The Gazette -- Oct, 26, 2009 by The Johns Hopkins University

o ur 3 9 th ye ar

‘ y r B LC s pa c e’

o nl ine inf o rm atics

Covering Homewood, East Baltimore, Peabody,

Design contest seeks student

New medical journal is devoted

SAIS, APL and other campuses throughout the

ideas for study space in Brody

to research, commentary on

Baltimore-Washington area and abroad, since 1971.

Learning Commons, page 5

computer automation, page 7

October 26, 2009

The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University

Volume 38 No. 9

O U T R E A C H

R E S E A R C H

Instrumental arrangement

Unraveling the physics of cancer By Mary Spiro

Institute for NanoBioTechnology

Continued on page 6

WI LL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU

esearchers from the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology have been awarded a $14.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to launch a research center aimed at unraveling the physical underpinnings that drive the growth NCI grant and spread of cancer. The new Johns Hoplaunches JH kins Engineering in Engineering, Oncology Center at INBT includes 11 in Oncology Johns Hopkins faculty members affiliated with the INBT Center and four investigators from partner universities. The project’s participants say that they hope this new line of research will lead to neverbefore-considered approaches to cancer therapy and diagnostics. The Johns Hopkins center is one of 12 being launched by the National Cancer Institute to bring a new cadre of theoretical physicists, mathematicians, chemists and engineers to the study of cancer. During the five-year initiative, the NCI’s Physical Sciences–Oncology Centers will take new, nontraditional approaches to cancer research by studying the physical laws and principles of cancer; evolution and evolutionary theory of cancer; information coding, decoding, transfer and translation in cancer; and ways to deconvolute cancer’s complexity. “By bringing a fresh set of eyes to the study of cancer, these new centers have great potential to advance, and sometimes challenge, accepted theories about cancer and its supportive microenvironment,” said NCI Director John E. Niederhuber. “Physical scientists think in terms of time, space, pressure, heat and evolution in ways that we hope will lead to new understandings of the multitude of forces that govern cancer, and with that understanding, we hope to develop new and

During a music class at Lockerman Bundy Elementary School, Peabody’s Daniel Trahey works with teachers Kate Hoffmann, standing, and Rochelle Montague, seated at right.

hen Daniel Trahey joined Peabody’s Music Teacher Mentoring Program in 2004, the Conservatory graduate and professional tuba player assumed he’d focus on pedagogy. Trahey thought he would show Baltimore City’s public school music teachers proper woodwind finger techniques, teach them how to play the bassoon or find ways to

Peabody program helps mentor music educators in Baltimore schools By Greg Rienzi

The Gazette

E A S T

make the school’s band tighter or choir more in tune. So it caught him somewhat off guard when the music teachers, most of whom were new to the area, wanted instead to learn how to write a grant, get the school’s clarinet repaired or find a good local restaurant. Continued on page 4

B A L T I M O R E

Armstrong Medical Education Building dedicated State-of-the-art facility will be home of revolutionary new curriculum By Gary Stephenson

Johns Hopkins Medicine

ore than a century ago, Johns Hopkins revolutionized the teaching of medicine with a new

In B r i e f

Latest flu count; avant-garde films; MLK Jr. Award nominations; Kozena out of concert

curriculum that merged evidence-based science with patient-centered clinical care. This so-called Hopkins model became the national gold standard for modern medical education. Now, Johns Hopkins is launching the second revolution in medical education, and it will take place within a new, state-of-the-art education building designed to support the new Genes to Society curriculum. The curriculum is notable for its systems approach to understanding all levels of the human being, from the genes, molecules, cells and organs

of the patient to the familial, community, societal and environmental components that affect patient health. The formal dedication ceremony for the Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building, located adjacent to the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center on the East Baltimore campus, took place on Saturday afternoon. Speaking in an interview before the dedication, Edward D. Miller, dean of the

C A L E N D AR

Screenwriting seminar; T.S. Eliot’s ‘Cocktail Party’; Midori plays; Bits & Bytes workshop

Continued on page 7

10 Job Opportunities 10 Notices 11 Classifieds

2 THE GAZETTE • October 26, 2009 I N B R I E F

Two films by multimedia artist Matthew Barney to be screened

he avant-garde films Cremaster 4 and Drawing Restraint 10 by multimedia artist Matthew Barney will be screened at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, in Homewood’s Shriver Hall Auditorium. The New York Times wrote that Barney’s Cremaster movies—a series of five that were not made in numerical order— “established him as one of the most ambitious artists of his generation.” Drew Daniel, an assistant professor and director of undergraduate studies in the English Department, and one-half of the electronic music duo Matmos, will introduce the films and lead a discussion afterward. The screenings—presented by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in partnership with Johns Hopkins’ Film and Media Studies Program and the JHU Film Society—accompany Mixed Signals: Artists Consider Masculinity in Sports, a traveling exhibition on display through Dec. 12 at UMBC. The exhibition was organized and is circulated by iCI (Independent Curators International). The exhibition and tour are made possible, in part, by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, iCI Advocates, iCI Partners, Agnes Gund, Gerrit and Sydie Lansing, and Barbara and John Robinson.

