o ur 4 1 ST ye ar
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Canada to Shriver Hall, page 12
Business School lecture, page 7
January 23, 2012 E A S T
The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University
B A L T I M O R E
Volume 41 No. 19
N U R S I N G
Enhancing the golden years
Creativity fuels ideas for cancer cures B y V a n e ssa W as t a
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Continued on page 7
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will kirk / homewoodphoto.jhu.edu
H
istoric Hurd Hall on Johns Hopkins’ East Baltimore campus was filled to capacity on Jan. 13 with students, faculty and staff waiting to hear five scientists—all in the early part of their careers—describe their novel ideas on how Winners to cure metastatic cancer. The five announced were finalists, chosen from among in ‘Olympics’ 44 entrants, in a competition on of research creative thinking named for John competitions Rangos Sr., chairman of the Rangos Family Foundation, who funded the awards. Each scientist had 10 minutes to present his or her idea and answer questions from a panel of faculty judges, who would select the winners based on the novelty and scientific merit of their ideas, as well as the feasibility of future clinical applications of their proposals. Donald Coffey, whose theory on killing cancer by weakening its DNA scaffolding continues to spur innovative research, opened the event, describing it as the “Olympics” of research competitions at Johns Hopkins. The finalists were awarded the John G. Rangos Medal of Honor in Creative Thinking, and the top three received cash prizes: $20,000 for top-place winner Andrew Sharabi, $5,000 for secondplace winner Cheng Ran “Lisa” Huang and $1,000 for third-place winner Diane Heiser. This is the first year of the program, which has the goal of encouraging young people to look at the problem of metastatic cancer, propose new research strategies and be given a chance to pursue their proposals. “Every family knows someone who has suffered from cancer. Some forms of the disease, such as testicular cancer, are curable even after they have spread, but most are not,” Rangos said earlier. “This competition has solicited ideas from the
Laura N. Gitlin, a sociologist and social psychologist, directs the new Center for Innovative Care in Aging at the School of Nursing. At the white board are the SoN’s Marie Nolan and Sarah Szanton, two of the center’s eight inaugural faculty.
Interprofessional center to focus on innovative care in aging By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette
T
he aging of America is undeniable. Nearly 10,000 people turn 65 every day, with the total number of senior citizens to soon pass the 40 million mark. The number will climb only higher, as people reaching age 65 have an average life expectancy of an additional 18.6 years, according to the Administration on Aging,
P U B L I C
and those ages 55 to 64 are projected to be the fastest-growing segment of the adult population during the next decade. The impact on the health care system will be profound. “We’re facing an unprecedented demographic shift,” said Sarah L. SzanContinued on page 3
H E A L T H
Safe Streets Baltimore is reducing gun violence By Alicia Samuels
Bloomberg School of Public Health
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public health initiative launched in four historically violent neighborhoods in Baltimore City effectively reduced gun violence in three of those neighborhoods, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is slated for publication in a future
In Brief
Lacrosse tix; Biomarker Discovery Center chosen for consortium; special-ed resources
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edition of the Journal of Urban Health. The authors have received permission from the journal to release the findings in advance of publication. Safe Streets Baltimore was launched by the Baltimore City Health Department in 2007 as a replication of Chicago’s CeaseFire program. The evidence-based public health initiative targets high-risk youth ages 14 to 25 and employs and trains outreach professionals to de-escalate and mediate disputes that might otherwise result in serious vio-
C A L E N D AR
Woodwinds and live electronics; Blackboard 9.1; Nobelist Adam Riess at APL
lence. Staff serve as positive role models and direct youth toward services and opportunities to live productive, violence-free lives. In addition, staff work to mobilize neighborhoods to promote nonviolence. From July 2007 through December 2010, outreach staff mediated 276 disputes, ranging from one to four mediations per month in each of the four neighborhoods where the program was implemented. The vast Continued on page 5
10 Job Opportunities 10 Notices 11 Classifieds
2 23, 2011 2012 2 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• January August 15,
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Nobel laureate Adam Riess to give Provost’s Lecture at APL
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obel laureate Adam Riess, a professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins and a staff member of the Space Telescope Science Institute, is the next speaker in the Provost’s Lecture Series, which takes place this week at APL. Riess will discuss “Dark Energy and the Cosmic Expansion History” and review a number of recent experiments, including improvements in the determination of the Hubble constant using a new infrared array on the Hubble Space Telescope and a threeyear search for the most distant exploding stars, perhaps among the very first supernovae in the universe. His talk begins at 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, in the Kossiakoff Center Auditorium. A Q&A session and reception will follow. Those planning to attend should RSVP to ProvostRSVP@jhu.edu.
Men’s lacrosse tickets for faculty, staff available Feb. 1
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ickets for the Blue Jays 2012 men’s lacrosse season will be available beginning Wednesday, Feb. 1. To receive two complimentary season tickets, faculty and staff members should bring a valid university ID to the main office in Homewood’s Athletic Center between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and until 7 p.m. on Feb. 7, 9, 13 and 15. All faculty/staff members are responsible for picking up their own tickets, meaning only one set of tickets will be given out per person. All full-time students are admitted free and must present a valid university ID to pick up their ticket prior to each game. Tickets will be available beginning the Monday before each home game in the Athletic Center main office, or on game day in the Athletic Center lobby starting an hour and a half before face-off. Gates to Homewood Field will open 90 minutes before face-off. For a game schedule, go to www .hopkinssports.com.
New Maryland Learning Links offers special-ed resources
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aryland families and educators seeking early intervention services and special education information now have a user-friendly resource at their fingertips with a new website created through a partnership of the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services and the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Center for Technology in Education. MarylandLearningLinks .org provides information about the Indi-
Editor Lois Perschetz Writer Greg Rienzi Production Lynna Bright Copy Editor Ann Stiller P h o t o g r ap h y Homewood Photography
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vidualized Family Services Plan and Individualized Education Program processes, family involvement and other topics and trends related to special education. The site features a number of interactive tools, blogs and newsletters aimed at administrators, teachers, service providers and parents. Developed through Maryland’s State Improvement Grant, the website offers helpful information for families and educators working with children with disabilities, from birth through age 21, and provides the benefit of an online community. Parents and educators can join, participate and share in an ongoing conversation, all designed to strengthen student learning. “We’re proud that our partnership with MSDE’s Division of Special Education and Early Intervention has produced a premier destination for educational resources,” said Jackie Nunn, director of the Center for Technology in Education. “From its content to design, Maryland Learning Links serves as the bridge between research and practice, linking general and special educators, parents and professionals. We look forward to teachers from across the state sharing their resources and advice and for parents to connect with professionals to better understand and inform the process and practice of educating their children.” Bernard Sadusky, interim state superintendent of schools, said, “We know that students thrive when their support system is equipped with the best information. MarylandLearningLinks.org provides users with critical ideas and resources, all free of charge and available just a click away.”
Biomarker Discovery Center to participate in new consortium
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he National Cancer Institute has chosen Johns Hopkins’ Biomarker Discovery Center as one of the research entities to participate in a new multimillion dollar Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium that will undertake a coordinated effort to develop a catalog of proteins created by cancer cells. This information, which will be made available to other researchers, could be used to develop new ways to detect cancer and treat it. Daniel Chan, professor of pathology, oncology, radiology and urology in the School of Medicine and director of the Biomarker Discovery Center, says that Johns Hopkins’ 10-member research team will focus on ovarian cancer, and that he expects to receive $2 million annually from the NCI for the next five years. In addition to Johns Hopkins, the research consortium includes the Broad Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Washington University, the University of North Carolina and Boise State University.
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 443275-2687 or gazellegrp@comcast.net.
January 23, 2012 • THE GAZETTE
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When it comes to heart health, how much is too much vitamin D?
