o ur 4 1 ST ye ar
La n D s c a p e h i st o ry
RECOGNIT ION
Covering Homewood, East Baltimore, Peabody,
Homewood’s 1801 brick privy
Inaugural Henrietta Lacks
SAIS, APL and other campuses throughout the
inspires ‘Baltimore’s Great
Award presented to Newborn
Baltimore-Washington area and abroad, since 1971.
Architecture’ series, page 5
Holistic Ministries, page 3
October 10, 2011
The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University
P O L I C Y
Volume 41 No. 7
K U D O S
JHU’s newest Nobel laureate
Guidelines set for PhD student, JHU relationship By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette
Continued on page 4
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will kirk / homewoodphoto.jhu.edu
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o bolster the already strong ties between the university and its PhD students, the newly instituted Doctor of Philosophy Board at Johns Hopkins has produced a statement of rights and responsibilities for all university PhD students. The statement, Rights and released today, lays responsibili- out a series of common expectations ties are laid for students, their faculty advisers and the JHU schools out in new that grant PhD degrees. document While each PhDgranting school has specific policies that govern its students’ doctoral education, the statement will help ensure that all divisions’ policies are consistent. The principles described in the document will influence policies established by the schools. In its preamble, the statement asserts that PhD education is fundamental to the university’s teaching and research mission. “For an intellectual community of scholars to flourish, it is important to acknowledge the principles that underlie the compact between PhD students, the faculty and other members of the university community,” it says. The document focuses on basic tenets such as the PhD student’s right to education, supervision, training, and full and regular access to information about the degree requirements. PhD students, the document reads, “have the right to receive, on a regular basis, written evaluation of their progress and to be informed of the criteria upon which the evaluation is based,” and should be provided with opportunities to discuss such evaluations with their adviser. PhD students also have the right to academic freedom, which includes the right to express, without reprisal, independent opinions about scholarly issues, such as opinions regarding theoretical and methodological debates in their disciplines.
Adam Riess, center, celebrates with colleagues Julian Krolik and Charles Bennett at a party held Tuesday afternoon.
Adam Riess is honored for his studies of the universe’s expansion rate By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette
I
n a day chock-full of metaphors used to explain universe-sized science, Adam Riess employed a simple image to convey to his 7-year-old daughter the lifealtering award he had just won. What does winning the Nobel Prize for physics mean? It’s like getting a “great big gold sticker” on your school folder, he told her.
Make that a star-shaped sticker. On Tuesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized Riess, the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor in Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins and a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, for his leadership in the High-z Continued on page 7
R E S E A R C H
MRI safe for people with implanted cardiac devices By Ellen Beth Levitt
Johns Hopkins Medicine
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agnetic resonance imaging, an important diagnostic test, has traditionally been off-limits to more than 2 million people in the United States who have an implanted pacemaker to regulate heart rhythms, or an implanted defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death. Now, in a study published in the Oct. 4 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, cardiologists at Johns Hopkins report that a protocol they
In B r i e f
Provost’s Lecture Series online; musical night for Kimmel Cancer Center; simulation study
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developed has proved effective in enabling patients with implanted cardiac devices to safely undergo an MRI scan. “We believe this is the largest prospective study of MRI in patients with implanted devices,” said lead author Saman Nazarian, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “The guidelines we have published can be used to make MRI more available to people who could benefit from early detection of cancer and other diseases, and for guiding surgeons during procedures. MRI is considered superior to CT scans in many clinical
scenarios, especially for brain and spinal cord imaging,” Nazarian said. To date, more than 700 patients with implanted cardiac devices have safely undergone MRI exams at Johns Hopkins. The scientists’ prospective study followed 438 people with implanted cardiac devices who had 555 MRI scans. Ninety-four percent of the exams were conducted at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the others at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. The researchers found that with appropriate
CA L E N D AR
Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern; Newark Mayor Cory Booker; ‘Inside Job’ on screen
Continued on page 8
10 Job Opportunities 10 Notices 11 Classifieds
2 10,2011 2011 2 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• October August 15, I N B R I E F
You strive for excellence in learning, research and caring for others. Our business is to take good care of you. Call today for Move-In Specials!*
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Talks in Provost’s Lecture Series videotaped and available online
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nyone unable to attend this year’s Provost’s Lecture Series, which begins this week, will still be able to see and hear the talks. All the installments will be videotaped and available within a week on the Office of the Provost’s website at www.jhu.edu/provost/ lecture_series.html. Provost Lloyd B. Minor created the lecture series in 2010 to spread the wealth of academic excellence at Johns Hopkins among its campuses. His aim, he said, was to bring outstanding faculty from one campus to another to make the geographically distributed university feel a bit smaller. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, Peter Pronovost, a patient safety expert at the School of Medicine, will speak on the Homewood campus. On Saturday, Oct. 15, a special lecture in partnership with the Milton S. Symposium will feature Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J. Pronovost’s talk will be at 4:30 p.m. in 50 Gilman Hall. Booker’s will be at 5:30 p.m. in Homewood’s Shriver Hall. For more details, see Calendar, p. 12. Also available on the Provost’s website are the lectures given last year by Gerard Anderson, Andrew Feinberg, Steve Farber, Charles Bennett, Ronald Gray, Jacqueline Campbell, Andrew Cherlin, David Lampton and Carol Greider.
PRS Guitars holds concert to benefit Kimmel Cancer Center
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ince 2000, Paul Reed Smith Guitars has used music to raise more than $2 million for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Living with Cancer Resource Program, which offers supportive care programming and education to patients and families, free of charge. On Sunday, Oct. 16, the company’s flagship benefit concert—One Night, One Show, One Cause—returns with a musical lineup headed by alternative rock group Vertical Horizon. Also on the program are the Paul Smith Band, which will be joined by Kimmel Cancer Center Director William Nelson on the electric guitar; and a live auction, hosted by Jon Levinson of Alex Cooper Auctioneers, featuring guitars embellished by local artists. Vertical Horizon, fronted by Matt Scannell, first achieved fame with its breakout hit, “Everything You Want,” which landed the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Adult Top 40 charts, reaching double platinum status. Other special guests joining the Paul Smith Band will be Davy Knowles of Backdoor Slam, Dave Weiner of the Steve Vai Band and Donna Grantis of the Donna Grantis Electric Band. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the all-ages
Editor Lois Perschetz Writer Greg Rienzi Production Lynna Bright Copy Editor Ann Stiller Photography Homewood Photography
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A d v e rt i s i n g The Gazelle Group Business Dianne MacLeod C i r c u l at i o n Lynette Floyd Webmaster Lauren Custer
show, which will be held at Baltimore Sound Stage in the Inner Harbor. General admission is $20. VIP admission of $60 includes open bar, food and access to a VIP viewing area. Tickets are available through Ticket Fly at www.ticketfly.
JHH is ranked No. 1 for its commitment to equal health care
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he Johns Hopkins Hospital has been named No. 1 in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2011 Healthcare Equality Index for its commitment to quality health care that includes the lesbian/gay/bisexual and transgender community. The Healthcare Equality Index is an annual survey that assesses LGBT-friendly policies and procedures, as well as other nondiscriminatory policies, at hospitals nationwide. Fourteen of the leading 17 hospitals cited in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “best hospitals” rankings made the foundation’s list, with Johns Hopkins on top.
New students at SoN participate in landmark simulation study
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person having a heart attack, another going into labor and a third with a skin rash are typical “patients” for students in the simulation lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Now students in the traditional 2013 class have the chance to care for such patients—including Harvey the cardiopulmonary simulator, Sim Man, Noelle with newborn and Sim Baby—as part of a landmark nationwide study. One hundred and three students from the 117-person class signed up to take part in the study, which explores the role of simulation in pre-licensure clinical nursing education. Johns Hopkins is one of 10 schools chosen by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to participate. The study will examine the use of simulated clinical experiences as a replacement for a portion of the time spent in traditional clinical education. Participation in the study lasts for two years, from fall through graduation. Students are divided into three groups: 50 percent simulation, 25 percent simulation and less than or equal to 10 percent simulation, which is the percentage in the current traditional curriculum. Joyce Vazzano, an instructor in Acute and Chronic Care, is the project coordinator. Vazzano said that as part of the study, the debriefing after each simulation experience has been redesigned for meaningful learning that draws on the effective, creative and critical thinking processes. “We want to make the students’ participation in this study an exciting and meaningful learning experience,” she said.
Contributing Writers Applied Physics Laboratory Michael Buckley, Paulette Campbell Bloomberg School of Public Health Tim Parsons, Natalie Wood-Wright Carey Business School Andrew Blumberg, Patrick Ercolano Homewood Lisa De Nike, Amy Lunday, Dennis O’Shea, Tracey A. Reeves, Phil Sneiderman Johns Hopkins Medicine Christen Brownlee, Stephanie Desmon, Neil A. Grauer, Audrey Huang, John Lazarou, David March, Vanessa McMains, Ekaterina Pesheva, Vanessa Wasta, Maryalice Yakutchik Peabody Institute Richard Selden SAIS Felisa Neuringer Klubes School of Education James Campbell, Theresa Norton School of Nursing Kelly Brooks-Staub University Libraries and Museums Brian Shields, Heather Egan Stalfort
The Gazette is published weekly September through May and biweekly June through August for the Johns Hopkins University community by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, Suite 540, 901 S. Bond St., Baltimore, MD 21231, in cooperation with all university divisions. Subscriptions are $26 per year. Deadline for calendar items, notices and classifieds (free to JHU faculty, staff and students) is noon Monday, one week prior to publication date. Phone: 443-287-9900 Fax: 443-287-9920 General e-mail: gazette@jhu.edu Classifieds e-mail: gazads@jhu.edu On the Web: gazette.jhu.edu Paid advertising, which does not represent any endorsement by the university, is handled by the Gazelle Group at 410343-3362 or gazellegrp@comcast.net.
October 10, 2011 • THE GAZETTE
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C O L L A B O R A T I O N
Inaugural Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award winner announced Urban Health Institute honors work of Newborn Holistic Ministries B y S h a n n o n S wi
ger
Johns Hopkins Medicine
COURTESY OF JOSHUA FRANZOS
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he Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute has announced that Newborn Holistic Ministries is the winner of the inaugural Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award, which was created to recognize and support Baltimore community organizations that are collaborating with The Johns Hopkins University to improve the health and well-being of Baltimore City and its residents. The award was presented at the second Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture, held Oct. 1 at the university. Newborn Holistic Ministries is one of nearly two dozen established communityuniversity collaborations from across the city nominated for the inaugural award of $15,000. The organization was selected by a panel of leaders from community and city organizations and from Johns Hopkins as a model collaboration for creating and sustaining healthier communities.
Robert Blum, right, director of the Urban Health Institute, presents the first Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award to Todd Marcus and Elder Harris, president and founder, respectively, of the Newborn Holistic Ministries.
