career with the Fulton Grady Hospital, and held the highest standards County Medical Exam- Lionel H. Yoe (ophthal- Georgia State and was of research conduct and iner’s Office in 1968 and mology) of Columbus, an attending physician ethics of biomedical sci- served as chief medical GA, on Oct. 2, 2007, at at Grady from 1966 to ences and philosophy. B c officer from 1970 to age 88. He practiced until 1977. She also served as 1988. He played a key 2006. a research associate in role in establishing a free- cancer chemotherapy and standing building for the as a staff physician at the medical examiner, which Faculty Deaths Atlanta Veterans Affairs is named in his honor. Medical Center. She then Stivers helped develop a Garth Austin (professor moved to Tucson, where modern death investiga- of pathology) on July she directed the Red tion system for Fulton 15, 2007, at age 65. He Cross Southern Arizona County. He also estab- joined Emory in 1980 Regional Blood Program lished a forensic patholo- and served as an attend- from 1977 to 1993. gy training program with ing pathologist at the Emory in which residents Atlanta Veterans Affairs H. Kirk Ziegler (profes- rotate through the Fulton Medical Center beginning sor of microbiology and d E County Medical Exam- in 1983. His research immunology) of Decatur, iner Center. centered on the regula- GA, on Oct. 3, 2007, at

32 EMORY MEDICINE FALL 2008 33 Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Atlanta, Georgia Permit No. 3604

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Note to readers: Because our mailing lists are supplied by several university divisions, some of you may receive dupli- cate copies of Emory Medicine. Thank you for passing them along to others who are interested in the magazine.

A Natural Link Meltz by B ryan photo A new suspension bridge over Peachtree Creek in Lullwater Preserve restores pedestrian access between Emory and the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). The environmentally sensitive struc- ture replaces a bridge that was removed in the early 1990s. School of Medicine Dean Thomas Lawley (front), VAMC director James Clark, and Vice President of Campus Services Bob Hascall helped dedicate the bridge this summer.

34 EMORY MEDICINE