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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, May 4, 2016
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NU doctor joins cancer initiative Dr. Lifang Hou will do research for Biden’s ‘Moonshot’ By MARIANA ALFARO
daily senior staffer @marianaa_alfaro
When Dr. Lifang Hou was a physician in China, she noticed that although many life-threatening diseases come with warning signs, cancer often creeps up without any alerts. “For cancer patients, I did not see clear patterns,” said Hou, chief of cancer epidemiology and prevention at Feinberg School of Medicine’s department of preventive medicine. “(That) and how threatening cancer is to family and society was the initial motivation for me to become a cancer researcher.” Hou’s research in cancer prediction and prevention earned her a spot as one of 27 cancer experts nationwide who will join Vice President Joe Biden’s Moonshot Cancer Initiative. The initiative, announced by President Barack Obama during his final State of the Union address in January, aims to accelerate cancer research in order to improve treatment, prevention and early detection. Hou will serve on the initiative’s Blue Ribbon Panel, which will provide scientific guidance to the initiative. The panel is a unit within the presidentially-appointed National Cancer Advisory Board, which is collaborating with Biden’s initiative. “This Blue Ribbon Panel will ensure
that, as (National Institutes of Health) allocates new resources through the Moonshot, decisions will be grounded in the best science,” Biden said in a news release published by the NIH. The panel, comprising expert scientists, patient advocates and cancer research leaders, includes doctors from schools such as Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University. Hou is the only representative from a midwestern university. Hou said she received a letter — which cited both her cancer research and leadership roles at NU — inviting her to join the panel. She said she’s not only honored to be part of the team but excited to work with other cancer experts whose research focuses on areas different from her own. “I’m the only one in the big Chicago region, and so I’m sure in the Chicago region there are many much more senior, successful cancer researchers, so I’m honored to be part of it,” she said. At Northwestern, Hou conducts research on populations, identifying environmental and lifestyle health risks that may play a major role in cancer development. Her studies fall under the umbrella of epigenetics, the study of how various external factors affect genes. Hou said her interest in cancer risk factor identification began when she moved to the United States in 2002 to continue her studies at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. Her research later expanded to include cancer prevention through clinical » See DOCTOR, page 6
Sophie Mann/Daily Senior Staffer
NPR STAR Julie Snyder (left) sits down with Medill lecturer Alex Kotlowitz. The two spoke about Snyder’s experiences producing the podcasts “Serial” and “This American Life.”
‘Serial’ producer speaks at NU Julie Snyder discusses role of storytelling By SAM KREVLIN
the daily northwestern @samkrevlin
Julie Snyder, the executive producer of “Serial” and senior producer at “This American Life,” discussed the processes behind the popular podcasts at an event Tuesday, focusing on the role a reporter should play in storytelling. More than 150 people attended Snyder’s conversation with Medill lecturer Alex Kotlowitz at the McCormick Foundation Center Forum.
Snyder said journalist Sarah Koenig, the host of “Serial,” excelled at making otherwise dry evidence, such as police reports and “pings” off cellphone towers, interesting to listeners. “In a lot of ways, she became the protagonist because she was doing the reinvestigation,” Snyder said. “This story lived in the details, and early on it was boring. We needed her to be telling us what these details mean.” “Serial,” a non-fiction podcast, tells a reported story over the course of a season in week-by-week installments. Its first season casts doubt on the case against Adnan Syed, who
was convicted of murdering his exgirlfriend Hae Min Lee. Snyder is the show’s executive producer, which Kotlowitz said means she “quietly works her magic” behind the scenes and edits the show. Snyder said Koenig’s ability to bring the listener into the reporting process — for example, by including audio of her driving around Baltimore chasing the story — made the information more digestible. Kotlowitz said he enjoys this aspect of “Serial,” and that following the » See SERIAL, page 6
Descendants talk 1864 massacre Zika cases in Illinois
rise eight-fold in 2016
By FATHMA RAHMAN
the daily northwestern @fathma_rahman
By NORA SHELLY The Sand Creek Massacre was an atrocity, Anne Hayden said, and her great-great-grandfather John Evans was responsible. Hayden made that statement during a panel Tuesday beside members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho communities as well as descendants of Evans. Roughly 40 people attended the event at Norris University Center, hosted by One Book One Northwestern, that focused on Evans’ role in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, which killed approximately 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans. In May 2014, an independent study committee revealed that Evans, one of Northwestern’s leading founders, was involved in the massacre. The panelists said they have built relationships despite the troubling history. Otto Braided Hair of the Northern Cheyenne recalled his angry reaction in 1999 when Evans’ descendants requested to participate in an event commemorating the massacre. “They’re the descendants of the
the daily northwestern @noracshelly
Keshia Johnson/The Daily Northwestern
HEALING WOUNDS Gail Ridgely of the Arapaho speaks at a panel discussion Tuesday about John Evans’ role in the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. Roughly 40 people attended the event, which was hosted by One Book One Northwestern.
perpetrator,” Otto Braided Hair said. “They don’t need no healing. They’re white. They’re the perfect race. Why should they need healing, why should they get involved, why should we let them participate?” But that was just Otto Braided Hair’s initial reaction, he said. After discussing it with the committee
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
planning the event, he agreed to let Evans’ descendants participate. Since then, he has grown close to Hayden and other relatives. “Time went by, and we began to look at Evans’ descendants as humans,” Otto Braided Hair said. » See SAND CREEK, page 6
The number of Zika cases in Illinois has risen from two to 16 since January, but city and state officials maintain that there is little threat to residents, according to a public health report released Friday. Twelve of the 16 infected persons in Illinois are women, and three of them are pregnant, said Melaney Arnold, a public information officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health. All cases in Illinois are travel-related, Arnold said, and there is little threat of further transmission to others. Since all the cases were travel-related, Arnold said the department is not disclosing where exactly in the state the patients with Zika were located. The Zika virus gained international attention after a resurgence in areas of South America last year and a declaration in February by the World Health Organization that the outbreak was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The virus is transmitted by mosquitos in hot and humid climates and has been reported in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Symptoms include joint pain, rash and fever but are usually mild, and those infected often are not aware they have the virus. Zika has also been linked to microcephaly in infants born to mothers infected with the virus. Microcephaly is a condition in which an infant’s head is smaller than normal, and it can lead to seizures, developmental delays or intellectual disabilities. Arnold highlighted that Zika cannot be transferred simply by being near someone who has the virus. “Although it is known to be transmitted between a male sex partner and his partner, obviously that’s not going to be the general public,” Arnold said. “So if you’re sitting on a train or a bus next to somebody and you cough or sneeze, right now that’s not known to be the mode of transmission.” Medill junior Isabella Gutierrez contracted Zika while visiting family in Venezuela during Winter Break and told The Daily in February that she dealt with the virus for more than a week. She added that rest and fluids helped the symptoms pass. The type of mosquito that transmits Zika is rarely found in Illinois, as it is » See ZIKA, page 6
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