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ew research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests that vitamin D, long known to be important for bone health and in recent years also for heart protection, may stop conferring cardiovascular benefits and could actually cause harm as levels of the vitamin in the blood rise above the low end of what is considered normal. Study leader Muhammad Amer, an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says his findings show that increasing levels of vitamin D in the blood are linked with lower levels of a popular marker for cardiovascular inflammation: c-reactive protein, also known as CRP. Amer and his colleague Rehan Qayyum examined data from more than 15,000 adult participants in the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative sample, from
2001 and 2006. They found an inverse relationship between vitamin D and CRP in adults without cardiovascular symptoms but with relatively low vitamin D levels. Healthier, lower levels of inflammation were found in people with normal or close to normal vitamin D levels. But beyond blood levels of 21 nanograms per milliliter of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D—considered the low end of the normal range for vitamin D—any additional increase in vitamin D was associated with an increase in CRP, a factor linked to stiffening of the blood vessels and an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. “The inflammation that was curtailed by vitamin D does not appear to be curtailed at higher levels of vitamin D,” said Amer, whose newest finding appears in the Jan. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. “Clearly vitamin D is important for your heart health, especially if you have low blood levels of vitamin D. It reduces cardio-
vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, and may reduce mortality. But it appears that at some point it can be too much of a good thing.” Amer says that consumers should exercise caution before taking supplements, and physicians should know the potential risks. Each 100 international units of vitamin D ingested daily produces about a one nanogram per milliliter increase in 25-Hydroxyvitamin D levels in the blood. “People taking vitamin D supplements need to be sure the supplements are necessary,” Amer said. “Those pills could have unforeseen consequences to health even if they are not technically toxic.” Amer and Qayyum, also an assistant professor in General Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins, say the biological and molecular mechanisms that account for the loss of cardiovascular benefits are unclear. Vitamin D is found in very few foods, though com-
mercially sold milk is usually fortified with it. It is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because its primary source is the sun. As people spend more and more time indoors and slather their bodies with sunscreen, concern is rising that many are vitamin D–deficient, Amer notes. As a result, Amer says, many doctors prescribe vitamin D supplements, and many consumers, after reading news stories about the vitamin’s benefits, dose themselves. Older women often take large doses to fight and prevent osteoporosis. —Stephanie Desmon
Related website Muhammad Amer:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/ faculty/Amer.html
Researchers develop method to better estimate vaccine coverage
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mmunizations are a valuable tool for controlling infectious diseases among populations both in the United States and globally. Although routine immunizations and supplemental activities such as immunization campaigns are designed to provide coverage to entire populations, current measurements used to determine the success and rates of immunization can be flawed and inconsistent. According to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, estimates of vaccination coverage can be significantly improved by combining administrative data with survey data. The results are featured in the October issue of PLoS Medicine. “Reliable estimates of vaccination coverage are key to managing population immunization status,” said Justin Lessler, lead author of the study and an assistant professor
in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology. “Currently, the performance of routine and supplemental immunization activities is measured by the administrative method, which leads to coverage estimates that are often inconsistent with the proportion reporting vaccination in cross-sectional surveys. Furthermore, administrative coverage does not tell you how many people are systematically missed by vaccination activities. We estimated that the size of the population never reached by any activity was high in Sierra Leone and Madagascar, 31 percent and 21 percent respectively, but it was much lower in Ghana, only 7 percent.” The widely used administrative method divides the number of doses distributed by the size of the target population. Lessler, along with colleagues from Johns Hopkins, the University of Oxford, Epicentre and Princeton University, developed a
method for estimating the effective coverage of vaccination programs using cross-sectional surveys of vaccine coverage combined with administrative data. The method was applied using demographic health survey and administrative coverage data reported to the World Health Organization from measles vaccinations in Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Ghana. They found that estimates of routine supplemental immunization activities coverage are substantially lower than administrative estimates for Madagascar and Sierra Leone, and only slightly lower for Ghana. In addition, their estimates of routine coverage are, in general, lower than WHO and United Nations Children’s Fund estimates. Derek Cummings, an assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology, said, “This method not only attempts to correct coverage estimates but
also distinguishes between issues of overall coverage and vaccine within activity inefficiencies. For our technique to be useful, countries must have cross-sectional data on vaccine coverage for children across a range of ages, some of an age where they have been exposed to multiple vaccination activities.” Added Lester, “Estimates of the inefficiency of past vaccination activities and the proportion not covered by any activity allow us to more accurately predict the results of future activities and provide insight into the ways in which vaccination programs are failing to meet their goals.” This research was supported by grants from the Vaccine Modeling Initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs Welcome Fund and the Royal Society. —Natalie Wood-Wright
Golden years
will engage in research to develop and test innovative interventions; apply evidencebased programs in community and practice settings; provide research training, education and mentorship to emerging scholars and practitioners; create scholarly forums for meaningful exchanges; and develop useful templates and tools to advance the science of intervention research. The center’s inaugural faculty includes Gitlin, Szanton, Cheryl Dennison-Himmelfarb, Nancy Hodgson, Sharon Kozachik, Marie Nolan, Miyong Kim and Elizabeth “Ibby” Tanner. Areas of expertise currently represented among this group—which will expand to include faculty from other divisions—include advancing interventions in chronic disease management, health disparities, depression, dementia care, caregiving, end of life, aging in place, fall prevention and care transitions. Gitlin, for example, is working on a nonpharmacological intervention to reduce agitation in people with dementia. The study seeks to identify and exploit the “preserved” capabilities of the person by simplifying activities and training family members to assist. “Our approach seeks to give meaning to people with dementia and re-engage them in their environment,” she said. “Dementia has reached epidemic proportions but has been severely underaddressed.” Szanton will continue her study of older low-income citizens living on their own in Baltimore City through a $325,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She will interact with 60 households in her CAPABLE study, a community outreach project that addresses both the environmental and health needs of older adults. The study, which launched in August 2010, has already helped dozens of seniors age safely at home. Through a collaboration with Baltimore City, improvements have
been made to bathrooms, stairways, kitchens and other living spaces to ensure that seniors are able to perform basic tasks without risk of an injury. Szanton said that nursing can and should provide a holistic approach to dealing with issues related to aging. “We will look at the person in his or her environment, not just the diseases or conditions,” Szanton said. Tanner, an associate professor of geriatric medicine with joint appointments in the schools of Nursing and Medicine, is currently studying the impact of high-intensity volunteering on older adults’ health and whether it prevents disability-related decline. She said that the center will be critical to enhancing and supporting interdisciplinary intervention research in aging at the School of Nursing, especially at this time when limited federal funding is available. “The center is also crucial in enabling our faculty to organize our efforts, under the direction of Dr. Gitlin, and provide expertise and leadership for others in the field of aging, both nationally and internally—and communicate what we are doing so that we can impact others,” she said. “As an organized center, we are very, very strong and will make great contributions to the field of aging research.” The center’s first year will be a busy one, Gitlin says. In early March, the center will launch a monthly series called The Issue Is … , a forum for faculty and students to explore pressing issues related to behavioral intervention and implementation science. This spring, the center will start a lecture series, beginning with a visit by Martin Prince, a world-renowned scientist in dementia care and president of Alzheimer’s International. From June 14 to 16, the center will host a Summer Research Institute on Behavioral
Intervention in Aging for nationwide investigators in all disciplines. Additionally, the center will convene brainstorming sessions with core faculty to learn about scholarly needs and identify future directions for center activities. Other planned activities include the establishment of a network of practice and community sites to implement evidence-based programs generated by the center’s faculty. Gitlin, who has a background in sociology and social psychology, joined Johns Hopkins in January 2010. Prior to her arrival in Baltimore, she was the founding director of the Jefferson Center for Applied Research in Aging and Health at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She previously served as co-director of the Jefferson Health System’s Senior Health Institute. Gitlin said that the Center for Innovative Care in Aging will actively seek collaborations with other university divisions. She has already identified more than 20 faculty members from the schools of Public Health and Medicine who are in various stages of developing behavioral types of interventions related to aging. “We would like to invite faculty with a wide range of expertise and interests to work with us in the design and implementation of novel models of care and interventions for older adults,” she said. “It’s important that we have people from diverse backgrounds representing many areas of expertise as core faculty of the center to advance our mission.” The center plans to bring together experts in trial methodology, basic science, bioethics, health policy, health disparities, community-participatory research, biobehavioral measurement, implementation science, epidemiology, health economics, health systems design and geriatrics from throughout Johns Hopkins and elsewhere. G For more information on the center, go to nursing.jhu.edu/areas_of_excellence/aging/center.
Continued from page 1 ton, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing and an expert on geriatric nursing. “We’re on a collision course with this demographic trend.” To better address the needs for the growing senior population, the School of Nursing recently founded the Center for Innovative Care in Aging. The interprofessional initiative will seek to develop and advance behavioral interventions that support the well-being of older adults and their families. Specifically, the center seeks to shorten the time from intervention to implementation of clinical trial evidence, and enhance the yield of programs, policies, practices and tools to help older adults and family members remain healthy, independent and living in their own homes and communities. Center director Laura N. Gitlin, a professor in the Department of Health Systems and Outcomes at the School of Nursing with a joint appointment in Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, said that the center’s focus will be on generating novel interventions that enhance quality of life and enable older adults to age in place. “As the nation’s population is aging, people would rather live in their own homes than move to an assisted living or nursing facility,” Gitlin said. “The center will generate interventions that equip older adults with the behavioral, self-management, physical and environmental tools to live longer, healthier and more-productive lives in their advancing years.” Gitlin said that the center seeks a national and international impact by serving as a think tank to advance intervention and implementation science. The center’s faculty
4 23, 2011 2012 4 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• January August 15,
YOUR COMMUNITY CALLED
AND YOU ANSWERED. Thank you Johns Hopkins Medicine & Johns Hopkins University for your outstanding support of the 2011 United Way of Central Maryland campaign. Your pledges of more than $2.2 million will help thousands of people who are struggling to get out of crisis, stay out of crisis and achieve self-sufficiency in our region. United Way of Central Maryland would like to offer a special thank you to the following individuals: Ronald J. Daniels (President, JHU), Jerry Schnydman (Chair, JHU Campaign), Ian Reynolds (Coordinator, JHU), Kathleen Crostic (Coordinator, JHU), Dr. Edward D. Miller (Dean/CEO, JHM), Dr. Theodore DeWeese (Chair, JHM Campaign), Charles Reuland (Vice Chair, JHM Campaign), Christine White (Coordinator, JHM), Ronald R. Peterson (President, JHHS), Carol Woodward (Coordinator, JHH), Dr. Richard G. Bennett (President, JHBMC), Becky Keith (Coordinator, JHBMC), Victor A. Broccolino (President, HCGH), Karen Sterner (Coordinator, HCGH), Patricia M.C. Brown (President, JHHC), Temekia Butler (Coordinator, JHHC), Dr. Steven J. Kravet (President, JHCP), Beth Wilson (Coordinator, JHCP), Daniel Smith (President, JHHCG), Darleen Hall (Coordinator, JHHCG), Brian Gragnolati (President/CEO, Suburban Hospital)
Thank you to all campaign committee members, coordinators, ambassadors and donors.
GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.
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www.uwcm.org
January 23, 2012 • THE GAZETTE
5
Traditional autopsies—not high-tech ‘virtopsies’—still gold standard B y D av i d M a r c h
Johns Hopkins Medicine
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V crime shows such as Bones and CSI are quick to explain each death by showing detailed scans and video images of victims’ insides. Traditional autopsies, if shown at all, are, at best, in supporting roles to the high-tech equipment, and usually gloss over the sometimes physically grueling tasks of sawing through skin and bone. But according to two autopsy and body imaging experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, the notion that “virtopsy,” made popular by such TV dramas, could replace traditional autopsy is simply not ready for scientifically rigorous prime time. The latest virtual imaging technologies—including full-body CT scans, MRIs, ultrasound, X-ray and angiography—are helpful, they say, but cannot yet replace a direct physical inspection of the body’s main organs. “The traditional autopsy, though less and less frequently performed, is still the gold standard for determining why and how people really died,” said pathologist Elizabeth Burton, deputy director of the autopsy service at Johns Hopkins. In an editorial appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine online Jan. 17, Burton and Johns Hopkins clinical fellow Mahmud Mossa-Basha offer their own assessment of why the number of conventional autopsies has declined over the past decade and why, despite this drop, the virtopsy is unlikely to replace it anytime soon. Burton, who has performed well over a thousand autopsies, says that current imaging technologies can help tremendously when used in combination with autopsies. “It’s not a question of either traditional autopsy or virtopsy,” she says. “It’s a question
Safe Streets Continued from page 1 majority of these disputes involved situations where the risk of gun violence was high, such as disputes between armed gang members. Outreach workers in each site were working closely with 35 to 60 highrisk youth at any given time. Safe Streets Baltimore also held monthly events to promote nonviolent alternatives to resolving conflicts. These events typically attracted between 100 and 200 people. The Johns Hopkins researchers also identified specific programmatic factors related to success in reducing violence. “The results suggest that the number of conflicts mediated by the outreach workers was associated with greater program impact on homicides,” said Daniel Webster, lead author of the study and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence. Other key findings of the study include: • In all four neighborhoods—McElderry Park, Elwood Park, Madison-Eastend and Cherry Hill—the program was associated with a statistically significant decline in homicides, nonfatal shootings or both. • Overall, researchers estimated that the program prevented at least five homicide incidents and 35 nonfatal shooting incidents. Had there not been increases in homicides following program implementation in Madison-Eastend and a neighborhood bordering Elwood Park that were likely unrelated to the program, Safe Streets is estimated to have prevented 15 homicides in four of the most violent neighborhoods in Baltimore. • In the South Baltimore neighborhood of Cherry Hill, the program was associated with a 56 percent decline in homicides and a 34 percent decline in nonfatal shootings. • In Elwood Park, the program was associated with a 34 percent drop in nonfatal shootings.
