UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Tuesday October 19, 2010 Volume 57 Number 8 www.upenn.edu/almanac Penn Med Investigators: NIH Grants for Transformative Research University of Pennsylvania School of Med- proach to this deadly infection.” icine investigators are among the 20 recipi- Dr. George Coukos, the Celso Ramon Garcia ents nationwide of an NIH grant that encour- Chair in Reproductive Biology and director of ages investigators to submit proposals for risky the Ovarian Cancer Research Center, in collab- ideas. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) oration with Dr. Chaitanya Divgi, chief, Nuclear will award up to $64 million over five years for Medicine, and Dr. Carl June, director of Trans- this year’s NIH Director’s Transformative Re- lational Research at the Abramson Family Can- search Projects (T-R01). The T-R01 awards pro- cer Research Institute, will receive $3.2 million gram encourages exploration of exceptionally over five years to develop a personalized immu- innovative and original research ideas that have notherapy that attacks and destroys blood ves- the potential for extraordinary impact, address- sels of the targeted tumor. Such an approach has ing either basic science or clinical challenges. the potential to work for the majority of solid tu- It sidesteps conventional stumbling blocks, such David Weiner George Coukos mors, becoming a powerful and universal tool as the need for preliminary data or a restriction that can transform cancer therapy. on the amount of funds that can be requested tended to protect against all strains of flu. “This funding will allow us to expand nov- that investigators sometimes face when apply- “This funding will allow us to expand novel re- el approaches to target tumors through immune ing for funding for high-risk research. search concepts that we have been developing to destruction of their vasculature, using antibodies Dr. David Weiner, professor of pathology develop a broadly effective seasonal influenza vac- and engineered T lymphocytes as well as devel- and laboratory medicine, will receive $3.2 mil- cine to protect our population,” said Dr. Weiner. op molecular imaging to screen patients and fol- lion, in collaboration with the Public Health Ser- “This funding is an important vote of confidence low therapy. If successful, this personalized tar- vice of Canada and biotech firm Inovio Corp., to from the NIH that the concepts that form our ap- geted approach can become a truly powerful uni- develop a universal flu vaccine, one that is in- plication are important and may provide a new ap- versal cancer therapy,” said Dr. Coukos. “Tu- mor vasculature can be similar among tumor $2 Million HRSA Grant for Penn Dental Medicine types and its destruction can lead to dramatic tu- Penn Dental Medicine has been awarded a ceptions regarding mor responses. This funding is an important vote total of $2 million over the next five years from public health practice. of confidence from the NIH on our ideas and the the Health Resources and Services Administra- “The exciting thing collaborative team we have established at Penn.” tion (HRSA) in support of community and pub- about this grant is its The T-R01 program, supported by the NIH lic health training programs within the school. many tiers of sup- Common Fund (formerly the NIH Roadmap for Penn Dental Medicine is one of 12 dental port,” added Dr. Gluch, Medical Research), is an incomparable NIH re- schools nationwide to receive this type of HRSA “which will enable us search opportunity for investigators. Scien- training grant, available to academic dental insti- to examine and expand tists are spurred to rethink the way science is tutions for the first time this year as a result of the basic dental public conducted and propose truly daring ideas. The Affordable Care Act, the comprehensive health health training for all awards can provide up to $25 million in total care reform law enacted in March 2010. predoctoral students in costs each year for a single project. “The health care reform legislation includes addition to offering an “Complex research projects, even exceptional- provisions to support the ongoing development expanded honors ex- ly high impact ones, are tough to get funded with- of the public health work force,” said Dr. Joan perience (including the out the necessary resources to assemble teams and Gluch, director of Community Health for Penn MPH degree) to tal- Joan Gluch collect preliminary data. The T-R01 awards pro- Dental Medicine and program director/principal ented students inter- vide a way for these high impact projects to be investigator of the HRSA grant. “We are pleased ested in a career in public health dentistry.” pursued,” said NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins. to receive these funds which will play a vital role Currently, students and faculty in Penn Den- in increasing our predoctoral dental students’ tal Medicine’s Division of Community Oral MAGPI’s First Annual