“Newborn Holistic Ministries represents the best of what community-initiated programs in partnership with Johns Hopkins and other institutions can accomplish,” said Robert Blum, director of the Urban Health Institute. “It is about the rebirth of a neighborhood and the rejuvenation of community residents at the same time.” Newborn Holistic Ministries was
founded in 1996 to preserve and enrich life in Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester and Upton communities by providing services to enable residents to meet their material, social and spiritual needs. Newborn has significantly revitalized the 1900 and 2000 blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue, while also running Martha’s Place, a program for women overcoming drug addiction and
homelessness, and Jubilee Arts, a program that offers arts classes and cultural opportunities as alternatives to violence and drugs. Johns Hopkins collaborates with Newborn through student internships and by providing resident physicians who serve clients of Martha’s Place. Accepting the award for the organization were Elder Harris and Todd Marcus, its founder and president, respectively. Also recognized at the event were two other finalists, the Incentive Mentoring Program and Catholic Charities’ Esperanza Center Health Services Program. Henrietta Lacks was an East Baltimore resident and cervical cancer patient at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the early 1950s, when cells taken from her tumor became the first “immortal” human cells grown in culture; they have since led to breakthroughs in cell research related to cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation and more. The Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award honors Lacks and her family and is intended to be an enduring reminder of her contribution to medical science and to her community. The mission of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute is to serve as a catalyst that brings together the resources of Johns Hopkins Institutions with the city of Baltimore, and especially East Baltimore, to improve the community’s health and wellbeing.
Blood tests may hold clues to pace of Alzheimer’s disease progression Levels of certain fats in blood may predict rate of cognitive decline By Stephanie Desmon
Johns Hopkins Medicine
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team of scientists, led by Johns Hopkins researchers, says that it may have found a way to predict how quickly patients with Alzheimer’s disease will lose cognitive function by looking at ratios of two fatty compounds in their blood. The finding, the researchers say, could provide useful information to families and caregivers, and might also suggest treatment targets for this heartbreaking and incurable neurodegenerative disorder. Past research has shown that cognitive function declines at different rates in Alzheimer’s patients, with roughly onethird of them not declining at all in five years, one-third declining at a moderate rate, and the other third declining quickly. Accurately predicting the pace of cognitive
decline would help patients and caregivers better prepare and, if treatments are developed, help doctors aggressively target those whose descent into dementia is likely to be accelerated. Currently there are no predictably effective treatments that prevent, slow or stop Alzheimer’s, though the researchers caution that more studies need to be done before their blood fat test proves its value. “We’re confident there’s a relationship between these lipids and AD progression, but this work is not yet ready to be used clinically,” said Michelle Mielke, an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and lead author of an article about the work published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Mielke’s team analyzed data from 120 probable Alzheimer’s patients at the Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center at Baylor College of Medicine, measuring a variety of fats found in the patients’ blood, as well as conducting cognitive assessments during an average of 4.2 visits over 2.3 years. The researchers found that the higher the level of plasma sphingomyelins and the lower the level of ceramide—two types of fat found in cells throughout the body—the
slower the progression of the dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Although the researchers emphasize that the link between the fats and Alzheimer’s is not well-understood, ceramides are involved in inflammation and cell death. If fewer of these cell-killing ceramides are circulating—which in turn may be killing off fewer important brain cells—the result may be slower disease progression, Mielke says. Meanwhile, a previous study by Mielke and her team showed that higher ceramide levels were associated with greater shrinkage of the brain’s memory center over one year in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Basic science data also has linked ceramide levels and levels of the protein amyloid beta, the accumulation of which has been tied to Alzheimer’s disease. Mielke says that if the blood fat ratios do turn out to be important, there may be ways to use this discovery to slow cognitive decline. For example, an enzyme known as sphingomyelinase metabolizes sphingomyelins into ceramides. It is possible, she says, that if a sphingomyelinase inhibitor were used to slow down the process of breaking down sphingomyelins into ceramides, the progression of the
disease could be interrupted. Though much research has been done to find ways to halt Alzheimer’s, so far the only approved therapy treats symptoms of cognitive decline in some patients for a short period of time. It does nothing to alter the course of the disease. “And none of the other compounds in clinical trials to date are showing any benefits,” said Mielke, who is also an associate consultant in the Division of Epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic. “Perhaps we need to shift our focus. The answers could be in these lipids, which can be measured in the blood.” Other Johns Hopkins researchers contributing to this work are Norman J. Haughey, Vera Venkata Ratnam Bandaru and Constantine G. Lyketsos.
Related website Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ psychiatry/specialty_areas/ memory_center
School of Nursing accelerates for second careers, more choices B y L y n n S c h u lt z - W r i t s e l
School of Nursing
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ollege graduates and professionals seeking a career change and entry to the nursing profession will find a new and flexible accelerated option for earning a nursing degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Beginning in 2012, a foursemester, 17-month, late August–entry option joins the list of accelerated offerings leading to a bachelor of science with a major in nursing. The school will now offer only accelerated bachelor of science options for those who hold a bachelor’s degree in another discipline. In addition to the 17-month August entry, those options
include a June-entry 13-month BS and a January-entry BS to master of science in nursing [clinical specialist] with paid residency. All accelerated options can lead to a master’s degree. The new 17-month option is designed for students with a bachelor’s degree in another discipline who want the flexibility of a course of study longer than the 13-month option. The four-semester program that begins in late August concludes in December of the following year and features a four-week intersession. During this extended break from mid-December through January, students can explore career paths, seek experiential learning, investigate research opportunities and take elective courses. According to Sandra Angell, associate dean for student affairs, an accelerated for-
mat addresses the strong preferences of prospective Johns Hopkins students. “We are finding that with each pool of applicants for our bachelor’s program, those who hold a previous degree are in the clear majority—and their numbers continue to grow,” she said. “They are former Peace Corps volunteers who have experienced the global need for nurses, computer and information science technologists who see a future in nursing and health informatics, and others from all professions and disciplines who recognize that nursing provides both career fulfillment and unlimited opportunities. They are eager to launch their new career as efficiently as possible and are more than capable of doing so through an accelerated program,” she said. Martha N. Hill, dean of Nursing, said that the decision of the school’s leadership to
offer only accelerated BS formats also was influenced by “The Future of Nursing,” a report issued by the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This report and the data on which it is based show that nurses who provide the highest quality and safest care have at least a bachelor’s degree,” she said. “Our experience clearly demonstrates that the Johns Hopkins nursing students who already have a bachelor’s are mature, well-prepared and ready to successfully complete an accelerated program and enter the nursing profession. We are able to recruit, prepare and rapidly move these outstanding students into the health care work force while continuing the highest of educational standards,” she said.
4 10,2011 2011 4 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• October August 15,
JHU institute named as CUDA Center of Excellence by NVIDIA By Lisa De Nike
Homewood
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ohns Hopkins University has been named a CUDA Center of Excellence by NVIDIA, a California-based visual and parallel computing technology company, honoring the university’s pioneering use of GPU computing and the CUDA programming model across research within multiple science and engineering departments. The Center of Excellence will be headquartered in Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science, bringing together the expertise of scholars from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering and the Sheridan Libraries to develop tools and methods capable of mining knowledge from the colossal data sets being produced today. Scientists from the Space Telescope Science Institute, located on the university’s Homewood campus, are also partnering in the activities of the center. “Modern scientific computing is developing an amazing diversity, where scientists assemble novel systems from combining commodity components in unusual ways,” said Alexander Szalay, the Alumni Centennial Professor in the Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins. “Our collaboration with NVIDIA will open up new directions in data-intensive scientific computing, where we can stream petabytes of data at speeds of half a terabyte per second into an array of 100 GPU cards for processing at supercomputer rates, yet doing it at a cost affordable to a university lab.” As a CUDA Center of Excellence, Johns Hopkins will utilize GPU computing equipment and grants provided by NVIDIA to support a number of research and academic programs, including deployment of the Data-
Scope, a GPU-powered, ultra-high throughput supercomputer created to dramatically increase the speed of scientific analysis. A cross between a powerful microscope and a telescope for data, the Data-Scope will allow scientists from disciplines ranging from medicine and genetics to astrophysics, environmental science, oceanography and bioinformatics to examine and analyze enormous amounts of data from both “little picture” and “big picture” perspectives. The CUDA Center of Excellence Program identifies, recognizes, rewards and cultivates collaboration with leading institutions at the forefront of parallel computing research. The program is highly competitive and prestigious, and the list of participants includes Harvard University, Stanford University, Georgia Tech, University of Maryland, University of Tennessee and others. Along with the donation of a substantial amount of high-end computing equipment and the sharing of technology, the award includes a grant to underwrite an annual workshop. In addition, senior researchers from NVIDIA will visit Johns Hopkins for several days to collaborate and attend lectures.
Related websites Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science:
idies.jhu.edu Alexander Szalay:
physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/people/ faculty/szalay.html The Data-Scope:
releases.jhu.edu/2010/11/01/ new-jhu-computer-to-enable-data analysis-not-possible-today
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Hide-and-seek: Altered HIV can’t evade immune system
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esearchers at Johns Hopkins have modified HIV in a way that makes it no longer able to suppress the immune system. Their work, they say in a report published online Sept. 19 in the journal Blood, could remove a major hurdle in HIV vaccine development and lead to new treatments. “Something about the HIV virus turns down the immune response rather than triggering it, making it a tough target for vaccine development,” said lead author David Graham, an assistant professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology and medicine in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “We now seem to have a way to sidestep this barrier.” Typically, when the body’s immune system cells encounter a virus, they send out an alarm by releasing chemicals called interferons to alert the rest of the body to the presence of a viral infection. When the immune cells encounter HIV, however, they release too many interferons, become overwhelmed and shut down the subsequent virus-fighting response. The researchers had learned from other studies that when human immune cells (white blood cells) are depleted of cholesterol, HIV can no longer infect them. It turns out that the coat that surrounds and protects the HIV viral genome is rich in cholesterol, leading the Johns Hopkins team to test whether viruses lacking cholesterol could still infect cells at all. The researchers treated HIV with a chemical to remove cholesterol from the viral coat. Then they introduced either the cholesterol-diminished or normal HIV to human immune cells growing in culture dishes, and measured how the cells responded. The cells exposed to cholesterol-diminished HIV didn’t release any initial-response interferons, whereas the cells exposed to normal HIV did. “The altered HIV doesn’t overwhelm the system and instead triggers the innate immune response to kick in, like it does with any first virus encounter,” Graham said. Next, the researchers checked to see if cholesterol-diminished HIV activates
PhDs Continued from page 1 Brenda Rapp, chair of the Doctor of Philosophy Board, said that the statement of rights and responsibilities is both symbolic and practical. “We want to acknowledge the significance of PhD studies here at Johns Hopkins. This statement of rights and responsibilities shows our commitment to preserving the stature of this level of study,” said Rapp, chair of the Department of Cognitive Science in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “It also highlights the importance of the relationship between doctoral student, faculty and the university. From a practical point of view, it lays out the principles of this complex relationship.” In terms of responsibilities, the statement says that PhD students should uphold the ethical responsibilities of their profession and discipline, dedicate the appropriate effort and time to meet degree requirements and treat all members of the university community respectfully and in a professional manner. The statement also says that doctoral students have a responsibility to contribute to the intellectual life of the university and to the advancement of education and scholarship. “This responsibility, which some might see as progressive, asks the PhD student to look beyond his or her research project and
so-called adaptive immune responses— responses that help the body remember specific pathogens long-term so that the body develops immunity and counters future infections. To do this, they put normal HIV or cholesterol-diminished HIV into blood samples, which contain all the different cells needed for an adaptive immune response. More specifically, they tested blood samples from people with previous exposure to HIV in order to see if their blood could mount an adaptive immune response. Blood samples were used from 10 HIV-positive people and from 10 people repeatedly exposed to HIV who weren’t infected. The researchers didn’t expect the HIV-positive blood to respond to either version of HIV because of the severely damaged immune systems of HIV patients. However, when cholesteroldiminished HIV was introduced to the noninfected HIV blood in a tube, the cells of the adaptive immune response reacted against the virus. By altering the virus, Graham said, the researchers were able to reawaken the immune system’s response against HIV and negate HIV’s immunosuppressive properties. “In addition to vaccine applications, this study opens the door to developing drugs that attack the HIV viral coat as an adjunct therapy to promote immune system detection of the virus,” Graham said. This research was supported by funds from the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health. Contributors to the research, in addition to Graham, are Veronica Aquino, of Johns Hopkins; Adriano Boasso, Caroline Royle and Spyridon Doumazos, all of Imperial College London; Mara Biasin, Luca Piacentini, Barbara Tavano and Mario Clerici, all of Universita degli Studi di Milano; Dietmar Fuchs, of Innsbruck Medical University, Austria; Francesco Mazzotta and Sergio Lo Caputo, both of Ospedale S.M. Annunziata, Florence, Italy; and Gene Shearer, of the National Cancer Institute. —Vanessa McMains
view his or her role to the greater community of scholarship,” Rapp said. The Doctor of Philosophy Board is a standing committee of The Johns Hopkins University that reports to the provost and is responsible to the faculties of schools granting a Doctor of Philosophy degree. In crafting the document, the board sought input from faculty, students and the academic councils that govern graduate study. The board, formed in early 2010, consists of 10 distinguished faculty from the six schools currently granting a PhD degree: the schools of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Public Health, Medicine, Nursing and Advanced International Studies. It also includes two student representatives. The board advises the provost about universitywide issues pertaining to the PhD, approves new PhD degree programs and major changes to existing programs, and sets guidelines and policies that affect all PhD students. The board, in its mission statement, states that it “respects the strong tradition of local autonomy of the schools and seeks to enhance the visibility and prominence of doctoral education across the university.” The board inherited all universitywide PhD policies previously approved by the Homewood Academic Council’s Graduate Board, which continues to administer the Homewood PhD programs. G To see the full statement of rights and responsibilities, and for more on the Doctor of Philosophy Board, go to web.jhu.edu/administration/ provost/phdboard.html.