of what methods work best in determining cause of death.” The Johns Hopkins experts base their claims on evidence, some of which is published in the same edition of Annals, that some common diagnoses are routinely missed when imaging results are compared to autopsy findings. There is now no proof, they say, that virtopsy is a more reliable alternative to conventional autopsy. According to Burton, a visiting associate professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, hospital autopsy rates in the United States—for patients who die of natural causes in hospitals and whose bodies do not have to be examined by the local medical examiner or coroner—have fallen from a high of about 50 percent in the 1960s to about 10 percent today. At The Johns Hopkins Hospital, she says, the rate remains close to a once-required standard for hospital accreditation of 25 percent, set as an appropriate goal for teaching medical residents and fellows, and for auditing clinical practice. Burton says that many reasons are behind the drop in conventional autopsy rates. Medical overconfidence in diagnostic imaging results partly explains the decline but is also to blame for the high number of diagnostic errors, she says. “If we chose the right test at the right time in the right people, and followed clinical guidelines to the letter, then modern diagnostic tests would produce optimal results, but we don’t,” Burton says. Burton says that such misinterpretations of images, lab results and physical signs and symptoms help explain the roughly 23 percent of new diagnoses that are detected by autopsy. She acknowledges that it also is easier for physicians to rely on existing diagnostic techniques to determine the cause of death
than to go through the often-uncomfortable task of asking grieving family members for permission to perform a conventional autopsy to confirm the cause of death. Making the process more difficult is that many physicians simply don’t know what steps to take, including the paperwork and approvals, to get an autopsy performed. For many families, dissuading factors include the prospect of delaying funeral arrangements and possible disfigurement of a loved one’s body, as well as the stress in coping with their loss and the cost of an autopsy, which can run upward of $3,000 unless the hospital offers to do it at no charge for teaching or auditing purposes. While diagnostic overconfidence, changing cultural norms and cost may depress autopsy rates, Burton says that overreliance on technology underscores an inherent flaw in switching to virtopsy. In a German study that accompanies Burton and Mossa-Basha’s editorial, conventional autopsy and imaging results, as would be seen in virtopsy, were compared for accuracy in 162 people who died in a hospital. Some had just virtopsy, while the others had both virtopsy and conventional autopsy. In the 47 who underwent both procedures, 102 new diagnoses were found; in comparison, 47 new diagnoses were found among the 115 who underwent virtopsy alone. Study results also showed that virtual autopsy by CT scan failed to pick up 20.8 percent of the new diagnoses, while conventional autopsy missed only 13.4 percent. Medical problems most commonly missed or not seen by autopsy included air pockets in collapsed lungs (which could have impeded breathing) and bone fractures; the most common diagnoses missed by imaging were heart attack, pulmonary emboli and cancer.
• Researchers estimated that Safe Streets Baltimore was responsible for a 26 percent reduction in homicides in McElderry Park over the nearly three and a half years the program was in place. This site did not experience a homicide during the first 23 months of program implementation. “Safe Streets is an important component of our citywide strategy to reduce homicides and gun violence, and a key to our plans to grow the city,” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. “By expanding this effective initiative, we help people build social capital and empower communities.” Oxiris Barbot, the city’s commissioner of health, said, “This study demonstrates clearly that a public health intervention can be a successful means for reducing youth violence. Thanks to the recent award from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, we are excited to expand this program to other communities and extend our message that gun violence is not acceptable.” The study was funded primarily through a
grant to Johns Hopkins from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s designated Academic Centers of Excellence in the prevention of youth violence. Linda C. Degutis, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said, “The CDC has long recognized that violence is an important public health problem that can be prevented through the application of evidence-based programs. This type of research evaluating the effectiveness of community-based strategies has tremendous potential for informing the efforts of communities across the United States looking to prevent youth violence.” The annual cost of operating a Safe Streets Baltimore site is approximately $375,000. The program is currently located in two communities, McElderry Park and Cherry Hill, but funding for these sites ends in June. The Health Department says it will use these positive evaluation results to seek additional funding for sustaining these sites. G
Burton says that the study findings are not surprising because, for example, a tumor nodule in the lung could appear on any scan or X-ray image as a small dense white spot or “coin lesion” that could easily be interpreted as a fungal infection, tuberculosis-related granuloma or benign tissue mass. But until the tissue is physically examined in a lab, after biopsy or during traditional autopsy, “there’s no way to know the diagnosis with 100 percent certainty,” she said. In addition to diagnostic weaknesses, Mossa-Basha says that perhaps the biggest hurdle for proponents of the virtopsy alternative is the high cost of imaging. Modern ultrasounds and MRI scanners cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the most advanced CT scanners needed for the most detailed imaging priced well in excess of $1 million. Full-body CT scans, he says, run about $1,500 each, which, when added to device purchasing and maintenance fees, make vitropsy an expensive option. Mossa-Basha says that major advances in scanning devices make some forensic aspects of autopsy easier, when keeping the body closed protects physical evidence from being destroyed, such as tracking bullet trajectories in gun victims. “Steady progress in imaging technology is refining conventional autopsy, making it better and more accurate,” said MossaBasha, a clinical fellow in Neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins. “Physicians really need to be selective and proactive—even before a critically injured patient in hospital dies—in deciding whether an autopsy is likely to be needed and, if so, whether to approach the family in advance. Only in this way do we ensure that we are using the latest scanning devices appropriately during autopsy and when it is most effective in producing the most accurate as possible death certificates.”
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6 23, 2011 2012 6 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• January August 15,
January 23, 2012 • THE GAZETTE
Black elderly more likely than whites to die after intestinal surgery
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lack senior citizens who need surgery for the intestinal disorder diverticulitis are significantly more likely to die in the hospital than their equally ill white counterparts, even when each racial group carries the same health insurance, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. While all patients in the study required surgery, black patients were 26 percent more likely than white patients to undergo riskier and more expensive emergency diverticulitis surgery rather than “elective” scheduled surgery for their condition, the Johns Hopkins researchers found. The results emerged in a study of data from Medicare, the government health insurance for senior citizens. Black seniors also spent more time in the hospital recovering from their operations, and the costs of their stays averaged nearly $30,000 more than those of comparable white patients. Publishing in the November issue of the medical journal Archives of Surgery, the researchers say that while lack of insurance is often a major driver of racial disparities in health care, their analysis shows that even with equal access to a doctor, racebased differences in outcomes persist. “Even if everyone has coverage, black patients are doing worse, so we need to find out what else is going on,” said study leader Eric B. Schneider, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research. “Maybe then we can make a difference.” Schneider and his team analyzed data from more than 50,000 Medicare patients who underwent surgery—removal of part of the colon with or without a colostomy procedure—between 2004 and 2007 in the United States. Adjusting for age, gender and other underlying illnesses, the researchers found that being black was associated with a 28 percent increase in in-hospital mortality, regardless of whether the patient underwent emer-
gency or pre-planned surgery. Diverticular disease is a common gastrointestinal condition, affecting up to 25 percent of the elderly. In severe cases, it is treated with surgery. Previous research has found higher rates of mortality, complication and readmission among black surgical patients when compared to white patients undergoing similar procedures. Schneider says that the conventional wisdom is that black patients’ poorer outcomes can largely be accounted for by differences in socioeconomic status, including health insurance coverage and greater underlying co-morbidity. The new research, he says, contradicts that hypothesis. Schneider says that past research has shown that even when they have insurance, black patients are less likely to go to the doctor than white patients, even for routine preventive services such as vaccination. Black patients also may have more undetected or undiagnosed illnesses than white patients, as research shows that black patients are less likely to undergo diagnostic evaluations than white patients. One study, Schneider says, suggested that underutilization of health care resources by blacks might be related to a higher level of distrust of the medical establishment. If black seniors were encouraged to see doctors more quickly when they are sick, an illness such as diverticulitis could be treated earlier, potentially obviating the need for surgery, or at least allowing for a less risky pre-planned operation. “It may be an access issue. It may be a cultural issue,” he said. “Whites are more likely to have a family practitioner, and that may be a factor.” Other Johns Hopkins researchers in volved in the study are Adil Haider, Amy J. Sheer, Hali L. Hambridge, Jodi Segal, Albert Wu and Anne O. Lidor. —Stephanie Desmon
Head of Four Seasons to give Leaders + Legends lecture and overseeing corporate finance and legal affairs, human resources and administration. Previously, Taylor practiced corporate securities and competition law at Goodmans LLP, including a secondment to the Ontario Securities Commission. Recognition accorded Taylor during her career includes the Women’s Executive Network: Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Award, 2011; HOTELS magazine Corporate Hotelier of the World, 2011; International Society of Hospitality Consultants Pioneer Award, 2011; Hennick Centre for Business and Law Medal for Career Achievement, 2010; Forbes 25 Most Influential Women in Travel, 2008; Canadian General Counsel Award for Business Achievement, 2006; and Schulich Award for Outstanding Executive Leadership, 2001. Taylor holds two degrees from York University in Toronto: a law degree from the Osgoode Hall Law School and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. She is a director of the Royal Bank of Canada, serving as chair of its Human Resources Committee and a member of its Audit Committee. Her community affiliations include serving on the boards of The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation in Toronto and the United Way of Toronto, and as benefactor of the Harris-Taylor Reading Room at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law Library and of the University of Toronto Jack and Adrienne Taylor Scholarship for Undergraduate Students. The Leaders + Legends lecture series, which features today’s most influential business and public policy leaders addressing topics of global interest and importance, is designed to engage business and community professionals in an examination of the most compelling issues and challenges facing society today. Admission to the lecture, which includes breakfast, is $35. To register and for more information, go to carey.jhu.edu/ leadersandlegends.
