The University Record, July 9, 2001

Applause

Lawrence wins Emmy

Kirk A. Lawrence, media engineer at U-M-Flint Public Television (UMPTV), has won the 2000 Michigan National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Emmy award for the audio/post production category. Lawrence won the Emmy for his postproduc-tion technical work on AfterHours, UMPTV’s weeknight music variety program.

Blow earns appointment

Frederic C. Blow, senior associate research scientist and associate professor of psychiatry; senior associate research scientist, U-M Transportation Research Institute; and adjunct assistant professor of psychology, has been selected to share the Huss Research Chair of the Butler Center for Research at the Hazeldon Foundation.

The Hazeldon Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Minnesota that helps people recover from alcoholism and addiction to other drugs.

As Huss Research co-chair, Blow will design research with staff from Hazeldon that focuses on substance abuse in older adults.

Regent White appointed White House Fellow

Regent Katherine E. White has been selected to serve as a White House Fellow for the 2001–02 class. White joins 11 individuals to serve in the first class of White House Fellows in the Bush-Cheney administration and the 37th class since the program was created in 1964. White House Fellows work with Cabinet secretaries and senior administration officials to develop policy, review and draft legislation, research various public policy initiatives, and conduct policy briefings. Fellows also participate in regular meetings with leaders from various professions to explore the implementation of U.S. policy.

Ismail receives research award

Amid Ismail, professor of dentistry, has received the 2001 H. Trendley Dean Memorial Award from the International Association for Dental Research. Ismail received the award for his epidemiological research and his role in the implementation of an evidence-based approach to dental practice and its application in large-scale public health programs.

Kuhl cited for cancer research

David E. Kuhl, professor of radiology, received the Charles F. Kettering Prize from the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation. Kuhl and co-recipient Michael Phelps of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine were recognized for their pioneering work on the positron emission tomography (PET) scanner.

Wojtys receives honor

Edward M. Wojtys, professor of surgery, was awarded the 2001 O’Donoghue Sports Injury Research Award from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. The award was given to Wojtys for his paper, “The Effects of the Menstrual Cycle on ACL Injuries in Women as Determined by Hormone Levels.”

HR/AA announces winners of Workplace 2001 Awards

The following individuals were selected by a group of their peers to receive Workplace 2001 Awards, sponsored by Human Resources and Affirmative Action (HR/AA).

  • Ruth Campbell, clinical social worker, received the Distinguished Service Award. Campbell was recognized for her vision and inspiration in developing more than 25 programs for the Geriatrics Center. Campbell also developed the Turner Senior Resource Center. Campbell’s nominators describe her as a tireless worker and dedicated humanitarian.

  • Catherine Lilly, human resources officer, received the Outstanding Leadership Award. Lilly was the leading force behind the Information Technology Division’s (ITD) total quality management program. She also was the architect of the New Millennium Leaders.

  • The Thoracic Surgery Team received the Exemplary Team Award. Members are Mark Orringer, the John Alexander Distinguished Professor of Thoracic Surgery; Mark Iannettoni, associate professor of surgery; David Beer, associate professor of surgery and of radiation oncology; John Yee, assistant professor of surgery; Sharon Fox and Lori Zaremba, clinical care coordinators; Gina Downer, Kathleen Dumas, Irving Lum, Daniel McGraw, Stephen Palmer, Lori Seyfried and Deborah Wright, clinical nurses; Darlene Claxton, senior surgical technologist; Colleen deBeauclair and Mary Ann O’Coin, physician assistants; Debora Kayner, Kelley Forbes and Kathleen Bonish, medical secretaries; Susan Soja, clinic coordinator; Lori Frakes, senior health records analyst; Jeanne Hill, office assistant; Nancy Pope-Harrison, outpatient clerk; and Ruth Mathieu, financial support associate. The nomination of this team included many examples of members helping patients, co-workers and the community.

    For a complete list of finalists and honor roll recipients, visit the Web at www.umich.edu/hraa/workplace2001.

    Gopalakrishnan honored for research

    Rajaram Gopalakrishnan, research fellow and recent graduate of the School of Dentistry, earned top honors for his research, “PTH-Dependent Inhibition of Mineralization in Osteoblasts Is Mediated by MGP/matrix gla Protein,” from the International Association for Dental Research. Gopalakrishnan’s research may explain how the parathyroid hormone controls blood calcium levels.

    Eye researchers receive awards

    Two researchers from the Kellogg Eye Center have received awards from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB).

    Victor M. Elner, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, and associate professor of pathology, received RPB’s $55,000 Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award, which provides unrestricted support to midcareer physicians and scientists who hold faculty positions in departments of ophthalmology and who are actively engaged in eye research. Elner’s research has promoted greater understanding of the inflammatory process in the eye.

    Radha Ayyagari, research investigator in ophthalmology and visual sciences, received the RPB’s Sybil B. Harrington Scholar Award in the amount of $40,000. The funds support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases, and the award honors young scientists who are conducting research of unusual significance and promise. Ayyagari studies the genetics of retinal and macular degeneration.