October 10, 2011 • THE GAZETTE
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Unusual repeated segment responsible for third of familial ALS B y C h r i s t e n B r o wn
lee
Johns Hopkins Medicine
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team led by scientists from Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health has discovered a genetic mutation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and a related disease called frontotemporal dementia that appears to account for more than a third of all inherited cases of these diseases. In a new study published online Sept. 21 in Neuron, the researchers show that this mutation, found within a gene called C9ORF72, is about twice as common as all the other mutations discovered thus far for the disease combined. The findings, say study leader Bryan J. Traynor, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and chief of the Neuromuscular Diseases Research Unit
at the NIH, could help scientists develop new animal models of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and eventually new targets for attacking the more common sporadic form of the disease, which isn’t inherited and appears to crop up in the population at random. Though a handful of other genetic mutations have been linked to inherited, or familial, ALS and frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, over the past several years, these mutations appear to account for only about a quarter of cases. Knowing that other ALSand FTD-causing mutations remain undiscovered in the genome, the team focused its search on a place that other studies had suggested might hold promise: the short arm of chromosome 9. While previous research had suggested this as a likely hotbed for genetic problems that cause ALS and FTD, the exact location of the responsible mutation, or which genes might be affected, was unknown.
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“If you think of chromosomes like geographic regions, we knew what city this mutation was located in, and what part of the city, but we didn’t know what street it was located on or which house,” Traynor said. “We were really looking for the exact address for this mutation.” To narrow down the mutation’s location, Traynor and his colleagues worked with collaborators around the world, using a nextgeneration genomic sequencing technique on pieces of chromosome 9 sampled from ALS and FTD patients in unrelated Welsh and Dutch families in which the diseases had been diagnosed in multiple generations. They compared sequences from these affected individuals to those of healthy people, both unaffected relatives and people outside these families who had never been diagnosed with ALS or FTD. In just the affected individuals, the sequences turned up an unusual section of chromosome 9 near the C9ORF72 gene in which a six-base DNA sequence (GGGGCC) was repeated over and over. When the researchers looked at DNA samples from other patients with familial ALS and FTD from Finland, the country with the highest incidence of these diseases worldwide, this same unusual segment was present in nearly half of cases, stretching from hundreds to thousands of repeats. “Together with another mutation in a previously discovered familial ALS gene known as SOD1, this means that we are now able to explain nearly all of familial ALS disease in Finland,” Traynor said. Seeking confirmation in other familial ALS and FTD cases around the globe, the researchers tested samples from patients in Italy, Germany and North America. Sure enough, the repeats were present in about 38 percent of patients but never in healthy individuals. Traynor notes that he and his colleagues don’t yet know how the repeated segments might cause familial ALS and FTD. It could
JHU Museums and Libraries
H
omewood Museum will present its 11th annual Baltimore’s Great Architecture lecture series over three consecutive Mondays, Oct. 10, 17 and 24. The theme of this year’s series, History in the Landscape, is inspired by the current restoration of Homewood’s original 1801 brick privy. The series opens today, Oct. 10, with historian Michael Olmert exploring the architecture, patterns of use, folklore and even literary presence of privies in the late 18th– and early 19th–century Tidewater region. These small structures, undoubtedly the most necessary of outbuildings in the early American landscape, were important functional and even decorative elements belonging to country houses and plantations. Olmert, an Emmy Award–winning documentary film writer, is a professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park and the author of five books, including Kitchens, Smokehouses and Privies: Outbuildings and the Architecture of Daily Life in the Eighteenth-Century Mid-Atlantic. Internationally renowned landscape designer and historian Barbara Paca will speak Oct. 17 on how Maryland’s founding fathers fused orchards, gardens, vineyards and other agricultural features with residential architecture to create private utopias. Paca is a principal of Preservation Green of
Maryland & New York LLC who has worked on landscape projects ranging from rooftop gardens and the restoration of small residential properties to master plans for public parks. Closing the series on Oct. 24 will be Washington, D.C., architect Outerbridge Horsey, discussing historic and historically inspired follies and garden buildings in America, from the 18th century to the present. These architectural curiosities, designed to bring playfulness and whimsy to the landscape, began on the great European estates of the late 16th and early 17th centuries and flourished in the two centuries that followed. Although follies in America initially followed European models, over time they evolved in innovative ways. Lectures will be held at 6 p.m. in Gilman Hall’s Marjorie M. Fisher Hall, Room 50, preceded by receptions at 5 p.m. at Homewood Museum. Admission is free, but reservations are requested by emailing homewoodmuseum@jhu.edu or calling 410516-5589. Walk-in registration is based on availability. For more information, call 410516-5589 or go to www.museums.jhu.edu. The History in the Landscape lecture series is presented by Homewood Museum in association with 2011 Baltimore Architecture Month. The program is made possible, with free admission, thanks to the generous support of Aurelia G. Bolton. Additional support is provided by Lewis Contractors and Adam and Fredye Gross.
Related websites Neurology and Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ neurology_neurosurgery Johns Hopkins ALS Center:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_ areas/als/index.html
McDonogh School in Owings Mills offers a challenging curriculum and the support of the entire McDonogh family— innovative teachers, caring advisors, involved parents, and truly remarkable peers.
Homewood Museum’s 1801 brick privy.
B y H e at h e r E g a n S ta l f o rt
be that they affect the function of C9ORF72, whose purpose is not yet known. However, the team thinks a more likely mechanism is that the repeated segments cause affected cells to manufacture a slew of toxic RNA, genetic material that clogs up cells and eventually leads to their demise. The slow buildup of toxic RNA could be the reason why ALS and FTD tend to show up in middle age rather than earlier in life. The researchers note that previous work has already shown abnormal RNA metabolism in ALS patients now known to carry this new mutation, lending support for this theory. Eventually, Traynor adds, the finding could help scientists find new ways to treat both familial ALS and FTD, as well as the more common sporadic forms of these diseases. Creating mouse models with the newly found mutation and other genetic anomalies linked to ALS and FTD could lend insight on what goes wrong in motor neurons, the cells primarily affected by these diseases, potentially leading to new areas to target with drugs or other interventions. Other Johns Hopkins researchers who participated in this study are Sonja W. Scholz and Jeffrey D. Rothstein. In the same issue of Neuron, a team led by scientists from the Mayo Clinic published a paper showing that it independently identified the same repeat expansion as a genetic cause for ALS and FTD.
My School
For information about our K-12 college preparatory program or to register for an open house, please call us at 410-581-4719 or visit us online at www.mcdonogh.org. Open House Dates: Grades K-4 9:00 a.m. Thursday, October 13 Wednesday, November 9 Wednesday, November 30 Grades 5-8 1:00 p.m. Sunday, October 16
McDonogh
Grades 9-12 3:30 p.m. Sunday, October 16 Visiting Day for Kindergarten–First Grade: Saturday, November 12 9:30 a.m.
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October 10, 2011 • THE GAZETTE
Nobel Team’s 1998 discovery that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating, a phenomenon widely attributed to a mysterious, unexplained “dark energy” filling the universe. For one day, at least, Riess’ world was certainly accelerating. The big bang started at 5:36 a.m., when Riess received the call from Sweden. Riess’ 10-month-old son had already awakened him, and he thought it was the middle of the night. “But when I saw the time on my digital clock, I thought this was THE call,” Riess said during a press conference held later that afternoon in Mason Hall on the university’s Homewood campus. “That time is famous [for when the academy calls]. And then these voices, many of them, told me that this was the Nobel Prize committee, and it was important.” After an immediate call to his mother and some friends and colleagues to share the news, Riess left for his big day on campus. When he arrived, his tie still in hand, he was greeted by a group of reporters and photographers. A bottle of champagne awaited him in his office in the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy, ready for the first of many toasts throughout the day. Riess, 41, shares this year’s prize with High-z teammate Brian Schmidt, of the Australian National University, and Saul Perlmutter, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose Supernova Cosmology Project team published similar results shortly after those published by Riess and Schmidt. The two teams had earlier shared the Peter Gruber Foundation’s 2007 Cosmology Prize—a gold medal and $500,000—for the discovery of dark energy, which Science magazine in 1998 had called the “Breakthrough Discovery of the Year”; and, in 2006, the $1 million Shaw Prize, considered by some to be “the Nobel of the East,” for the same discovery. Considered the most prestigious prize in the world, the Nobel has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace since 1901. Riess, Schmidt and Perlmutter will receive medals and diplomas, and the two teams will share a cash award of $1.49 million to be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm in December. Riess is the 35th person associated with Johns Hopkins as a faculty member, fellow or graduate to win a Nobel Prize. He joins three other Nobel laureates on the university’s current faculty: Riccardo Giacconi, University Professor of Physics and Astronomy, who won the physics prize in 2002; Peter Agre, a 1974 School of Medicine graduate, former professor in the School of Medicine and now director of the Malaria Research Institute in the Bloomberg School of Public Health, who won the chemistry prize in 2003; and Carol Greider, professor and director of Molecular Biology and Genetics in the School of Medicine, who won 2009’s physiology or medicine prize. President Ronald J. Daniels, who spoke at the press conference, said that it was a proud day for Johns Hopkins. “There is no greater pleasure for a university president than to celebrate the truly stellar—an appropriate adjective for today—
will kirk / homewoodphoto.jhu.edu
Continued from page 1
Adam Riess and his wife, Nancy, with Dan Reich, chair of Physics and Astronomy, as the department honors the new Nobelist.