Kathleen Taylor
K
athleen Taylor, president and chief executive officer of the Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, is the featured speaker for the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s Leaders + Legends lecture series on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The event will take place at 7:30 a.m. in the Legg Mason Tower in Harbor East. Taylor, who joined Four Seasons in 1989 as corporate counsel, was appointed to her current positions in 2010, and oversees all aspects of the company’s global operations. In her more than two decades with Four Seasons, she has proved a linchpin in its success, with the company now comprising 85 hotels and resorts in 35 countries, and more than 50 projects in either the planning or development stage. Prior to assuming the role of CEO, Taylor was chief operating officer. She also served for seven years as president of worldwide business operations, overseeing hotel and residential product design, construction and development activities; managing the company’s acquisition and corporate planning;
Creativity
JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE
Continued from page 1 minds of bright young students with creative approaches to solving the dilemma of metastatic cancer, and I am extremely honored to be part of it.” The competition was open to all currently enrolled full-time students and trainees at The Johns Hopkins University, including undergraduate, graduate and medical students; residents; and fellows. Rangos, who has had a long association with Johns Hopkins Medicine, worked with faculty members in the Department of Urology, including Coffey and Horst Schirmer, to develop the program. Organizers plan to continue the competition in future years and perhaps open it up to students at other institutions. “Why some metastatic cancers can be cured while most cannot is one of the most provocative questions in medicine,” Coffey said, “and it will take novel, creative approaches to overcome this very difficult challenge.” First up to the podium was medical oncology fellow and eventual fifth-place winner Kevin Cheung, who proposes turning back the clock on cancer cells by reprogramming them into germ cells. He suggests that the reason testicular and other germ cell tumors have high cure rates is because of their undifferentiated state. Just as scientists have created immature pluripotent stem cells from adult cells, Cheung says that the same could be done with cancer cells. By age reversing resistant cancer cells, he proposes to make them sensitive to conventional chemotherapy. Third-place winner Diane Heiser, a doc-
John Rangos Sr., third from left, and Greek Ambassador Vassilis Kaskarelis, fourth from left, with finalists Brian Ladle, Kevin Cheung, Andrew Sharabi, Cheng Ran “Lisa” Huang and Diane Heiser.
toral candidate in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, proposes that more metastatic cancers can be cured by understanding how cancer cells repair their own DNA. She suggests that metastatic cancer cells are able to survive the severe DNA breaks that occur with DNA damaging agents like chemotherapy, by repairing themselves quickly and efficiently, and says that determining the specific proteins that help metastatic cancer cells repair their DNA could reveal new targets for drugs that sensitize cancer cells to chemo or radiation therapy. Genetics postgraduate student and second-place winner Huang describes cancer as a “fight between two parasites: cancer vs. transposons.” She notes that nearly half of the human genome is made up of “jumping” DNA, short sequences of DNA that
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get inserted into the genome at various points; too many transposons can lead to genomic instability and kill the cell. Huang says that germ cell tumors have the highest level of transposon activity, making them more prone to cell death and, thus, more easily killed by chemotherapy drugs. There is potential, she says, of using drugs to target proteins that normally suppress transposon activity in most cell types. Brian Ladle, a pediatric oncology fellow and fourth-place winner, posits that cancer cure rates depend on the cancer cells’ level of uniformity. Low-risk pediatric leukemias are mostly curable, he says, and most of the cells have uniform qualities and certain genetic abnormalities in common. Cancers that are more difficult to cure are less uniform. Ladle suggests that targeting different
populations of cells within cancers could result in fewer relapses and more cures. The overall prize went to radiation oncology resident Sharabi for his idea titled “Specific Immune Response Against Testicular Cancer: A Proposed Mechanism for LongTerm Remission.” Sharabi suggests that metastatic testicular cancer is largely curable in most patients because immune cells zero in on testicular cancer cells with far more accuracy than they do in other cancers. He proposes that testicular cells are essentially recognized as foreign to the immune system because the testes are protected by the so-called blood-testis barrier, much like the blood-brain barrier. Testicular cancer cells can spread to the rest of the body and may initially go undetected by immune system cells. However, he says he believes that chemotherapy given to patients causes testicular cancer cells to die, releasing many targets for the immune cells. At that time, the immune system kicks into high gear, generating large numbers of circulating immune cells, whose task is to seek the testicular cancer cells and destroy them. He also believes that after chemotherapy, testicular cancer cells essentially may be recognized as foreign by the immune cells because the blood-testis barrier had, until then, kept testicular cells hidden from the immune system. He proposes further investigations of how the immune system responds to testicular cancer cells to identify specific immune system targets common to testicular cancer as well as other types of cancer. The research could lead to the development of vaccines that prime the body to defend against and fight cancers. Just before Sharabi was announced the top winner, Rangos called Johns Hopkins a “beacon of light in the measurement of medicine.” It is here, he said, that we’ll find the next generation of scientific leaders. G
8 23, 2011 2012 8 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• January August 15,
Economist Faust named special adviser to Federal Reserve Board B y A m y L u n d ay
Homewood
T
he Federal Reserve Board has appointed Johns Hopkins University faculty member Jon Faust as special adviser in the Office of Board Members, effective Jan. 17. Faust is the Louis J. Maccini Professor of Economics in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the director of the Center for Financial Economics at Johns Hopkins. His appointment is a homecoming of sorts—he served at the Fed before joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2006. According to a news release from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Faust will become a special adviser “contributing to the monetary policy process and in staffing the Federal Open Market Committee’s subcommittee on communications.” Faust also will work with Steven Kamin, director of the Division of International Finance, “in analyzing key international issues.”
“Jon has an exceptional breadth of expertise in international economics, monetary economics, finance and econometrics, along with nearly two decades of prior experience in the Federal Reserve System,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in the Fed’s news release. Katherine S. Newman, the James B. Knapp Dean of the Krieger School, said that Faust has been granted a two-year “public service” leave of absence, given only to faculty who have been asked to contribute their expertise to institutions of government. She praised Faust, commenting, “This is a wonderful opportunity for Jon as well as for the Center for Financial Economics. The Federal Reserve calls upon the nation’s most prominent economists for public service, and we are honored that they chose a member of our faculty for this important role. Their selection illustrates the remarkable quality of our colleagues. When Jon returns to Johns Hopkins in two years, our students will benefit from his even greater breadth of experience.” Faust spent nearly 20 years in the Fed-
F O R
Cheers Cheers is a monthly listing of honors and awards received by faculty, staff and students plus recent appointments and promotions. Contributions must be submitted in writing and be accompanied by a phone number. ACADEMIC CENTERS AND AFFILATES Leah Ramsay has joined the Johns Hop-
kins Berman Institute of Bioethics as a science writer to manage communications and news media relations. She comes to Johns Hopkins from Washington, D.C., where she most recently handled media and public relations for the advocacy organization DC Vote. Previously she worked in documentary production for National Geographic, the Smithsonian Channel and Discovery Networks, and as a writer online for DC Style and Metromix.com. A graduate of the Catholic University of America with a degree in media studies, Ramsay also worked with prominent independent filmmakers in Washington, helping to produce Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg with Aviva Kempner and interning with Charles Guggenheim on his final film, Berga: Soldiers of Another War.
BAYVIEW MEDICAL CENTER Joseph Carrese , associate professor of
medicine and chair of the Bayview Ethics Committee, has received the 2011 Presidential Citation Award from the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities. A member of the ASBH’s Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Committee, Carrese was honored for his dedication to the important work of the committee, whose other members also received the award. Colleen Christmas , assistant profes-
SAIS hosts release of EIA’s ‘Annual Energy Outlook 2012’
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he Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies will host the release of the Annual Energy Outlook 2012, published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, at 9:30 a.m. today, Jan. 23, in the Nitze Building’s Kenney Auditorium. Howard Gruenspecht, EIA’s acting administrator, will present the agency’s projections of U.S. energy supply, demand and prices to 2035 with the early release of the Reference case projections from the Annual Energy Outlook 2012. A live webcast of the event can be found at www.sais-jhu.edu/pressroom/live.html.
T H E
sor of medicine and director of the Internal Medical Residency Program; Ginette Hinds , assistant professor and director of the Department of Dermatology; and Timothy Wang , associate professor and medical director of Dermatology, were named Hometown Heroes by the Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce. They were honored for their “extraordinary” Christmas Eve 2010 house call to an elderly man’s home to perform surgery on a skin cancer tumor after it was determined that it would be too risky to transport the frail patient to the medical center. Michael Smith , associate professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Behavioral Sleep Program, and Janelle Coughlin , assistant professor of psychology and director of the Obesity Behavioral Medicine Program, have been named to head the new Johns Hopkins Center for Behavior and Health. CBH, based at Bayview, will focus on overcoming one of medicine’s biggest current challenges: changing patients’ dietary choices, sedentary lifestyles, sleeping habits and other behaviors in order to prevent illness and better manage health. Smith will be director and Coughlin associate director of CBH, a collaboration of the departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics. BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Jeff Goldsmith , Yang Ning and Russell “Taki” Shinohara , all Biostatistics
doctoral students, have been recognized with Student Travel Awards for papers to be presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the International Biometrics Society/ Eastern North American Region, to be held in April in Washington, D.C. The winning papers and their authors were “Corrected Confidence Bands for Functional Data Using Principal Components” (Goldsmith), “Bias Correction and Likelihood Based Inference under Model Misspecification” (Ning) and “Alternating Event Processes During Lifetimes: Population Dynamics and Statistical Inference” (Shinohara). JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH SYSTEM Ronald R. Peterson , president of The
Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine, has been named to a new 12-member President’s Advisory Council for Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore. The executive leadership group will advise the university’s president, Mary Pat Seurkamp, on issues related to Notre Dame’s recent transition from a college to a university and also pro-
eral Reserve System, rising to the position of assistant director in the Division of International Finance, where he directed research on both international finance and trade. Faust has held visiting faculty posts at Princeton University, Georgetown University and the Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research at Indiana University. A graduate of the University of Iowa, he earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of Oxford and a doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. His research spans the broad array of theoretical and applied topics confronted by macroeconomic policymakers, such as econometric measurement of policy effects, political economy of policy and understanding macro-financial linkages. In Faust’s absence from Johns Hopkins, two co-directors have been appointed to the Center for Financial Economics: Robert Barbera and Jonathan Wright. Barbera is the chief economist at Mount Lucas Management in New York and a fellow at the Center for Financial Economics, where he has taught his “economic forecast-
ing” class each spring for the past nine years. A Johns Hopkins alumnus, Barbera earned both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering, in 1974 and 1978, respectively. Wright is a professor in the Department of Economics who specializes in econometrics, empirical macroeconomics and finance. Prior to joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2008, he worked for nine years at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. “Jonathan and Bob are an extraordinary team to lead the Center for Financial Economics,” said Joseph Harrington, chair of the Department of Economics. “Since the CFE’s creation, they have been central contributors to its intellectual life and have been instrumental in bringing research and practice to our students. It is that blended scholar-practitioner approach that singularly defines the CFE in the academic landscape, and Jonathan and Bob are sure to be a dynamic duo for developing that vision.”