knowledge, skills, and experiences to expand the Health serve approximately 14,000 individu- Content Provider Carnival workforce in public health dentistry.” als in West and Southwest Philadelphia through Step right up for the First Annual MAGPI The grant award will provide support on a PennSmiles, an oral health education and treat- Content Provider Carnival where 22 distance number of levels within the school. Funds will ment program with the School District of Phil- learning content providers will come togeth- be used to evaluate and expand community- adelphia; the LIFE Center, an interdisciplinary er all under one virtual tent via live webcast to based experiences for all second-year dental stu- system of all-inclusive healthcare for frail se- schools across the country. dents through enhanced participation with four niors in West and Southwest Philadelphia op- On October 27, MAGPI, the University of University of Pennsylvania-affiliated communi- erated by Penn’s School of Nursing, and other Pennsylvania’s Internet2 hub, will use video- ty health sites. Funds are also provided to devel- University-affiliated community health sites. conferencing and social networking to bring op and staff a dental facility within Sayre Health “SDM has had faculty and students involved award-winning distance learning content to K20 Center, a full-service, primary care health cen- in the community for many years. The HRSA schools and public cultural organizations around ter located at Sayre High School in West Phila- grant allows us to build on that experience and the country in the First Annual Content Provider delphia, which will serve as a site for dental stu- to improve coordination and oversight of ser- (continued on page 6) dent participation as well. In addition, the award vices and educational opportunities in both old IN THIS ISSUE provides funding for expanded support to staff a and new community sites,” added Dr. Rob- 2 Council Agenda; From the President & Provost: community health honors program as well as ex- ert Collins, chief of the Division of Commu- Extending Tenure of SAS Dean; Exec. Director: LPS; Interim Dir. Abramson Cancer Center; Study Abroad panded support for students in the dual-degree nity Health. “While providing needed services 3 Deaths; Inaugural Meyerson Lecture Master of Public Health/DMD program. A com- to the community, our dominant goal is to pro- 4 Honors & Other Things prehensive program evaluation will be devel- duce graduates who value the community and 5 Wharton’s Partnership; ITMAT Grants; Penn’s Way oped examining process and outcome variables, preventive perspectives and will look for ways 6 One Step Ahead: Security & Privacy Tip; Genomes; HR: Flu Shots, Hearing Aids including program operation, the impact on stu- to incorporate these approaches into their future 7 Update; CrimeStats; Classifieds dents and community members and student per- practices.” 8 Provost’s Office Funding for International Initiatives ALMANAC October 19, 2010 www.upenn.edu/almanac 1 Nora Lewis: Vice Dean and Executive Director of the Agenda for College of Liberal and Professional Studies University Council Meeting Nora Lewis has been appointed Vice Dean and Executive Director of the College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) effective July Wednesday, October 20, 2010 4 p.m. 1, 2010. In this role, she will be responsible for overseeing the portfo- Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall lio of LPS programs including the BA for adult students; the Master of Source: Office of the University Secretary Liberal Arts and several professional master’s programs; summer pro- I. Approval of the Minutes of September 29, grams for undergraduate and high school students; and the English Lan- 2010. 1 minute guage Programs. II. Follow Up Comments or Questions on Ms. Lewis has served as the interim director of LPS since last year and Status Reports. 5 minutes has been a member of the full-time professional staff in the School of Arts III. Presentation by the President, Provost and Sciences since 1993. Prior to becoming Vice Dean, she was Director and Other Administrators on the State of of Enrollment Management for LPS and served as interim director of the the University. 60 minutes English Language Programs. She has 20 years of experience in internation- IV. Presentation on Faith-Based Initiatives al higher education and has published on the role of input and interaction in and Groups on Campus. 20 minutes second language acquisition; on intergenerational approaches to adult liter- Nora Lewis V. New Business. 5 minutes acy and ESL programming; and on language planning and policy in the for- VI. Adjournment by 5:30 p.m. mer Soviet republics. Her research interests focus on adult education and the role of learner production and feedback in second language acquisition. Ms. Lewis earned a BA from the College of William and Mary and has done graduate studies in educational linguistics at Penn’s Graduate School of Education.