achievements of its very distinguished faculty,” Daniels said. “And today I’m thrilled to be able to join the Nobel committee in honoring the extraordinary accomplishments of Adam Riess.” Daniels was joined at the podium by Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute; and Katherine Newman, the James B. Knapp Dean of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. Also in attendance were Riess’ wife, Nancy; Greider; a number of Riess’ colleagues; and high-ranking university officials. They were all there because Riess decided to follow up on what he thought was a big mistake. Riess and his team had originally set out to use a special kind of exploding star, called supernova, to measure how fast the universe had been expanding in the past and to compare it to how fast it was expanding now. He likened such use of supernovae to pencil marks on the wall to indicate the height of a child over time. He anticipated finding that gravity had slowed the rate of expansion over time. Instead, Riess was startled to discover that the rate of expansion was actually speeding up. “I assumed I made some mistakes,” Riess said. “I spent a long time analyzing the results but could not find the mistake. I opened it up to the whole team to make it go away, or find out what was wrong. None of us could, and at some point, we realized that maybe this was how the universe was. We decided to write a paper about it.” Riess led the High-z Supernova Search Team’s study of highly difficult and precise measurements—across 7 billion lightyears—that resulted in the remarkable 1998 discovery that many believe has changed astrophysics forever: an accelerated expansion of the universe propelled by dark energy. These startling observations sent the team back to the idea—first proposed by Albert Einstein but later rejected as his “biggest blunder”—that the so-called vacuum of space might produce a sort of “anti-gravity” energy that could act repulsively, accelerating the expansion of the universe. During a teleconference with reporters earlier in the day, Riess said that if you think of an accelerating universe as a car speeding down the road, then dark energy could be the gas pedal. Riess posits that dark energy may account
for up to 70 percent of the universe. However, exactly what dark energy is, and how it behaves, remains among the most pressing questions in astrophysics today. “One of the most exciting things about dark energy is that it seems to live at the very nexus of two of our most successful theories of physics: quantum mechanics, which explains the physics of the small, and Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which explains the physics of the large, including gravity,” he said. “Currently, physicists have to choose between those two theories when they calculate something. Dark energy is giving us a peek into how to make those two theories operate together. Nature somehow must know how to bring these both together, and it is giving us some important clues. It’s up to us to figure out what [those clues] are saying.” The youngest child of a psychologist mother and an engineer-turned-entrepreneur father, Riess grew up in Warren, N.J. An exceptionally inquisitive boy, he was teaching an adult class in computer programming at the age of 13. Riess is a 1992 graduate of MIT, where he majored in physics and minored in history. He earned his doctorate in astrophysics from Harvard University in 1996. From 1996 to 1999, the period when the dark energy discovery was made, Riess was a Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Since then, Riess has led rigorous efforts to use the Hubble Space Telescope to increase the precision of the dark energy findings, which are important not only for comprehending the makeup of the universe but also for understanding its history and future and in unraveling other important questions in theoretical physics. He originally came to Baltimore to join the staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute—home of the science program, grant administration, planning, scheduling and public outreach activities for the Hubble Space Telescope—which is located on Johns
7
Hopkins’ Homewood campus. Riess later joined the faculty in the university’s Physics and Astronomy Department, located across the street. Riess’ accomplishments have been recognized with a number of prestigious awards. In 2008, he won a $500,000 John T. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, also known as a “genius grant.” That same year, he was among the 212 fellows elected to the 228th class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2009, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Riess praised his colleagues, past and current, for their work in making his discoveries possible. “We stand on the shoulders of giants. And nothing could be more true than in the field of astronomy,” he said. “We have to use these incredibly powerful, incredibly complicated instruments, and tremendous facilities that take decades to build, and in some cases require people to risk their lives to put new instruments on them. Some require great political will to get them done. And if we’re really lucky, people like me get to have fun in the end and learn things about the universe.” The man of the hour was able to thank colleagues and students personally at a celebration held in the afternoon in the firstfloor lobby of the Bloomberg Center. Hundreds came to congratulate Riess and revel in the milestone. Matt Mountain, one of those wearing a constant smile at the event, said that the day was a proud moment for the Space Telescope Science Institute. He said that Riess represented the rich history of collaboration between researchers there and at the Krieger School. “Of course, we are doubly proud that many of the measurements that Adam and his teams made used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope,” said Mountain, who called Riess “the bridge” between Johns Hopkins and the STScI. Newman, a “dedicated and proud teetotaler,” said that today she gladly sipped champagne to toast the university’s latest Nobel Prize winner. “As the [school’s] dean, I could not be prouder of Adam Riess and his scientific imagination, and of this whole department,” she said. “I have been wearing a groove in the hillside between my office and this building because I’m coming here so often to celebrate the prizes, awards and recognitions that you have all received.” Daniel H. Reich, chair of the Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy, jokingly told those gathered “that every so often, there were days when it was fun to be chair.” This was clearly one of those days. “We are so glad you all came here to celebrate this amazing day, this amazing achievement of Adam Riess and his colleagues,” Reich said. What followed was a thunderous roar of applause that someday might reach the outer rim of what we now know is an everexpanding universe. G
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Engineering for Professionals launches iPhone app
J
ohns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals, part of the Whiting School of Engineering, has created a free iPhone app for students, faculty and staff. The app, which also works on the iPod Touch and iPad, provides an easy way for affiliates to access the academic calendar, obtain timely information on the EP education centers and link to the EP home page. Tim Jarrett, advanced development lead for EP, said, “We realize that our students
and faculty want to be able to get important, relevant information on their smart phones, and this is our first step to connect them in a mobile environment to EP.” EP plans to add more functions, which will be launched in future versions. The app was designed by Hollis Ambrose, an EP instructor and a member of the senior professional staff at APL, and EP digital technology staff. To download the app, go to itunes.apple .com/us/app/jhu-ep/id453040186?mt=8.
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8 10,2011 2011 8 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• October August 15,
Efforts to defund, ban infant male circumcision unfounded In editorial, experts urge parents to make decisions based on medical evidence B y D av i d M a r c h
Johns Hopkins Medicine
J
ohns Hopkins infectious disease experts say that the medical benefits of male circumcision are clear, and that efforts in an increasing number of states (currently 18) to not provide Medicaid insurance coverage for male circumcision—as well as an attempted ballot initiative in San Francisco to ban male circumcision in newborns and young boys—are unwarranted. Moreover, they say that these actions ignore the last decade of medical evidence that the procedure can substantially protect men and their female partners from certain sexually transmitted infections. The Johns Hopkins experts argue that implementing policy or financial barriers to safe circumcision could potentially disadvantage people most in need of publicly financed services to improve their health. These groups include minorities and the poor, among whom sexually transmitted infection rates are often the highest. Critics of infant or childhood circumcision claim, among other things, that the procedure should not be considered until males can give legal informed consent at age 18. In an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association online Oct. 5, health epidemiologist and pathologist Aaron Tobian and health epidemiologist Ronald Gray highlight the most recent medical research showing the considerable lifelong health benefits of circumcision per-
formed during infancy, and the potential disadvantages associated with waiting until adulthood before undergoing the procedure. The experts point out that there are medical benefits during childhood, as many young men are sexually active before age 18 and are at greater risk of infection from sexually transmitted infections. Circumcision at older ages is also associated with more complications and cost than having the minimal surgery in infancy. “Our goal is to encourage all parents to make fully informed decisions on whether to circumcise their infant boys based on medical evidence and not conjecture or misinformation put out by anti-circumcision advocates,” said Tobian, an assistant professor in the Division of Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Among the research cited by Tobian and Gray, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, are multiple studies conducted within the last five years showing that in heterosexual men, circumcision reduced HIV infection risk by 60 percent, genital herpes by 30 percent and cancercausing human papillomavirus by 35 percent. Females benefit from a 40 percent or greater reduced risk of bacterial vaginosis or parasitic trichomonas spread during sex, as well as HPV infection, which causes cervical cancer. In addition, the experts say that the data clearly show that having the procedure in infancy reduces the risk of urinary tract infections, as well as inflammation in the opening or head region of the penis. Risk of infection from surgically removing the foreskin, considered a minimal and simple surgery, is low overall but even lower during infancy, at between 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent. In adults, infection and complication
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rates are higher, between 1.5 percent and 3.8 percent. In contrast to what circumcision’s opponents claim, Tobian and Gray say that research shows no reduction in sexual satisfaction or male performance. Indeed, they add, circumcised men in the trials reported no difference, or even increased penile sensitivity, during intercourse and enhanced orgasms compared to uncircumcised men. The majority of female partners also reported no change, or increased sexual satisfaction, largely because of improved hygiene. The Johns Hopkins experts argue that delaying circumcision until adulthood, when young men can legally decide for themselves, not only carries added risk of infection but also challenges the long-held rights and responsibilities of many parents to make decisions about the long-term health of their children, including vaccinating them against hepatitis B, measles, polio, whooping cough and influenza. The proposed ban or delays also counter the religious rights for parents who observe Jewish and Muslim faiths, in which infant male circumcision is a prescribed religious obligation. In the editorial, Tobian and Gray conclude that if a vaccine comparable in disease-prevention benefits to male circumcision was available, “the medical community would rally behind the immunization, and it would be promoted as a game-changing public health intervention.” They say that banning male circumcision would be “ethically questionable.” Tobian and Gray say that Medicaid and other insurers should cover male circumcision costs if parents opt for the procedure, and that leading medical groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, need to recognize the health benefits of male circumcision and do more to educate parents and physicians about them. Tobian says that more than 500 U.S. and international observational studies, and 13 studies from randomized trials, have been published in the last decade in the most influential medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and The
Lancet, reaffirming the benefits of male circumcision in preventing sexually transmitted infections. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy on male circumcision, last issued in 1999 and reaffirmed in 2005, is ambiguous with respect to medical benefits. The CDC’s policy also takes no firm position on the medical benefits of male circumcision, but that policy is expected to be updated shortly. “In light of the latest medical evidence, the medical community and government officials at all levels would do well to revisit their policies on male circumcision so as best to counsel parents on the potential health benefits to their children well into adulthood,” Gray said. Jewish and other community groups successfully challenged the San Francisco ballot initiative in court, and in July, the male circumcision ban was taken off the city’s November ballot because of a legal technicality. The most recent states to stop Medicaid funding for infant circumcision are Colorado, in June, and South Carolina, in February. States that already had funding bans in place were Louisiana, Idaho and Minnesota, all since 2005; Maine, since 2004; Montana, Utah and Florida, since 2003; and Missouri, Arizona and North Carolina, since 2002. California, North Dakota, Oregon, Mississippi, Nevada and Washington all stopped funding before 1999.