R E C O R D
vide counsel for the search and leadership transition for a new president to be named this year. KRIEGER SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Andrew Cherlin , the Benjamin H. Gris-
wold III Professor of Public Policy and Sociology in the Department of Sociology, has been named a fellow of the National Council on Family Relations, a status that recognizes him as one of the country’s most influential and productive family scholars. In making the announcement, NCFR said, “Dr. Cherlin is considered among the most prominent experts and pioneers in the field of family studies. His work is accessible to family professionals and lay audiences. Dr. Cherlin is a recognized authority on divorce, remarriage, stepfamilies, cohabitation, family trends, poverty and child well-being.” Cherlin received his bachelor’s degree in engineering and applied science from Yale University and his doctorate in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written many popular books and more than 80 scholarly articles.
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Adrian Dobs , professor of medicine and
of oncology and vice director of the Department of Medicine for faculty development, has been appointed director of the Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network. She succeeds Charles Balch, professor of surgery and oncology and dermatology, who retired. JHCRN is an integrated network of academic and community-based clinical researchers established within the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Its purpose is to improve patient care by accelerating the adoption of diagnostic, treatment and disease-prevention advances. Todd Dorman , professor and vice chair for critical care in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, has been promoted to senior associate dean for education coordination. He will remain associate dean of continuing medical education, and an assistant dean and director of CME will be hired to join the leadership team. Francis Giardiello , professor of medicine, oncology and pathology and director of the Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Program, and Anthony Kalloo , professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, have been named to the Becker’s ASC Review list of the 125 leading gastroenterologists in the United States. Those selected to appear on the list lead their field in clinical and research efforts. Becker’s ASC Review features general
business, legal and clinical guidance on a variety of medical topics. Bruce Leff , professor of medicine, has been elected chair of the American College of Physicians’ Council of Subspecialty Societies. Leff, a geriatrician, also became a member of the ACP’s board of regents. Atul Nakhasi , a first-year medical student, has received an American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award. Presented in association with Pfizer Inc., the award recognizes strong nonclinical leadership skills in advocacy, community service and/or education. Nakhasi serves on the AMA’s Committee on Legislation and Advocacy. Robert Siliciano , professor of medicine and of molecular biology and genetics, has received a Research in Action Award from Treatment Action Group, one of the leading AIDS research advocacy organizations. Also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Siliciano was honored for his discoveries about HIV, which have changed the way treatment for it is given. WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Jacob Khurgin , a professor in Electrical
and Computer Engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. The fellowship program recognizes members who have made advances in physics through original research and publication, or have made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. According to the APS citation, Khurgin was elected a fellow for his “diverse contributions to understanding the underlying physics and improving the performance of numerous electronic and optical devices, such as semiconductor second-order nonlinear optical generators, intersubband semiconductor lasers and Raman oscillators, slow light and plasmonic devices.” Christian Davies-Venn , an instructor in the Engineering for Professionals program, has been elected vice president of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. His term began Jan. 1. He is slated to serve as the academy’s president-elect in 2013 and as its president in 2014. Davies-Venn is vice president and chief engineer of PEER Consultants, based in Washington, D.C. At Johns Hopkins, he teaches courses in principles of water and wastewater treatment, and water and wastewater treatment plant design, in the Environmental Engineering, Science and Management master’s degree program. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Sierra Leone and his master’s and doctorate in environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Arkansas, respectively.
January 23, 2012 • THE GAZETTE
Milestones The following staff members are retiring or celebrating an anniversary with the university in January 2012. The information is compiled by the Office of Work, Life and Engagement, 443-997-7000. ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL CENTERS
5 years of service Brignole , Kathryn, Jhpiego C h a r urat , Elaine, Jhpiego C o ckr e ll , Randolph, Center for Talented Youth C o llins , Howard, Center for Talented Youth La mber t , Valerie, Center for Talented Youth Lin ett , Sean, AV Support Ma rt in , Daniel, Johns Hopkins University Press Ta n jung , Marwan, Jhpiego BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
45 years of service Brem e r , Peggylee, Academic Program Areas 25 years of service Wh itney , Edson, Malaria Project
20 years of service An de rs on , Alfreda, Center for Immunization Research and Vaccine Sciences Bo yd , Patricia, Center for Accelerated Vaccine Access Fra zie r , Deborah, Facilities 10 years of service Ja ck son , Rhonda, Environmental Health Sciences Ma llya , Bonny, Population, Family and Reproductive Health Services 5 years of service Butler , Ollie, Facilities C o lson , Vonda, Epidemiology Duke s , Antoinette, Facilities Gla se r , John, Facilities Green , Jerome, Facilities Ja co b , Martin, Information Systems K illian , Elizabeth, Information Systems Ma zur sky , Sara, Center for
Communication Programs No rth , Tina, Center for American Indian Health Sco tt , Joseph, Facilities Williams , Bernita, Graduate Education and Research HOMEWOOD STUDENT AFFAIRS
25 years of service Sullivan , Michael, Business Management 5 years of service Verrier , David, Preprofessional Advising KRIEGER SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Retirees Spivak , Wendy, 24 years of service, Office of the Dean 20 years of service Ga ra lde , Ofelia, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/ Brain Institute 15 years of service Vita re lli , Kathryn, Communications
SAIS
B l u n t , Marquise, Pathology
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Retirees F l ore s , Miquel, 30 years of service, Facilities
B o o k er , Abigail, Urology
15 years of service Wi s owat y , Amy, Finance and Administration Office
40 years of service P rophe t , Barbara, Business Office
10 years of service Ma e s , Katrien, JHU Foreign Policy Institute 5 years of service F u ng , Paulette, JHU Foreign Policy
Institute R obe rts , Michael, Development and Alumni Affairs SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
15 years of service D a nf orth , Janis, Center for Social Organization of Schools 10 years of service S ha f f e r , Jennifer, Admissions
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Retirees B re e d e n , Sophia, 35 years of service,
Psychiatry H a rri s , Susan, 17 years of service, Surgery O ’ N e i l l , Claire, 10 years of service, Chairman’s Office O ’ N e i l l , Patricia, 32 years of service, Cell Biology S ta rkl a u f , Barbara, 41 years of service, Clinical Investigations Wa nke l , Loretta, 26 years of service, Pediatrics 40 years of service Wa d swor t h , Stanley, Health, Safety and
Environment 35 years of service F ra d o , Sharon, Otolaryngology
30 years of service Ca i n , Dennis, Ophthalmology Ca l i ni , Mary, Endocrinology D a shi e l l , Donna, Oncology K a l i now s k i , Joseph, Facilities 25 years of service Cu si c , Ann, Pediatrics H e f f l e r , Michele, Pediatrics J one s , Priscilla, Ophthalmology Me a ns , Tammy, Oncology Mi tc he l l , Linda, Hematology R i l e y , Carol, Oncology R og e rs , Ophelia, Medicine, Hematology
20 years of service A l l e n , Bernice, Ophthalmology Ca v a l l i o , Susan, Surgery K a rpov i c h , Theo, Graduate Curriculum S a tte r f i el d , Robert, Facilities U shr y , Patricia, Gastroenterology 15 years of service A rm ou r , Brenda, Neurology B e nde r , Kathryn, Oncology Ca ntone , Theresa, Pathology Gi l be rt , Patrick, Marketing and Communications J e nni ng s , Jo, Orthopaedics La nd , Cassia, Pediatrics Ma ngol d , Leslie, Urology N i c kol e s , Jennifer, Infectious Diseases P hi l l i ps , Edward, Jr., Art as Applied to Medicine P owe rs , Pendleton, Oncology S a tte r f i el d , Elnora, Surgery S he p a rd , Jennifer, Pediatrics 10 years of service
5 years of service
A be l l , Robert, Cardiology
C o n nolly M c Cusker , Colleen,
A m oss , Regina, Rheumatology
Advanced Academic Programs
(Bayview)
B r y a n t , Mae Linda, Gastroenterology B u r g er t , Susan, Chemical Dependency
Bayview C h a h a l , Raman, Psychiatry C u n n i n g h a m , Carla, Clinical Practice
Association Do r er , Janet, Clinical Immunology (Bayview) G o m ez , Juan, Infectious Diseases G r i s b a ch , Cinda Lynne, Surgery Ha r r y R u ck er , Inez, Infectious Diseases Ho w a r d , William, Psychiatry Ken n a n , Anne, Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine Kn u d s en , Yvonne, General Administration, Chairman’s Office L a z a r o u , John, Marketing and Communications M a r k o w i t z , Sandra, Pathology M cG o w a n , Felicia, Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences M ey er s o n , David, Cardiology (Bayview) N u n ez , Jeanne, Pediatrics Per k i n s , Audrey, Infectious Diseases R en n er t A r i ev , Jodi, Hospitalists (Bayview) Sk i n n er , Flavia, Pathology Tu r n b u l l , Melissa, Oncology U g a r t e , Marykate, Administration for Johns Hopkins Medicine Wea ver , Debbie, Psychiatry 5 years of service A d a m s , Mary, Cardiology A n d r ew s , Tina, Infectious Diseases B ey er , Lisa, Human Resources B i s h o p , Shannon, Infectious Diseases B r a n d o n , Vernell, Clinical Practice Association B u r g es s , Krystal, Rheumatology (Bayview) C a s s i d y , Rachel, Johns Hopkins Technology C o h n , Silvia, Infectious Diseases Da n i el s , Sheridia, Pathology G o r m a n , Ingrid, Surgery G r a n t , Letta, Ophthalmology Hi n es , Angelina, Biological Chemistry Ja co b s o n , Toni, Ophthalmology Ko d s i , Alejandra, Radiology L a f f o o n , Marjorie, Pathology L ee , Loza, Cell Biology L i n d en , Sheila, Oncology L o n g , Felicia, Ophthalmology M a n t eg n a , Steven, Human Resources M a r i a n o , Brian, Oncology M a r k u s , Susan, Oncology M cC a n n , Laura, Ophthalmology M i l es , Leslee, Pediatrics M o o r e , Rickey, Surgery Pa t el , Urvi, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Pi l l a i , Jay, Radiology R ed d , Marvin, Facilities R o b i n s o n , Andre, Jr., Infectious Diseases Sm i t h , Deborah, Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine Sz y l o w , Lucas, Clinical Investigations Ta t e , Stuart, Orthopaedics Tu b m a n , Antoinette, Institute of Genetic Medicine Wa n g , Fengying, Pathology W h i t e , David Saxton, Ophthalmology Wi l l i a m s , Crystal, Urology Z h a n g , Daisy, Urology Z h a o , Shan, Cell Biology
SHERIDAN LIBRARIES/ JHU MUSEUMS
15 years of service Ar t hur , Catherine, Homewood House M or g an , Daniel, Sheridan Libraries UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
Retirees Sund er l and , Joyce, 46 years of service,
Office of Chief Networking Officer Val ent i ne , Lamona, 35 years of
service, Controller 30 years of service Rand al l , Alonza, Supply Chain Shared
Services St i d ham , Brenda, Office of Chief
Networking Officer 25 years of service D avi s , William, Facilities
20 years of service P et r ovi a , Tiffany, Controller 15 years of service Bor s el l a , Claudia, Controller Chap m an , Deborah, Controller D em ut h , Susan, Development and Alumni Services 10 years of service Aug us t , Lisa, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate Far r el l , Nicholas, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate Gal vi n , Robert, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate H i l s eber g , Charles, Johns Hopkins
Real Estate H offer ber t , H. Craig, Enterprise
Applications M akowy , William, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate M azzoni , Denise, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate M or el and , Lisa, Human Resources M os s , Angela, Office of Chief
Networking Officer Sp ar was s er , Edward, Facilities St r ot t , Matthew, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate Swar t z , Alex, Controller War ner , Terrence, Johns Hopkins Real
Estate 5 years of service Cobb , Katrece, Office of Chief
Networking Officer Fi nc her , Melissa, Development and
Alumni Services Rey nol d s , Joseph, Office of the Chief
Enterprise Technology Sp enc e , Roberta, Facilities Wahl , Noelle, Treasurer WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Retirees Fr y , Ronald, 18 years of service, Center for Imaging Science 10 years of service H aber t , Elizabeth, Engineering
for Professionals M c Cut c heon , Cathy, Development
and Alumni Relations 5 years of service Ar r i ng t on , Pamela, Center for
Leadership Education Administration Bat es , Monique, Center for Imaging
Science Ly s kov , Sergey, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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10 23, 2011 2012 10 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• January August 15, H U M A N
R E S O U R C E S
Notices
Hot Jobs
Peabody Preparatory Cuban Salsa Classes — This 10-week Adult and Con-
tinuing Education session has openings for
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 more detailed job descriptions and to apply, go to jobs.jhu.edu. University Disability Services Officer Director, Instructional Resource Center Senior Research Service Analyst Research Programmer Analyst
School of Medicine Office of Human Resources 98 N. Broadway, Suite 300 410-955-2990 The Department of Ophthalmology is seeking experienced technicians and assistants who are team players with outstanding customer service attitudes. For detailed job descriptions and to apply, go to jobs.jhu.edu. 48725 48755 49137 49138 49687 50401
Ophthalmic Technician Ophthalmic Technician Ophthalmic Ultrasound Technician Ophthalmic Ultrasound Specialist Ophthalmic Technician Assistant Ophthalmic Clinical Supervisor
Schools of Public Health and Nursing Office of Human Resources 2021 E. Monument St. 410-955-3006 The Bloomberg School of Public Health is seeking skilled and dynamic applicants for part- and full-time positions. For detailed job descriptions and to apply, go to jobs.jhu. edu. 50715 50514 50882 50846 50783
Senior Research Program Supervisor Project Administrator Communications Coordinator Admissions Officer Administrative Manager
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
B O A R D
couples and individuals who want to learn Cuban-style salsa. Classes will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. on Mondays at Peabody’s downtown campus. Tuition is $50, with a special rate for Hopkins and Peabody Conservatory students. For more information, call 410-234-4630.
Scientists show how BRCA1 gene mutations harm breast cells B y V a n e ssa W as t a
Homewood
50722 50948 50718 50702
B U L L E T I N
W
orking with human breast cells, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have shown how the inactivation of a single copy of the breast cancer gene BRCA1 leaves breast cells vulnerable to cancer by reducing their ability to repair DNA damage, causing genetic instability. An inherited mutation in BRCA1 is the leading risk factor for hereditary breast cancer, prompting preventive mastectomies or close monitoring. The new findings may aid development of drugs to prevent hereditary breast cancer and tools to identify women who benefit most from prophylactic treatments. Precisely how BRCA1 inactivation raises cancer risk has remained something of a puzzle. BRCA1 is considered a “tumor suppressor” gene, and typically the loss of one copy of such genes is not enough to cause cancer. That’s because humans inherit two copies of each gene (one from each parent), and the second copy works well enough to keep cells healthy—just as a car can safely stop after losing the front brakes since the rear brakes are still intact. Cancer apparently develops in such cases only after the second copy is inactivated in a cell, perhaps by some random mutation during cell division, resulting in the “second hit”—causing uncontrolled cell growth as if the cell had lost its “brakes.” Mouse models of BRCA-related cancers have shown that “hits” to genes such as TP53 occur before the second “hit” to the remaining functional copy of BRCA. “In theory, this process would take a long time, and BRCA-related breast cancers occur at an early age,” said Ben Ho Park, an associate professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. For the study, reported Oct. 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Park and his team at Johns Hopkins took advantage of new technology to introduce a single copy of a typical BRCA1 mutation into normal breast cells. The leading hypothesis has been that the original inactivation of a single copy of BRCA1 causes further DNA mutations to accumulate more quickly than normal, a condition called “genomic instability.” The protein coded by BRCA1 is involved in repairing major DNA breaks, so it would make sense that its inactivation could weaken a cell’s resistance to DNA mutations, Park says. But the consequence of losing a single copy of BRCA1 was not easy to model or study, he adds. Previous efforts to create mice with single-copy BRCA1 mutations had uncertain results because the mice failed to show the pattern of human cancers. Researchers also have found it difficult to create human cell lines in which the only flaw is a single mutated copy of BRCA1. To test the idea, Park’s team first selected cell lines derived from noncancerous human breast epithelial cells, where BRCA1 breast cancers originate. They then used an advanced gene-targeting technique to create new cell lines that have a typical cancerlinked BRCA1 mutation in only one copy of the gene. Park’s team then ran tests on the two cell types—the ones that had the BRCA1 mutation and the original cells that had two healthy copies of BRCA1—and com-
pared their DNA repair activity. They were able to show that cells with BRCA1 mutations were less efficient at conducting the type of DNA repair known to involve the BRCA1 protein. The BRCA1-mutated cells were more likely to die when exposed to a DNA-damaging chemotherapy drug or radiation. BRCA1-mutated cells allowed to divide for several weeks also were more likely to lose other genes, including those often mutated in breast tumors. Tests on noncancerous breast cells taken from women with BRCA1 mutations showed similar genetic losses. “What this shows is that having only a single working copy of BRCA1 really does bring about changes in a cell that would be expected to give rise to cancer,” Park said. Park plans additional experiments on the team’s new cell models of BRCA1 mutations. “We hope to use this new system to introduce other known BRCA1 mutations to get a better idea of the relative cancer risk each individual mutation represents because right now there are few good ways to do that,” he said. “In the future, we hope to further define risk so that family members with one type of BRCA1 mutation may be advised to get preventive treatment or surgery, and those with other BRCA1 mutations could rely on careful screening.” The new cell models also may be useful in determining the susceptibility of various BRCA1 mutations to drugs, he adds. Anticancer drugs known as PARP inhibitors are currently in clinical trials against tumors with BRCA1 mutations. Women born with a mutated copy of BRCA1 have been shown to have lifetime risks of breast cancer between 50 and 90 percent, a wide range. They also have high, but variable, risks of ovarian and other cancers. The research was funded by the V Foundation; National Institutes of Health; Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Avon Foundation; Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation; Stewart Trust Fund; Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute; Breast Cancer Research Foundation; Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, known as MEXT; Strategic Research Foundation Grant-aided Project for Private Universities from MEXT; Aichi Cancer Research Foundation; and Osaka Cancer Research Foundation. Other contributors to the research include Hiroyuki Konishi, a member of the Park lab; Johns Hopkins colleagues Morassa Mohseni, Akina Tamaki, Joseph P. Garay, Sarah Croessmann, Hong Yuen Wong, Yuko Konishi, Bedri Karakas, Abde M. Abukhdeir, John P. Gustin, Justin Cidado, Grace M. Wang, David Cosgrove, Rory Cochran, Danijela Jelovac, Michaela J. Higgins, Sabrina Arena, Lauren Hawkins, Josh Lauring, Amy L. Gross, Christopher M. Heaphy, Edward Gabrielson, Alan K. Meeker, Kala Visvanathan and Pedram Argani; Sivasundaram Karnan, Akinobu Ota and Yositaka Hosokawa, all of the Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Japan; and Khola Tahir and Kurtis E. Bachman, both of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Under a license agreement between Horizon Discovery Inc. and The Johns Hopkins University, Park is entitled to a share of royalties received by the university. He also is a paid member of the scientific advisory board of Horizon.