MRI
disconnected and is not part of the device’s function, an MRI would not be recommended because the tip of the wire could get very hot. Rozann Hansford, a study author and research nurse manager in Cardiology who monitors patients at Johns Hopkins during the scans, said, “We reprogram the device to a safe mode while the patient is having the MRI scan. We carefully monitor the patient’s blood pressure, electrical activity of the heart and oxygen saturation, and look for any unusual symptoms. After the test, we reprogram the device and carefully check its function.” The patients’ devices are checked again in three to six months. The researchers conclude that with a protocol based on device selection, programming and careful patient monitoring, MRI can be performed safely in many patients who have a pacemaker or a defibrillator. “With the advancing age of the population and the expanding indications for pacemakers and defibrillators,” Nazarian said, “this has become an increasingly important issue, and a lifesaving one for some patients.” He said that many of the patients with cardiac devices who have come to Johns Hopkins for an MRI scan have had tumors and other serious issues diagnosed and treated, problems that had been missed by a previous imaging test, such as a CT scan or ultrasound exam. In addition to Nazarian, Halperin and Hansford, authors on the study were Menekhem M. Zivman, Albert C. Lardo, Brian S. Caffo, Kevin D. Frick, Michael A. Kraut, Ihab R. Kamel, Hugh Calkins and Ronald D. Berger, all of Johns Hopkins; Ariel Roguin and Dorith Goldsher, of Rambam Medical Center; and David A. Bluemke, of the National Institutes of Health. G
Continued from page 1 precautions, patients with pacemakers and defibrillators can have an MRI scan with very low risk of the device malfunctioning, moving, heating or causing abnormal heart rhythms due to the magnetic and radiofrequency energy generated by the test. The devices implanted in three of the patients, 1.5 percent of those in the study, had a power-on reset event during an MRI scan, which means that the energy emitted from the scanner caused the devices to revert to default settings. This is a rare occurrence that warrants close expert monitoring during the test and is easily remedied after the test is completed. None of the three had device dysfunction during the long-term follow-up of between 15 and 66 weeks. One of those patients completed four repeated MRI examinations during the study without any problems. Henry Halperin, a Johns Hopkins cardiac electrophysiologist and biomedical engineer, began researching the issue of MRI safety with implanted devices about 15 years ago, testing a range of devices. The safety protocol he developed is now being adopted by institutions around the world. “The newer pacemakers, made after 1998, and defibrillators manufactured since 2000 come with electromagnetic interference protection,” said Halperin, who is a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the senior author of the study. In addition to checking the age of the device, the Johns Hopkins team looks at the type and configuration of the leads attached to it. If, for example, a lead is
Related websites ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’:
jama.ama-assn.org/content/current Aaron Tobian: hopkinsglobalhealth.org/ researchers/profile/5175/Tobian/ Aaron Ronald Gray:
www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/ profile/928/Gray/Ronald
October 10, 2011 • THE GAZETTE
9
Place, not race, may be larger determinant of health disparities B y N ata l i e W o o d - W r i g h t
Bloomberg School of Public Health
W
here you live could play a larger role in health disparities than originally thought, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Examining a racially integrated lowincome neighborhood in Baltimore, the researchers found that, with the exception of smoking, nationally reported disparities in hypertension, diabetes, obesity among women and use of health services disappeared or narrowed. The results are featured in the October issue of Health Affairs. “Most of the current health disparities literature fails to account for the fact that the nation is largely segregated, leaving racial groups exposed to different health
risks and with variable access to health services based on where they live,” said Thomas LaVeist, lead author of the study, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions and the William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School. “By comparing black and white Americans who are exposed to the same set of socioeconomic, social and environmental conditions, we were better equipped to discern the impact of race on health-related outcomes and have concluded [that] social factors are essentially equalized when racial disparities are minimized,” he said. To conduct their research, LaVeist and colleagues identified communities in the United States containing a population of at least 35 percent African-American and 35 percent white residents, and where the African-American and white residents O C T .
have similar income and education. Two communities in Baltimore were selected as study sites, and in-person interviews were conducted with adult residents. Blood pressure was measured in a number of participants. Researchers used data from the National Health Interview Survey to compare national and study-site data on obesity, smoking and diabetes; the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare national and study-site data on hypertension; and data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to compare the use of health services nationally and in the study area. Researchers concluded that racial differences in social environments explained a significant portion of disparities typically found in national data. “When whites are exposed to the health risks of an urban environment, their health status is compromised similarly to that of 1 0
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Calendar Continued from page 12 Mental Health Noon Seminar— “Treating Trauma Among Gender-Based Violence Survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Early Trial Results,” with Judith Bass, SPH. B14B Hampton House. EB Wed, Oct. 12, 2 p.m. “Effects of a Scaled-Up Nutrition Intervention on Breast and Complementary Feeding Practices,” an International Health thesis defense seminar with Veena Singh. W2015 SPH. EB Wed., Oct. 12, 4 p.m. “Chemical
Biology of Protein Prenylation,” a Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences seminar with Mark Distefano, University of Minnesota. West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB “Expectation and Quantile Estimation via Markov Chain Monte Carlo,” a Biostatistics seminar with James Flegal, University of California, Riverside. W2030 SPH. EB
Wed., Oct. 12, 4 p.m.
“Evaluating the Healing Power of Art and Play: An Investigation of Psychosocial Resilience in Child and Adolescent Survivors of the 2008 Sichuan, China, Earthquake,” a Health, Behavior and Society thesis defense seminar with Christine Fu. W2029 SPH. EB
Thurs., Oct. 13, 10 a.m.
The Bromery Seminar—“Hurricanes, Power Systems and Climate Change” with Seth Guikema, WSE. Sponsored by Earth and Planetary Sciences. Olin Auditorium. HW Thurs., Oct. 13, noon.
Advocacy and Action: Local, State, Regional and National Perspectives, the Health Policy and Management Fall Policy Seminar Series—This week’s guest is the new director of the Maryland Health Care Commission. The seminar includes a Q&A session and discussion. B14B Hampton House. EB
Thurs., Oct. 13, noon.
“DNA Makes RNA Makes Heterochromatin: Silencing in S. pombe,” a Cell Biology seminar with Hiten Madhani, University of California, San Francisco. Suite 2-200, 1830 Bldg. EB Thurs., Oct. 13, noon.
“A Regulatory Circuit Controlling Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Persistence,” a Molecular Microbiology and Immunology/Infectious Diseases seminar with Petros Kara kousis, SoM. W1020 SPH. EB Thurs., Oct. 13, noon.
Thurs., Oct. 13, noon. “Testing and Probabilistic Simulation of Ductile Fracture in Steel Components,” a Civil Engineering seminar with Andy Myers, Northeastern University. B17 Hackerman. HW
“Vision in Flying Fruit Flies,” a Neuroscience research seminar with Gaby Maimon, Rockefeller University. West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB Thurs., Oct. 13, 1 p.m.
Thurs.,
Oct.
13,
1:30
p.m.
“Limit Shapes Outside the Percolation Cone,” an Applied Mathematics and Statistics seminar with Michael Damron, Princeton University. 304 Whitehead. HW Thurs., Oct. 13, 3 p.m. “Vector Diffusion Maps and the Connection Laplacian,” a Mechanical Engineering seminar with Amit Singer, Princeton University. 210 Hodson. HW
“Experimental Investigation of Enzyme Evolutionary Trajectories,” a Biology seminar with Douglas Theobald, Brandeis University. 100 Mudd. HW Thurs., Oct. 13, 3 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 13, 3 p.m. “Development and Evaluation of Quantitative 90Y Bremsstrahlung SPECT Imaging Methods,” an Electrical and Computer Engineering seminar with Xing Rong, WSE. 132 Gilman. HW Thurs., Oct. 13, 4 to 6 p.m., and Fri., Oct. 14, 9 a.m. to noon. The
Futures Seminar—Public Health Studies, with panelists Alfred Sommer, dean emeritus, SPH; Rebecca Onie, co-founder and CEO, Health Leads; and Eric Ding, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Mason Hall Auditorium (Thursday) and Barber Conference Room, Charles Commons (Friday). HW Fri., Oct. 14, 11 a.m. “Aerodynamic Flow Control by Virtual Surface Modification Using Trapped Vorticity,” a CEAFM seminar with Ari Glezer, Georgia Institute of Technology. 50 Gilman. HW
“Tripartite Interaction Between the Mosquito Immune System, Gut Microbiome and the Dengue Virus,” a Molecular Microbiology and Immunology thesis defense seminar with Jose Ramirez. W2030 SPH. EB Fri., Oct. 14, 2 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 14, 4 p.m. “The Chemistry and Biology of Bisphosphonamidate Prodrugs,” a Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences thesis defense seminar with Marie Webster. 303 WBSB. EB Fri., Oct. 14, 4:30 p.m. “Probabilistic Hashing for Similarity Searching and Machine Learning on Large Datasets in High Dimensions,” a Center for Language and Speech Processing seminar with Ping Li, Cornell University. B17 Hackerman. HW Mon.,
Oct.
17,
12:15
Oct.
17,
12:15
Mon., Oct. 17, 4 p.m. “The Cauchy-Riemann Equations and L^2 Serre Duality on Complex Manifolds,” an Analysis/PDE seminar with Mei-Chi Shaw, University of Notre Dame. Sponsored by Mathematics. 300 Krieger. HW Mon., Oct. 17, 4 p.m. The David Bodian Seminar— “Quickest Detection of DrugResistant Seizures: An Optimal Control Approach” with Sridevi Sarma, WSE. Sponsored by the Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. 338 Krieger. HW
p.m.
“Measurement of Kidney Function and Methods to Characterize Its Decline: Results From CKiD and MACS,” an Epidemiology seminar with Alvaro Munoz, Chris Pierce and Derek Ng, all of SPH. W1020 SPH. EB
•
Sat., Oct. 15, 5:30 p.m.
Cory A. Booker, mayor of Newark, NJ.
Fri., Oct. 14, 1 to 4 p.m.
Fall Career Fair, sponsored by the SAIS Office of Career Services. Employer representatives will be available to discuss internships and full-time career opportunities. (Event is open to the SAIS community only.) For information and to RSVP, go to SAISWorks. Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Bldg. SAIS Sat., Oct. 15, 7 to 11 p.m.
S PECIA L E V E N T S
Mon., Oct. 10, noon. “Looking, Moving, Making: Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen,” a Homewood Art Workshops slide lecture by art historian and curator Richard Kendall. Co-sponsored by the Painting Department of the Maryland Institute College of Art. Falvey Hall, Brown Center, 1301 West Mt. Royal Ave.
lecture series, sponsored by University Museums as part of the 2011 Baltimore Architecture Month. (See story, p. 5.) Free admission but advance registration is requested. Register by phone at 410-516-5589 or email to homewoodmuseum@ jhu.edu; walk-in registration based on availability. (Receptions at 5 p.m. in Homewood Museum.) 50 Gilman. HW
‘History in the Landscape’
•
Mon., Oct. 10, 6 p.m.
•
“Gardening and Agricultural Pursuits of Maryland’s Founding Families” by landscape architect and historian Barbara Paca.
p.m.