January 23, 2012 • THE GAZETTE
Classifieds APARTMENTS/HOUSES FOR RENT
Brewers Hill, rehabbed 2BR, 2.5BA TH, gourmet kitchen, fin’d bsmt, deck, no pets, avail Feb 1. $1,850/mo. 410-303-1214 or hudsonstreetrental@hotmail.com. Canton/Fells Point (603 S Patterson Park Ave), 2BR, 2.5BA renov’d RH, 1,500 sq ft, CAC, hdwd flrs, expos’d brick, extra rms, laundry, rooftop deck, walk to park. $1,650/mo. fionalydon@hotmail.com. Ednor Gardens, 3BR, 2BA charmer in historic neighborhood nr JHU/JHMI, inlaid hdwds, sunrm, new appls, no smoking/no pets. $1,350/mo. dewi.smith@gmail.com. Essex, 2BR, 1BA condo in water view, laundry in unit, to own. $875/mo (unfurn’d) (furn’d). 410-322-2168 or yahoo.com.
secure bldg, rent or rent or $925/mo julainepw@
Federal Hill, architect-renovated 2BR, 1.5BA TH, roof deck w/harbor view, hdwd flrs, pets OK. $2,300/mo. 410-472-4702 or honorashea@gmail.com. Fells Point, spacious 2BR, 1BA condo in PS25 building in the heart of the city, 14' ceilings, hdwd flrs, granite counters, stainless steel appls, mins to Hopkins shuttle stop, pets welcome. $1,698/mo. 410-952-8045. Glen Burnie, studio apt, BA, kitchenette, W/D, 12 mi to campus, must be car owner. 443-799-7530. Hamilton Ave (at Walther), 2BR, 1BA apt, 1st flr. $750/mo. 301-538-3819. Harbor East, lg, luxury 1BR, walking distance to Carey Business School, 3-month lease, avail March 1. $2,136/mo incl prkng. 917-951-1440. Inner Harbor, beautiful, new 1BR condo in luxury apt bldg, hdwd flrs, stainless steel appls, W/D in unit, balcony, reserved garage prkng spot, 24-hr doorman, pool, gym, mins to JHH. 305-469-4663 or absrini@gmail .com. Mt Washington, sublet 2BR apt in beautiful wooded area nr campus, conv to downtown, avail end of Jan to May, meditative energy, lots of light, W/D, dw, microwave, DSL, WiFi, Netflix, community fitness center, rent discounted in exchange for cat care. $850/mo + utils. 410-764-3494. Ocean City (137th St), 3BR, 2BA condo, steps from the beach, lg pool, 2 prkng spaces, short walk to entertainment and restaurants. 410-544-2814. Owings Mills Newtown, 2BR, 2BA condo, 3rd flr. $1,300/mo. 609-647-9386 or wwotorson@verizon.net. Patterson Park/Highlandtown, 3BR, 1.5BA RH, huge kitchen w/new stainless steel appls, hdwd flrs, updated master BA, backyd w/privacy fence, CAC, blks to shuttle stop, no pets allowed, refs req’d. $1,400/mo. 410-218-4708 or ky_helfrich@ hotmail.com. Remington (29th St), 2BR, 1BA TH w/ kitchen, living rm, bsmt, fenced yd, no pets/no smokers, 5-min walk to Homewood campus. $800/mo + utils. 443-783-5666 or lilly7772011@gmail.com. 30+ professional male seeking male to share 3BD, 2BA, 3-lvl ths in Ednor Gardens/
Orig.l Northwood, hwd fls, W/D, priv.BA w/tub, 3.1 mi, 7 mins. to Homewood. 3.4 mi, 13 mins to JHMI, Avail-3/10/12, $750 mo.+ sec.dep. cable, internet/utili. incl., 6 mo. or 1 year lease, no pets. More info./or set up visit, 410-961-4048 or chrisdunnguitar@gmail.com.
11
M A R K E T P L A C E
Remington, 2BR and 1 full BA, located off 28th St at Miles Ave. $800/mo + utils. 443449-4883. Villages of Homeland, 1BR apt in gated community, CAC, laundry rm on same flr, walk-in closets, patio, pool, exercise rm, prkng, avail Feb 1. $850/mo incl heat. 410532-9492. Fabulous 5BR executive home avail, furn’d or unfurn’d, rent or rent to own, convenient to Baltimore. 410-259-8879. Beautiful 1BR apt across from park, 2nd flr of TH, priv entry, 10-min drive to JHH/ Homewood campus, unfurn’d, 1-yr lease. $550/mo incl heat. Paula, 410-868-2815 or paulakowale@gmail.com.
wireless. 917-647-7779 or mari.grotz@gmail .com.
Alfred Dunner pull-on pants, size 10 regular, color black, new. $20. 410-522-7546.
Share 2BR, 1BA waterfront apt in Baltimore County, W/D, 12 mi to E Baltimore campus. $900/mo ($450/ea) + sec dep + heat and AC. rick1432@comcast.net.
Upright piano, Kohler and Campbell. $750/ best offer. Kiani, 443-722-9807.
F wanted to share lg apt in Towson area, priv BR w/full BA, use of W/D, common areas, pool, Dish TV/Internet, quiet, upscale area. $725/mo incl utils. 443-4657011 or junedameron@gmail.com.
CARS FOR SALE
’07 VW Passat, black, leather, DVD, Navi, CD, MP3, clean, up-to-date on maintenance, 115K mi (highway). $9,500. 804504-1202 or louis.alexjr@gmail.com. ’03 Jeep Liberty Sport, 3.7L, 4WD, Md insp’d, in great cond, 114K mi. $6,500. 443791-1799 or mmuelle8@gmail.com.
Motorcycle gear: Women’s lined leather jacket, size XS, $125; women’s Milwaukee boots, #7, $85; 12-volt battery charger, $55; all in excel cond. lisamwolf@comcast. net. Ethan Allen sofa, forest green upholstery, dk wood trim, in excel cond. $300 (negotiable). John, 410-256-0369 or tinydancer133@ verizon.net.
SERVICES/ITEMS OFFERED OR WANTED
Seeking experienced, long-term nanny to care for 2 young children nr Homewood campus. 773-396-4852 (cell) or galexand@ uchicago.edu. Stage your home or office for quick sale, your style, our stage. Amelia, 410-499-6156.
2BR, 1.5BA avail in 3BR house, kitchen, living rm, dining rm, fin’d bsmt, lg yd w/big grill. $1,400/mo. 410-800-8141.
’06 Toyota 4Runner SR5, V8, white, sunroof, tow hitch, roof racks, orig owner, new tires/brakes, scheduled service done at the dealer, in excel cond, 68K mi. $19,000. jspa77@gmail.com.
HOUSES FOR SALE
’05 Mazda 6 sedan, just serviced, new tires, in excel shape, 48K mi. $8,850. 410-9480789.
St Thomas Aquinas grade school in Hampden is accepting enrollment for fall 2012, walking distance to JHU. 410-880-4618.
’89 Chevy Silverado pickup, 4x4, rebuilt motor, new tires. $2,400. John, 443-7507750.
Looking for a tutor for 10-yr-old focusing on spelling and reading. Tracy, tkdeemer@ msn.com.
Fells Point (300 blk S Durham St), 3 stories, new front/rear masonry work, nice yd, nr JHH. $175,000. Dorothy, 410-419-3902. Gardenville, 3BR, 1.25BA RH, new kitchen and BA, CAC, hdwd flrs, fenced, maintenance-free yd w/carport, club bsmt w/cedar closet, quiet neighborhood, 15 mins to JHH. $120,000. 443-610-0236 or tziporachai@ juno.com. Owings Mills New Town, 2BR condo nr metro station. $74,900. www .4409silverbrook.info.
ROOMMATES WANTED
Mature F wanted to share 2BR, 1BA apt w/ married prof’l from Delaware. $575/mo incl utils, cable, Internet. 302-724-0044. Sublet: 1BR w/priv BA in 2BR Butchers Hill apt, hdwd flrs, roof deck, prkng, furn’d/ unfurn’d, now through June, timing flexible. $850/mo. 781-249-5269. F nonsmoker bedspacer wanted to share condo in Washington Hill (98 N Broadway) w/grad student, adjacent to Church Professional Building, walk to JHH/shuttle. $450/ mo + utils. retzcare@yahoo.com. Nonsmoker wanted for furn’d 700 sq ft BR in 3BR house in Cedonia owned by young F prof’l, bright, 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. F nonsmoker wanted for 1BR in 2BR W University Pkwy apt, share w/Hopkins alumna, AC, heat, hot water, 5 mins to campus, no pets. $540/mo + 1/2 elec. gwxts5@ gmail.com.
ITEMS FOR SALE
Dell Inspiron 8100 and 8200, w/dock stations, $130 and $150; Toshiba Satellite L25, $100; eMachine 330 w/monitor, $70; HP ScanJet 4570c scanner, $50; 13" and 21" Sony TVs w/HDTV antenna and digital converters, $60 and $120; NuWave cooker, $60; bread maker, $30; rice cooker, $25; Belgian waffle maker, $15. 410-812-9267 or azhelon@gmail.com. Singer sewing machines (2), in cabinets, both in working order, $100/ea; Fender acoustic guitar, $150; oak entertainment center, $350. Chris, 443-326-7717. Hotpoint refrigerator/freezer, white, 18 cu ft, w/automatic icemaker and defrost, 4 yrs old, buyer picks up. $225. 443-803-7401 or beaadd@aol.com. TI-83 Plus graphing calculator, $25; TI-89 titanium graphing calculator, $50; longtrack speed skates, men’s size 36, Dark Star blades, $75; Panasonic 20" color TV (not a flat screen), $20; Sony Trinitron 13" TV (not flat screeen), $25. 410-542-0409 or ncarrey@comcast.net. Oil-filled heaters (3), inkjet printer, portable canvas chair, sand beach chairs (2), keyboard case, 100W amplifier. 410-4555858 or iricse.its@verizon.net. iPod nano 8G, 6th generation, black, brand new, never used, w/clip, shake shuffle, FM transmitter, touch display, many other features. Best offer. grogan.family@hotmail .com.
M nonsmoker wanted for 2BR apt in Towson (695 at exit 28), quiet and safe, 1BR/1BA avail. $535/mo incl water (elec, Internet not incl’d). ernest6359@gmail.com. Lg BR avail in Fells Point 3BR apt (918 S Wolfe St), good windows, great neighborhood, historic house next to Red Star restaurant. $800/mo + share of utils, cable,
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
Live-in nanny avail, caring, responsible former teacher, years of experience, refs avail. Olya, 443-831-7807 or volha1984@ gmail.com. Need someone to edit your biomedical journal article or grant application? Jones Biomediting can help. michellejones@ jonesbiomediting.com. French tutor w/MAT available. 443-6911412. Certified personal and career coach committed to helping young professionals achieve their potential. 410-375-4042 or mmolten1@yahoo.com. Tutor available: all subjects/levels; remedial, gifted; help w/college counseling, speech and essay writing, editing, proofreading. 410-337-9877 (after 8pm) or i1__@ hotmail.com. Licensed landscaper avail for fall/winter lawn maintenance, yard cleanup, leaf/snow removal, trash hauling. Taylor Landscaping LLC. 410-812-6090 or romilacapers@ comcast.net. Transmission repairs, rebuilt or used, 20% discount for all JHU faculty, staff, students and employees, free estimate. Bob, 410574-8822. Piano lessons offered by Peabody doctorate, great teaching experience, all levels/ages welcome. 410-662-7951. 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:
HICKORY HEIGHTS WYMAN COURT Just Renovated! A lovely hilltop setting • One ad per person per week. A
Beech Ave. adj. to JHU!
Help send cookies to troops. 443-710-2320 (leave message) or donnamacklea@hotmail .com.
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 443-275-2687.
12 THE GAZETTE • January 23, 2012 J A N .
2 3
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3 0
Calendar DISCUSSION/ TALKS
“U.S. Interests in Central Asia and Its Strategy for Advancing Them,” a Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at SAIS discussion with Robert Blake Jr., U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs. A live webcast will be accessible at www.sais-jhu.edu/pressroom/live .html. Non-SAIS affiliates should RSVP to CACI at saiscaciforums@ jhu.edu. Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Bldg. SAIS Wed., Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m.
Johns Hopkins Medicine Distinguished Speaker Series—“Trading Risks: The Impact of Resident Work Hour Regulations on Patients, Providers and the Future of Health Care” with Charles Bosk, University of Pennsylvania. Address followed by patient/provider panel and audience Q&A. Hurd Hall.
L E C T URE S Wed., Jan. 25, 7:30 to 9 a.m.
Leaders & Legends Lecture by Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. (See story, p. 7.) Speaker’s remarks will be followed by questions from the audience. Business attire required. 100 International Drive, Harbor East. MUSIC Tues., Jan. 24, 8 p.m. Sylvia Adalman Peabody Chamber Series presents music by Mendelssohn, Rose and Faure. $15 general admission, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students with ID. Friedberg Hall. Peabody
Preparatory Honors Recital. Griswold Hall. Peabody
Sun., Jan. 29, 3 p.m.
“Digital Embrace,” a concert featuring works for wind ensemble and live electronics. Friedberg Hall. Pea-
Sun., Jan. 29, 3 p.m.
body
The Shriver Hall Concert Series presents Les Violons du Roy, with Bernard Labadie, director, and Maurice Steger, recorder. (See story, this page.) $38 general admission, $19 for non-JHU students; free for JHU students. Shriver Auditorium. HW
Sun., Jan. 29, 5:30 p.m.
S E M I N AR S
Mon.,
Jan.
23,
12:15
p.m.
“Mixed Messages: The Intersection of Prenatal Genetic Testing and Abortion,” a Berman Insti-
“Immune Privilege and Autoimmunity,” a Molecular Pathology seminar with Rachel Caspi, National Eye Institute/NIH. Sponsored by Pathology. 490 Rangos. EB
Wed., Jan. 25, noon.
Wed.,
Jan.
25,
12:15
p.m.
“The Cellular RNA Soup: Add Salt(s) and Spice to Taste,” a Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry seminar with David Draper, KSAS. 701 WBSB. EB Wed., Jan. 25, 1:30 p.m.
Les Violons du Roy to make SHCS debut
S
hriver Hall Concert Series begins 2012 by presenting its annual Paul and Barbara Krieger Early Music Concert, with the Canadian ensemble Les Violons du Roy. The acclaimed group will perform works by Handel, Telemann, Sammartini and Geminiani at 5:30 pm. on Sunday, Jan. 29, in Homewood’s Shriver Hall Auditorium. Borrowing its name from the renowned string orchestra of the court of the French kings, Les Violons du Roy is widely hailed for the exceptional energy, brilliance and vitality of its performances. The orchestra, with a core membership of 15 players, makes its series debut with founding artistic and music director Bernard Labadie and recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger. Since its founding in 1984, the group has specialized in the vast repertoire of music for chamber orchestra performed in the stylistic manner most appropriate to each era. Though the ensemble plays modern instruments, its approach to the works of the baroque and classical periods has been strongly influenced by research into 17th- and 18thcentury performance practice; in this repertoire, Les Violons uses copies of period bows. In recent seasons, the orchestra has begun to explore 19th- and 20th-century repertoire. Les Violons du Roy is at the heart of the music scene in Quebec City, where it has been in residence at the Palais Montcalm since 2007. The group first performed in Europe in 1988 and has given dozens of concerts in France, Germany, England, Spain and the Netherlands. Since its first U.S. performance, in 1995 in Washington, D.C., the group has made regular stops in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. For ticket information, go to www.shriverconcerts.org or call 410-5167164.
tute of Bioethics seminar with Rachel Rebouche, Levin College of Law, University of Florida. W3008 SPH. EB
dent Trafficking of the Membrane ATPase, ATP7B,” a Gastroenterology seminar with Lelita Braiterman, SoM. 903 Ross. EB
Mon., Jan. 23, 1 p.m. “Cancer Inflammation and Immune Responses in Pancreatic Carcinoma in Mice and Humans,” an Immunology Training Program seminar with Robert Vonderheide, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Tilghman Auditorium, Turner Concourse.
Tues., Jan. 24, noon.
EB
Mon., Jan. 23, 12:15 p.m. “A Neural Mechanism for Learning Temporal Expectancies,” a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Marshall Shuler, SoM. Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW
Tues., Jan. 24, 4 p.m. “Mechanism of miRNA-Mediated Translational Repression,” a Biology special seminar with Sergej Djuranovic, SoM. 100 Mudd. HW
Mental Health Wednesday Noon Seminar—“Risk Reduction for Juvenile Drug Court–Involved Youth” with Elizabeth Letourneau, SPH. B14B Hampton House. EB
Mon., Jan. 30, 4 p.m.
EB
for Injury Research and Policy. W2008 SPH. EB
“Optimal Sparse Signal Identification With Applications in Copy Number Variation Analysis,” a Biostatistics seminar with Jessie Jeng, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. W2030 SPH. EB
Mon., Jan. 23, 4 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 24, noon. “Roles for Phosphorylation and Acidification in the Copper-Depen-
“Automating the Contextualization of Population-Based CDSS in Tethered EHR/PHRs,” a Health Policy and Management seminar with Hadi Kharrazi, Indiana University. 688 Hampton House. EB
Wed., Jan. 25, 4 p.m. Special Bodian Seminar—“Explaining Visual Search With the Selective Attention for Identification Model (VS-SAIM): Competitive Interactions Between/Within Selection and Object Identification” with Dietmar Heinke, University of Birmingham, UK. Sponsored by the Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. 338 Krieger. HW Wed., Jan. 25, 4 p.m. “Ster oidogenic Enzyme Inhibitors and Hormone Dependent Cancer,” a Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences seminar with Angela Brodie, University of Maryland School of Medicine. West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB
“Fat Cadherins in Regulation of Planar Cell Polarity and Mitochondrial Biology,” a Cell Biology seminar with Helen McNeill, University of Toronto. Suite 2-200, 1830 Bldg.
Thurs., Jan. 26, noon.
EB
“Why Mycobacterium tuberculosis Re mains Such an Enduring Pathogen,” a Molecular Microbiology and Immunology/Infectious Diseases seminar with David Russell, Cornell University. W1020 SPH.
Thurs., Jan. 26, noon.
“Next Steps in Reducing Maryland’s Cancer Burden: Maryland’s Cancer Control Plan,” a LunchLearnLink seminar with Diane Dwyer and Sarah Hokenmaier, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Sponsored by Health Policy and Management. W1214 SPH. EB
Thurs., Jan. 26, noon.
Thurs., Jan. 26, 1 p.m. “Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Morphogenesis,” a Neuroscience research seminar with Wesley Grueber, Columbia University. West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB Thurs., Jan. 26, 4 p.m. “The Roles of the Nuclear Pore Complex in Chromatin Organization, Transcription and Development,” a Biology seminar with Maya Capelson, Salk Institute for Biological Studies. 100 Mudd. HW
Tues.,
Fri., Jan. 27, noon.
Jan.
24,
12:10
p.m.
“Multimorbidity, Inflammation and Physical Performance Among HIV-Infected and Uninfected Current and Former Injection Drug Users,” an Epidemiology thesis defense seminar with Megan Salter. W1214 SPH. EB
Fri., Jan. 27, 12:15 p.m.
“Management of Colorectal Liver Metastasis: Understanding Shifting Treatment Strategies,” a Graduate Training Program in Clinical Investigation thesis defense seminar with Timothy Pawlik. E2527 SPH. EB
Mon., Jan. 30, 8 a.m.
Mon., Jan. 30, noon. “IL-18 and IL-18BP in Autoimmune Diseases and Poxvirus Infection,” a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology seminar with Junpeng Deng, Oklahoma State University. W1020 SPH. EB
SPECIAL EVENTS
Fri., Jan. 27, 2 to 4 p.m.
Provost’s Lecture Series—“Dark Energy and the Cosmic Expansion History” by Nobel Prize winner Adam Riess. (See In Brief, p. 2.) Q&A session and reception follow Riess’ talk. Cosponsored by Biology, Conversations in Medicine, Homewood Student Affairs and Pre-Professional Advising. Kossiakoff Center Auditorium. APL W OR K S H O P S The Center for Educational Resources sponsors a series of
workshops on the Blackboard 9.1 interface. The training is open to all faculty, staff and TAs in fulltime KSAS or WSE programs who have administrative responsibilities in a Blackboard course. To register, go to www.bb.cer.jhu .edu. Garrett Room, MSE Library.
HW
•
EB
Tues., Jan. 24, noon. “When Ion Channel Meets Transporter: Structure and Mechanism of a Eukaryotic CLC Transporter,” a Biological Chemistry seminar with Liang Feng, Rockefeller University/HHMI. Mountcastle Auditorium, PCTB. EB
“Falling Through the Cracks: Designs That Kill,” a Graduate Seminar in Injury Research and Policy seminar with Susan Baker, SPH. Sponsored by the Center
Yang Gong, University of Missouri. Brown bag lunch provided. 688 Hampton House. EB
“Introducing Learning Features in Intelligent Patient Safety Reporting and Management Systems,” a Health Informatics/Information Science faculty candidate seminar with
Mon., Jan. 23, 10 a.m. to noon; Thurs., Jan. 26, 2 to 4 p.m.; and Mon., Jan. 30, 10 a.m. to noon.
“Getting Started Blackboard.” •
With
Tues., Jan. 24, 10 a.m. to noon. “Blackboard Com-
munication and Collaboration.”
•
Wed., Jan. 25, and Fri., Jan. 27, 10 a.m. to noon.
“Assessing Student Knowledge and Managing Grades in Blackboard.”
(Events are free and Calendar open to the public Key except where indicated.) APL BRB CRB EB HW JHOC
Applied Physics Laboratory Broadway Research Building Cancer Research Building East Baltimore Homewood Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center KSAS Krieger School of Arts and Sciences NEB New Engineering Building PCTB Preclinical Teaching 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