“Embryonic Patterning Mechanisms for Constructing the Mammalian Limbic System,” a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Joshua Corbin, Children’s National Medical Center. Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW Mon.,
blacks, who more commonly live in such communities,” said Darrell Gaskin, coauthor of the study, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions and an associate professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management. “Policies aimed solely at health behavior change, biological differences among racial groups or increased access to health care are limited in their ability to close racial disparities in health,” he said. “A more effective policy approach would be to address the differing resources of neighborhoods and improve the underlying conditions of health for all.” The study was written by LaVeist, Keshia Pollack, Roland Thorpe, Ruth Fesahazion and Gaskin. The research was supported in part by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities and Pfizer.
“Privies: Necessary and Sufficient” by historian, author, professor and documentary film writer Michael Olmert, University of Maryland, College Park.
Mon., Oct. 17, 6 p.m.
2011 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium —America’s Bound-
less Possibilities: Innovate, Advance, Transform. Talks are followed by question-and-answer session and reception. Shriver Hall Auditorium. HW •
Red Cross president and CEO Gail McGovern, Hopkins alumna and trustee.
Wed., Oct. 12, 8 p.m.
Diwali Dhamaka 2011, a celebration of the Hindu Festival of Lights with performances, dancing and free Indian food. Sponsored by the JHU Hindu Students Council. For information, email to hsc@jhu.edu. O’Connor Recreation Center. HW “One Night, One Show, One Cause,” a Kimmel Cancer Center benefit featuring the Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Proceeds go to the Living With Cancer Resource Program. (See In Brief, p. 2.) $20 general admission, $60 for VIP tickets which include access to VIP Lounge and open bar. For tickets, go to www.ticketfly.com. Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Place.
Sun., Oct. 16, 7 p.m.
W OR K S H OP S MSE Library workshops ,
open to all Johns Hopkins affiliates. To register, go to www.library .jhu.edu/researchhelp/workshops .html. Electronic Resource Center, M-Level, MSE Library. HW •
Wed., Oct. 12
10:30 a.m.
Fair Use.”
“Copyright and
6 p.m. “History Detectives: The Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition.”
Thurs., Oct. 13, 1 p.m. “Creating and Grading Quizzes in Blackboard,” a Bits & Bytes workshop. The training is open to full-time Homewood faculty, lecturers and TAs; staff are also welcome to attend. Registration is strongly encouraged; go to www.cer.jhu.edu/ events.html. Sponsored by the Center for Educational Resources. Garrett Room, MSE Library. HW
10 10,2011 2011 10 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• October August 15, H U M A N
R E S O U R C E S
B U L L E T I N
Notices
Hot Jobs
Funding for Prostate Cancer Research — Funding is available to support mul-
tidisciplinary research in prostate cancer through the Patrick C. Walsh Prostate Can-
Listed below are some of the university’s newest openings for indemand jobs that we most urgently need to fill. In addition to considering these opportunities, candidates are invited to search a complete listing of openings and apply for positions online at jobs.jhu.edu.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Office of Human Resources Wyman Park Building, Suite W600 410-516-7196 Critical postings within our Homewood Division include the following; applications are being accepted for these immediate opportunities. For a detailed job description, and to apply, go to jobs.jhu.edu. 48770 49120 49513 49962
Librarian for East Asian Studies, Anthropology and Political Science, MSE Library Software Engineer, MSE Library Communications Specialist/Science Writer, Bioethics Institute Linux Administrator, Department of Computer Science
School of Medicine Office of Human Resources 98 N. Broadway, Suite 300 410-955-2990 We are looking for people with the right combination of experience, knowledge, skill and drive to join in the adventure of transformation across Johns Hopkins Medicine. Seize the opportunity to be part of the exciting field of professional fee or research billing compliance. Join the Office of Billing Quality Assurance or the Clinical Research Billing and Quality Assurance teams while we prepare for major health care initiatives, Epic and the transition to ICD-10. Work with great teams, in a professional environment that promotes continuous learning. For a detailed job description, and to apply, go to jobs.jhu.edu. 45465 49609 49455
Compliance Specialist Trainer, Office of Billing Quality Assurance Compliance Specialist Trainer, Office of Billing Quality Assurance Clinical Research Billing Compliance Specialist, Office of Clinical Research Billing and Quality Assurance
Schools of Public Health and Nursing Office of Human Resources 2021 E. Monument St. 410-955-3006 The Bloomberg School of Public Health/School of Nursing Human Resources Office is seeking skilled applicants for several exciting new openings. We are looking for individuals who have a science/public health background that includes statistical analysis skills. Come be a part of our dynamic team. For a detailed job description, and to apply, go to jobs.jhu.edu. 49529 Senior Research Data Analyst 45746 Biostatistician 49020 Health Services Research Analyst Johns Hopkins University is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria.
Woodcliffe Manor Apartments
S PA C I O U S
G A R D E N A PA RT M E N T L I V I N G I N
R O L A N D PA R K
• Large airy rooms • Hardwood Floors • Private balcony or terrace • Beautiful garden setting • Private parking available • University Parkway at West 39th St. 2 & 3 bedroom apartments located in a private park setting. Adjacent to Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus and minutes from downtown Baltimore.
410-243-1216
105 West 39th St. • Baltimore, MD 21210 Managed by The Broadview at Roland Park BroadviewApartments.com
cer Research Fund. Awards of a maximum of $75,000 per year for up to two years are available to fund career development and developmental research programs (pilot projects). New ideas are encouraged. The deadline for applications for funding is Monday, Jan. 9, 2012. For more information, go to prostatecancerprogram.onc.jhmi.edu.
Scuba diving improves function in vets with spinal cord injury By Stephanie Desmon
Homewood
B O A R D
A
small group of veterans with spinal cord injuries who underwent a four-day scuba-diving certification saw significant improvement in muscle movement, increased sensitivity to light touch and pinprick on the legs and large reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. The researchers, while calling the advances made over the course of a few days “dramatic,” caution that the results are preliminary, the study size small and the duration of the benefits unknown. Still, they say, the findings suggest that there may be a pathway for restoring neurological and psychological function in paraplegics that has been overlooked thus far. “There is no treatment for people with chronic spinal cord injury, and many believe once you’ve lost the communication between the brain and the extremities, there is nothing you can do to restore lost function,” said Adam Kaplin, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “What we saw in the water strongly suggests there is some scuba-facilitated restoration of neurological and psychological function in paraplegics. It’s very provocative.” Kaplin, who presented the findings at the Paralyzed Veterans of America conference on Sept. 17 in Orlando, Fla., emphasizes that his team cannot “establish beyond a shadow of a doubt that what we saw is reproducible or durable.” Nor could he explain how the scuba effects may have worked, though he and co-researcher Daniel Becker, head of Pediatric Restoration Therapy at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute and an assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins, say they hope to do a larger randomized study to test their hypotheses. The idea for the study came from Cody Unser, the progeny of car-racing royalty. Unser, now 24, suffered an acute attack of transverse myelitis—a neurologic syndrome caused by inflammation of the spinal cord—that, more than a decade ago, left her paralyzed from the chest down. Unser told Kaplin that she had regained some feeling in her legs when she went scuba diving. Kaplin says he was skeptical at first, but Unser brought him to a scuba training session in Pennsylvania to talk to other wheelchairdependent people who told him the same thing. He was intrigued. The Cody Unser First Step Foundation, which is involved in education and research about disability in general and transverse myelitis specifically, offered to sponsor a pilot study to see if there was any credibility to the anecdotal evidence of the paralyzed divers. Kaplin and Becker collected their data in the Cayman Islands in May during a scuba certification trip for disabled veterans sponsored by Unser’s foundation. There were 10 wheelchair-dependent participants who had suffered a spinal cord injury an average of 15 years earlier and nine healthy “dive buddy” control subjects. Before the dives, Kaplin and Becker conducted a series of neurological and psychological tests on all 19 subjects. They measured muscle spasticity, motor control and sensitivity to pinprick and light touch,
as well as symptoms found in depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hostility and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Then the participants underwent scuba certification, which included a series of nine dives over the course of four days. Eight of the 10 paraplegics ultimately completed the dives. At the end, all 19 participants were reassessed. “We saw dramatic changes in a matter of days in a number of people with spinal cord injury who went scuba diving,” Becker said. “This is just a pilot study, but to see such a restoration of neurological function and significant improvement in PTSD symptoms over such a short period of time was unprecedented.” The researchers saw an average 15 percent reduction in muscle spasticity in the disabled veterans who went diving, and an average 10 percent increase in sensitivity to light touch and 5 percent to pinprick. In some individuals, the improvement in tone, sensation or motor function was between 20 and 30 percent. The healthy controls experienced no neurologic changes. Using a validated psychological assessment, the researchers also found an average decrease of 15 percent in obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in the disabled divers, a similar decrease in signs of depression and an overall decrease in mental problems. Kaplin concedes that those improvements may have been influenced by the fact that the subjects were taken on a Caribbean vacation and got to go diving on a beautiful reef. But the most striking psychological impact was seen in PTSD symptoms, which decreased, on average, by 80 percent in the veterans who went diving. Escaping to a tranquil beach setting, Kaplin says, wouldn’t be enough to account for such an apparent escape from PTSD symptoms. “They were challenged with something that made them anxious, and they mastered it,” Kaplin said, adding that the regulated breathing needed to make the body buoyant and to control movement in the water may have also helped relax the veterans and make them better able to control their symptoms. The researchers say that they don’t really know how to explain the effect scuba diving may be having on the bodies of those with spinal cord injuries. Kaplin says it is possible that weightlessness in the water may have played a role in the improvements found in the paraplegic veterans. Deep in the water, divers are buoyant and don’t have to fight gravity, while the water allows for a kind of global resistance training they can’t experience on land. They also can better fill their lungs in the water because their breathing isn’t hindered by sitting in a wheelchair. It is also possible that increased oxygenation of tissues from the pressurized air may have resulted in the improved muscle tone, strength and sensitivity the researchers identified. The researchers would like to do a followup study that would compare results after scuba, snorkeling and time spent in a hyperbaric chamber simulating underwater dives. These may be able to tease out what role may be played by exercise and what role may be played by air pressure. “Is there something healing happening under there?” Becker asked. “There’s a signal, but only by repeating these results and showing significant improvements can we establish that. It’s too early to know for sure.”
October 10, 2011 • THE GAZETTE
11
M A R K E T P L A C E
Classifieds APARTMENTS/HOUSES FOR RENT
Butchers Hill/Patterson Park, single-family TH, 1BR + office, hdwd flrs, all appls, W/D, patio. $875/mo + utils. 410-988-3137 or richardson1886@gmail.com. Catonsville, medical office in multi-physician bldg, 1,000 sq ft, 2nd flr view of forest, opposite Charlestown Retirement Center. $1,700/mo + utils. 410-321-8889. Charles Village North, 1BR apt in owneroccupied bldg nr Homewood campus, avail Dec. $825/mo. 410-917-2443. Cross Keys Village, 3BR, 2.5BA TH, access to swimming pools and tennis courts, avail Nov 1. $2,300/mo. maison.my@gmail.com. Deep Creek Lake/Wisp, cozy 2BR cabin w/ full kitchen, call for wkly/wknd rentals. 410638-9417 or jzpics@yahoo.com (for pics). Mt Vernon, 1BR apt in historic mansion on St Paul St, hdwd flrs, east-facing windows, window AC, lg closet, 1 blk to laundry, Charm City Circulator stop on blk, on JHU shuttle line, quiet neighbors. $899/mo. 919302-3910. Mt Washington, 3BR, 2.5BA condo, dw, W/D, CAC, lg balcony, garage prkng, lg swimming pool and tennis court, nr I-83/ light rail, avail Nov 1. $1,400/mo + utils. 443-220-2138 or hLhuang@gmail.com. Owings Mills, 2BR, 2BA condo, W/D, walk-in closets, storage, prkng, swimming pool/tennis court privileges, backs to woods, conv to metro, walk to grocery, sm pets negotiable ($250 nonrefundable deposit), 1-yr lease. $1,250/mo. 410-336-7952 or ljohnsto@mail.roanoke.edu. Patterson Park, EOG rehab, 2BRs w/walkin closets, 2.5BAs, stainless steel appls, granite counters, home theater, fp, prkng pad. $1,850/mo + utils. 410-900-8803 or flightrnsteve@msn.com. Perry Hall, condo in elevator bldg, 3 lg BRs, 2 full BAs, new W/D, balcony, no pets/ no smokers, refs req’d, great location, easy access to I-95/restaurants. $1,300/mo + sec dep (1 mo) + utils. 410-256-8563. 2BR, 2BA condo, walking distance to JHU/ Hopkins shuttle, AC, gym, W/D in apt, swimming pool, prkng space. $1,900/mo incl all utils (elec, water, heat). 410-662-1169.
Gardenville, 3BR, 1.25BA RH in quiet neighborhood, new kitchen and BA, CAC, hdwd flrs, club bsmt w/cedar closet, fenced maintenance-free yd w/carport, 15 mins to JHH. $130,000. 443-610-0236 or tziporachai@juno.com. Guilford, fully renov’d 3BR, 3BA architectdesigned condo, 2,900 sq ft (incl huge terrace), gourmet kitchen, living rm, dining rm, family rm, at JHU shuttle stop, 5-min walk to Homewood campus, 2 prkng spaces. 410-366-8507 or jz1234@earthlink.net. Guilford, 1BR, 1BA condo, 2 blks to Homewood campus and shuttle stop, move-in ready. $155,000. 410-206-9632 or mmollazadeh@gmail.com. Owings Mills New Town, 2BR condo, nr metro, ready for immediate sale. www.4409silverbrook.info. Rosedale, 4BR house, 2 full BAs, all appls, lovely new kitchen, move-in cond at an affordable price. 410-499-2139.
ROOMMATES WANTED
Nonsmoker wanted for furn’d 700 sq ft BR in 3BR house in Cedonia owned by young F prof’l, bright and spacious, modern kitchen w/convection oven, walk-in closet, landscaped yd, lg deck, free prkng, public transportation to JHU, wireless Internet incl’d. $550/mo + utils. 410-493-2435 or aprede1@ yahoo.com. Sublet: F wanted for lg BR in 2BR, 1BA apt in Charles Village, avail Oct 6 to Nov 14, fully furn’d, all basic amenities, queen bed in rm, closet, ceiling fan, W/D in unit, safe location, nr shuttle stops, walk to MTA bus stop. $800 (for month and a half) incl all utils and Internet. 443-928-7783. Share all new refurbished TH w/medical students, 4BRs, 2 full BAs, CAC, W/D, dw, w/w crpt, 1-min walk to JHMI, 924 N Broadway. gretrieval@aol.com. Share 3BR house, 10 mins to E Baltimore campus in the Belair-Edison community. $550/mo. Darrick, 443-226-6497. F prof’l/grad student wanted to share 2BR, 1BA apt in Linthicum w/married prof’l. $575/mo incl utils. 302-724-0044.
CARS FOR SALE HOUSES FOR SALE
’03 Honda Civic Ex, gold, automatic, in very good cond, 119K mi. $6,200. 410-688-6547.
Edgemere, MD, 5BR waterfront house on 0.8 acre, dead-end road, no water problems, move-in ready. $699,000. 49nurse@ comcast.net.
’89 Chevy 3/4 or 1 ton pickup truck, 4x4, rebuilt motor, new tires. $1,600. John, 410419-3902.
Fells Point (300 blk S Durham St), just renov’d 3-story RH, big yd, 3 blks to JHH. $175,000. Dorothy, 410-889-5338.
’03 Cadillac Deville, V-8, black exterior and interior, gold emblems, 130K mi. $5,700/ best offer. 443-942-0857.
HFR -1 blk north of Patterson Park on Linwood Ave, close to Canton! 2-story, 2-BD, 1.5BA, roof deck, w/d $1300 per mo. + util., credit report req., no smokers, cats, small dogs, ok! Call Mark 443-285-9292 mthayer@demariodesign.us
’04 Mini Cooper, automatic, red w/white top, heated seats, CD player, 4 new tires, orig owner, 52K mi, in excel cond. $11,200. minicooper2004forsale@gmail.com.
ITEMS FOR SALE
iMac, 21.5" screen, 3.06/2x2GB/500GB/ 9400M-USA, Snow Leopard OS, keyboard, magic mouse, like new, in orig box, excel HICKORY HEIGHTS WYMAN COURT cond. $750. 443-765-8051. Just Renovated! A lovely hilltop setting
Beech Ave. adj. to JHU!
Studios - $595 - $630 1 BD Apts. - $710-740 2 BD from $795
on Hickory Avenue in Hampden!
2 BD units from $760 w/Balcony - $790!
Shown by appointment 410.764.7776 www.BrooksManagementCompany.com
Whirlpool 30" gas stove, white, $400; Whirlpool 1.6 cu ft over-the-counter microwave, white, $175; both 2 yrs old, seldom used, in excel cond. 410-599-3981 or dpbp2719@ yahoo.com (for pics).
17' Coleman canoe, red, 3 paddles, 1 seatback, 4 aluminum rain gutter mount yokes (uses two 2x4 cross beams). $215. drabold@ gmail.com. Wood convertible crib/bed, in good cond, from 1 to 5 yrs old. Paulina, pblarrain@ yahoo.com (for pics). Otto Benjamin violin 4/4, in excel cond. $900/best offer. jessicaswitzman@verizon.net. Red Cross pins from Europe, 15 different. $28. 443-517-9029 or rgpinman@aol.com. Copy of A Practical Guide to Food and Drug Law and Regulation, 3rd edition, by Kenneth R Pina and Wayne L Pines, mint cond. $169. 410-710-8485 or lindaxu66@yahoo.com. Dell Latitude E6400, in great cond, Windows freshly installed w/latest drivers and software from the Dell website. $350. matthewaubralewis@gmail.com.
PhD candidate seeks housesitting opportunity in Charles Village/Hampden area, Jan 8–27, 2012. Julia, 812-334-7938. Poli Sci grad student looking for help w/ data entry and data review for research. $12–$15/hr. 202-277-0885. Looking for someone who knows Illustrator and ImageJ; would like to learn how to make beautiful figures and analyze images; will compensate you for your time/expertise. andrea.j.radtke@gmail.com. Clarinet and piano lessons offered by Peabody master’s student. 240-994-6489 or hughsonjennifer@gmail.com. Medical transcription offered, for seminars, research, clinical studies, interviews, office notes, etc, prof’l, experienced, individualized service. 410-653-3244 or nwmedgd@ aol.com.
Women’s vintage leather coats, tweed suit, wool blazers, all like new and cheap, can send photos. wreisig4@comcast.net.
F French teacher wanted for high school student to practice conversation and reading comprehension, 1 hr per wk on Saturday. tLwang21212@yahoo.com.
Rare Mathushek spinet, 1930s model, not only a superb piano, a beautiful piece of furniture. $500. 410-206-6450.
Certified nursing asst avail, 17 yrs’ experience w/seniors and nanny care. Linda, 443467-2833.
Baby crib w/mattress and pad cover, in excel cond. $75. 410-633-2064.
Tai chi: Beginner’s classes starting in Charles Village and Towson. 410-296-4944 or www .baltimoretaichi.com.
Exterior French doors, music cassette tapes, fitness chair, 21" TV, 35mm cameras, silk flowers and vase, Asian decor pillows, office file units, men’s travel bag, dining rm set, full-length silver fox coat, BlackBerry Bold accessories, other misc items. 443-824-2198 or saleschick2011@hotmail.com. Oak entertainment center, $500; 1967 Wurlitzer Americana jukebox w/100+ 45 records; baby swing, like new, $55; Fender acoustic guitar, $200; best offers accepted. Chris, 443-326-7717. Fisher-Price Smart Cycle Racer, physical learning system, like new, used twice, 2 game cartridges incl’d. $65. 443-803-7401. Conn alto saxophone, in excel cond. 410488-1886. Inversion therapy table by Teeter Hang Up. $200. Marie, 410-825-8349. Samick 6' 1" inch grand piano, professionally maintained. 410-444-1273 or http:// baltimore.craigslist.org/msg/2544736267. html (for photos and complete appraisal). Sand beach chairs (2), inkjet printer, oilfilled heaters (3) and baseboard heaters (2), portable canvas chair, keyboard case, 100W amplifier. 410-455-5858 or iricse.its@ verizon.net. Antique art deco furniture: 2 loveseats in eggplant velvet, $1,000/pair; 7-pc dining set (table, chairs, buffet, cabinet) in gold oak w/red trim, $1,000. Chris, cgarvan@ verizon.net.
Personal shopper/stylist, will shop for you or with you, can do gift buying or even accompany your teen. 404-200-5009 or tr@ fashionrehabbersinc.com. Clean up for winter, pet-friendly and reliable cleaning service, one time or wkly service, special rates. 443-528-3637. Spanish spkr wanted, meet w/couple to practice conversation, can meet nr JHU campus, flexible times, once a wk, fee to be discussed. 410-916-4126 or stan@pcarchiver.com. Tutor for all subjects/levels; remedial and gifted; also help w/college counseling, speech and essay writing, editing, proofreading. 410-337-9877 (after 8pm) or i1__@ hotmail.com. Affordable and professional landscaper/certified horticulturist available to maintain existing gardens, also designing, planting or masonry; free consultations. David, 410683-7373 or grogan.family@hotmail.com. Licensed landscaper avail for lawn maintenance, yd cleanup; other services incl trash hauling, fall/winter leaf or snow removal. Taylor Landscaping LLC. 410-812-6090 or romilacapers@comcast.net. Letters written by exp’d writer, all types, first-come free in exchange for references for start-up company. emceea@gmail.com. Piano lessons by Peabody graduate, 50% off this month for private lessons. 425-8901327 or qinyingtan@gmail.com.
SERVICES/ITEMS OFFERED OR WANTED
Computer data recovery, website, administrative services provided by Jolene Patey. 410-746-8345 or jpatey@jolenepatey.com.
Looking for babysitter for 6-yr-old boy, 2-3 times a wk and some wknd nights, pick up from school twice a wk, Charles Village area. 443-682-5786.
Friday Night Swing Dance Club, open to public, great bands, no partners necessary. 410-663-0010 or www.fridaynightswing .com.
PLACING ADS Classified listings are a free service for current, full-time Hopkins faculty, staff and students only. Ads should adhere to these general guidelines: • One ad per person per week. A new request must be submitted for each issue. • Ads are limited to 20 words, including phone, fax and e-mail.
• We cannot use Johns Hopkins business phone numbers or e-mail addresses. • Submissions will be condensed at the editor’s discretion. • Deadline is at noon Monday, one week prior to the edition in which the ad is to be run. • Real estate listings may be offered only by a Hopkins-affiliated seller not by Realtors or Agents.
(Boxed ads in this section are paid advertisements.) Classified ads may be faxed to 443-287-9920; e-mailed in the body of a message (no attachments) to gazads@jhu.edu; or mailed to Gazette Classifieds, Suite 540, 901 S. Bond St., Baltimore, MD 21231. To purchase a boxed display ad, contact the Gazelle Group at 410-343-3362.
12 THE GAZETTE • October 10, 2011 O C T .
1 0
–
1 7
Calendar
by Peter Pronovost, SoM. 50 Gilman. •
CO L L O Q UIA
The Ludlow Hopkins Baldwin Lecture— “Borrowed Gods? The Reception and Translation of Greek Myth in Archaic Cyprus” by Derek Counts, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Sponsored by History of Art. 50 Gilman. HW
Wed., Oct. 12, 5 to 7 p.m. “‘Lo Here I Burn’: Musical Figurations and Fantasies of Male Desire in Early Modern England,” a Peabody DMA Musicology colloquium with Linda Austern, Northwestern University. Cohen-Davison Family Theatre. Peabody Oct.
13,
3
The 21st Annual Larry L. Ewing Lecture— “Epigenetic Regulation of Genetic Integrity in Germ Cells and Stem Cells” by John McCarrey, San Antonio Institute for Cellular and Molecular Primatology/University of Texas, San Antonio. Sponsored by Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. W1214 SPH. EB
Mon., Oct. 17, 4 p.m.
p.m.
VANESSA BRICENO-SCHERZER
“Extreme Exoplanets,” a Physics and Astronomy colloquium with various speakers. Schafler Auditorium, Bloomberg Center. HW “After Reinventing the Biological Laboratory in the Atomic Age: The International Phytotron Movement,” a History of Science, Medicine and Technology colloquium with Sharon Kingsland, KSAS. 300 Gilman. HW
Thurs., Oct. 13, 3 p.m.
“100 Years of Naval Aviation,” an Applied Physics Laboratory colloquium with Vice Admiral Walter Massenberg, U.S. Navy (retired). Parsons Auditorium. APL Fri., Oct. 14, 3:30 p.m.
D I S CU S S IO N S / TALKS
“The State of the Brazilian Economy After Dilma’s First Year,” a SAIS Latin American Studies Program discussion with Rogerio Studart, World Bank. To RSVP, call 202663-5734 or email jzurek1@jhu .edu. 517 Nitze Bldg. SAIS Wed., Oct. 12, 12:45 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 12, 5 p.m. “Deng’s Strategy in Handling Domestic Politics,” a SAIS China Studies Program discussion with Ezra Vogel, Harvard University. To RSVP, call 202-663-5816 or email zji@jhu.edu. Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Bldg. SAIS Mon.,
Oct.
17,
12:30
p.m.
“Peace Talks,” a SAIS African Studies Program discussion with Marguerite Barankitse, Burundian humanitarian and founder of Maison Shalom. For information, call 202-663-5676 or email itolber1@ jhu.edu. 736 Bernstein-Offit Bldg. SAIS Mon.,
Oct.
17,
12:30
p.m.
“Science During Crisis: Lessons Learned From the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” a SAIS Energy, Resources and Environment Program discussion with Gary Machlis, U.S. Department of the Interior, and science adviser to the director of the National Park Service. To RSVP, call 202-663-5768 or email eregloballeadersforum@ jhu.edu. 500 Bernstein-Offit Bldg. SAIS
Tues.,
It’s classics on the wild side, with crossover music by ‘newgrass’ string trio Time for Three kicking off Evergreen Museum & Library’s 2011–2012 ‘Music at Evergreen’ concert series. Described as ‘the most creative, energetic, exciting and engaging trio since Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer,’ this groundbreaking Philadelphia-based ensemble transcends traditional classification, blending bluegrass-style fiddling, jazzy bass lines and hip-hop riffs in works ranging from Brahms to the Beatles to its own signature compositions. Risk of a sellout is high, and advance tickets are recommended. See Music.
winning documentary Inside Job. Sponsored by the SAIS Finance Career Club. (Event open to the SAIS community only.) To RSVP, email adamweinberg21@gmail.com. 417 Nitze Bldg. SAIS Screening of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, sponsored by East Asian Studies. 113 Greenhouse. HW Thurs., Oct. 13, 7 p.m.
FORU M S Fri., Oct. 14, 2 to 4 p.m. “The Seventh Billion Human: What Does This Birth Mean?” a Hopkins Population Center forum with Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Population Fund; David Lam, University of Michigan; Hania Zlotnik, United Nations; and Brian O’Neill, National Center for Atmospheric Research. Cosponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health. W1214 SPH. EB
I N FOR M A T IO N S E S S IO N S Wed., Oct. 12, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Information session for prospective students of the Carey Business School’s graduate programs. 100 International Drive, Harbor East. Wed., Oct. 12, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
FI L M / V I D EO Oct.
11,
6:30
p.m.
Screening of the Academy Award–
Cory A. Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J. Also being presented as part of the 2011 MSE Symposium. (See Special Events.) Shriver Hall Auditorium.
Fri., Oct. 14, 5 p.m.
“Type Ia Supernovae: What Are They?” an STSci colloquium with Mario Livio, STSci. Bahcall Auditorium, Muller Bldg. HW Wed., Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m.
Thurs.,
Sat., Oct. 15, 5:30 p.m.
Online information session for the Master’s in Biotechnology Enterprise and Entrepreneurship degree program, offering a chance to learn about the pro-
gram’s admission requirements, curriculum design, course structure, degree requirements and how online education works; participate in an online discussion and chat about the program with faculty and the program director. RSVP online at http:// biotechnology.jhu.edu/rsvp/aap .html?ContentID=3295. Thurs., Oct. 13, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Online information ses-
sion for the Master of Science in Biotechnology degree program, offering a chance to learn about the program’s admission requirements, curriculum design, course structure, degree requirements and how online education works; participate in an online discussion and chat about the program with faculty. RSVP online at http:// biotechnology.jhu.edu/rsvp/aap .html?ContentID=3289. L EC T URE S Mon., Oct. 10, 5:15 p.m. “Half a Millennium of Machiavelli,” a German and Romance Languages and Literatures lecture by Angela Capodivacca, Yale University. 479 Gilman. HW The Provost’s Lecture Series,
co-sponsored by Biology, Conversations in Medicine, Homewood Student Affairs and the Office of Preprofessional Advising. (See In Brief, p. 2.) HW •
Thurs., Oct. 13, 4:30 p.m.
“Solving Problems as well as Puzzles: The Importance of Health Delivery Research”
M U S IC
The Peabody Wind Ensemble performs music by Adams, Persichetti, Holst, Glinka and Barnes. $15 general admission, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students with ID. Friedberg Hall. Peabody
Fri., Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 15, 3 p.m. Music at Evergreen presents string trio Time for Three. (See photo, this page.) Sponsored by University Museums. $20 general admission, $15 for Evergreen members, $10 for full-time students with ID. Limited space; advance tickets are recommended. Tickets include admission to the museum guided tour and a post-concert tea reception with the musicians. Purchase tickets online at www.museums.jhu .edu or call 410-516-0341. Evergreen Museum & Library.
Peter Lee and Friends, Charm City Baroque and the Peabody Consort perform. Sponsored by the Peabody chapter of the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association. Griswold Hall. Peabody
Sat., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Peabody Improvisation and Multimedia Ensemble perform. $15 general admission, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students with ID. East Hall. Peabody
Sun., Oct. 16, 3 p.m.
OPE N H OU S E S Mon., Oct. 10, 1 to 5 p.m.
Fall Open House for the Bloomberg School of Public Health, an opportunity for prospective students to tour the campus and meet faculty, department coordinators and current students. Registration is closed. Sponsored by Student Affairs. E2014 SPH. EB REA D I N G S / B OO K T A L K S
China Studies Workshop Scholar David Strand of Dickinson College will discuss his book, An Unfinished Republic: Leading by Word and Deed in Modern China. Sponsored by East Asian Studies. 113 Greenhouse. HW
Mon., Oct. 17, 4 p.m.
S E M I N AR S
“Protein Microarray–Based Approaches to Discovering Novel Signaling Pathways Contributing to Cancer and Viral Pathogenesis,” a Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences thesis defense seminar with Crystal Woodard. 303 WBSB. EB
Mon., Oct. 10, 4 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 10, 4 p.m. “The Energy-Critical Defocusing NLS in Periodic Settings,” an Analysis/PDE seminar with Alexandru Ionescu, Princeton University. Sponsored by Mathematics. 300 Krieger. HW
“Rhomboid Proteolysis: Why Inside the Membrane?” a Biological Chemistry seminar with Sin Urban, SoM. 612 Physiology. EB
Tues., Oct. 11, noon.
Tues.,
Oct.
11,
12:10
p.m.
“EMS and Trauma Care for Children,” a Graduate Seminar in Injury Research and Policy with Steve Bowman, SPH. Cosponsored by Health Policy and Management and the Center for Injury Research and Policy. 250 Hampton House. EB “Special Subvarieties of Prym Varieties,” an Algebraic Geometry/Number Theory seminar with Maxim Arap, KSAS. 300 Krieger. HW
Tues., Oct. 11, 4:30 p.m.
M. Gordon Wolman Seminar—“Identity and Status: How the Volatile Molecules From Bacteria Tell Us Who They Are, How Many There Are and What They Are Doing” with Jane Hill, University of Vermont. Sponsored by DOGEE. 234 Ames. HW
Tues., Oct. 11, 3 p.m.
“A Classification of Taylor Towers,” a Topology seminar with Michael Ching, Amherst College. Sponsored by Mathematics. 308 Krieger. HW
Tues., Oct. 11, 4:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 12, 8:30 a.m. “Some Cautionary Notes on Adaptive Designs,” a Center for Clinical Trials seminar with Janet Wittes, president, Statistics Collaborative Inc. W2030 SPH. EB Wed.,
Oct.
12,
10:45
a.m.
“Understanding Factors That Influence the Practice of Safety Strategies by Victims of Intimate Partner Violence,” a Population, Family and Reproductive Health thesis defense seminar with Susan Ghanbarpour. E4611 SPH. EB Wed., Oct. 12, noon. “Potassium Channels Find Their Way in Membrane Traffic,” a Physiology seminar with Paul Welling, University of Maryland School of Medicine. 203 Physiology. EB Wed.,
Oct.
12,
12:15
p.m.
Continued on page 9
(Events are free and Calendar open to the public Key except where indicated.) APL EB HW KSAS
Applied Physics Laboratory East Baltimore Homewood Krieger School of Arts and Sciences NEB New Engineering Building SAIS School of Advanced International Studies SoM School of Medicine SoN School of Nursing SPH School of Public Health WBSB Wood Basic Science Building WSE Whiting School of Engineering