The in place for Hopkins working professionals! Short-term leases available! Furnished or unfurnished studios & 1 and 2 bedroom apartments!

Move in Specials!*

x x x x x x x

Elevator building with fantastic views of downtown Baltimore! Located in historic Charles Village! Walk to JHU Homewood Campus, shops, and restaurants! Directly across from Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins & Shuttle to JHMI. Just minutes to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor & tourist attractions. Laundry Facility on Site. Fitness Center on Site.

Latest student flu count: 303 H1N1 cases universitywide

s of Oct. 20, the most recent date on which statistics were released, 303 students universitywide had been diagnosed with probable cases of H1N1 flu. The greatest number was at Homewood, where 242 cases had been identified. Peabody had reported a total 22 cases to date.

*Call today for details! 410 235 7829

www.morgan-properties.com *Limited Time Offer

Singer Kozena withdraws from Shriver Hall Concert Series

join us for

octoberfest $ .00 13 all month long

pint of draft beer � cheddar soup � housemade knockwurst � sauerkraut � german potato salad

inn and spa at the colonnade • 443.449.6200 4 west university pkwy • baltimore, maryland 21218 alizeebaltimore.com at the

complimentary valet & self parking

rated

� � � � b y b a l t i m o r e s u n’s , e l i z a b e t h l a r g e

hriver Hall Concert Series announced last week that mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena has withdrawn from her Feb. 21 series recital with pianist Yefim Bronfman, citing personal reasons. Kozena has also withdrawn from her associated recital tour dates, including one at Carnegie Hall. Bronfman, an audience favorite, will now play a solo recital on that date: Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C Minor; Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien; Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14; and Tchaikovsky’s Sonata in G Major, Op. 37. Bronfman is regarded worldwide as one of the greatest virtuoso pianists performing today. He has also won widespread praise for his recordings, including a Grammy in 1997 for the three Bartok Piano Concertos with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Born in Tashkent in 1958, Bronfman

Editor Lois Perschetz Writer Greg Rienzi Production Lynna Bright Copy Editor Ann Stiller Photography Homewood Photography A d v e rt i s i n g The Gazelle Group B u s i n e ss Dianne MacLeod C i r c u l at i o n Lynette Floyd W e bm a s t e r Tim Windsor

immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973 and made his international debut two years later. In the United States, he studied at Juilliard, Marlboro and the Curtis Institute, and with Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher and Rudolf Serkin. For more information, or to order tickets, go to www.shriverconcerts.org or call 410516-7164.

Call for nominations for MLK Jr. Community Service Award

utside of their normal workday, hundreds of faculty, staff and others at Johns Hopkins find the energy, compassion and time to advocate for and help others by lending a hand at a food bank, collecting clothing for needy families, repairing homes for the elderly and more. The university is looking for these special people who are committed to making a difference through community service and has issued a call for nominations for the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Community Service. The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate the spirit of volunteerism, citizenship and activism that characterized the life and legacy of Dr. King. All faculty, staff, graduate students and retirees are eligible to be nominated. The awards will be presented to honorees at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Celebration in January. The deadline is Friday, Nov. 13, for nominations, which may be submitted online at http://hr.jhu.edu/mlk. For information about prior recipients and keynote speakers, go to http://hr.jhu.edu/fsrp/outreach/mlk. For more information, contact Jeff Pratt at jeffpratt@ jhu.edu or 410-516-6060.

Authors of Lombardi book and a graphic novel at B&N

arnes & Noble Johns Hopkins this week welcomes two authors who will talk about their latest books. John Eisenberg, a former sports columnist for The Baltimore Sun and author of six books, will be in the Charles Commons store at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, to discuss That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory, a tale of the once-vaunted Green Bay Packers under a new head coach. On Friday, Oct. 30, author and academic Christos Papadimitriou will talk at 7 p.m. about his new critically acclaimed graphic novel, Logicomix, which recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell. Papadimitriou, who received his doctorate in computer science from Princeton, currently holds the Lester C. Hogan Chair at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a leading international expert on the theory of algorithms, computational complexity and game theory. He also plays keyboards in a rock band.

Contributing Writers Applied Physics Laboratory Michael Buckley, Paulette Campbell Bloomberg School of Public Health Tim Parsons, Natalie Wood-Wright Carey Business School Andrew Blumberg Homewood Lisa De Nike, Amy Lunday, Dennis O’Shea, Tracey A. Reeves, Phil Sneiderman Johns Hopkins Medicine Christen Brownlee, Stephanie Desmon, Audrey Huang, John Lazarou, David March, Katerina 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 Government, Community and Public Affairs, Suite 540, 901 S. Bond St., Baltimore, MD 21231, in cooperation with all university divisions. Subscriptions are $26 per year. Deadline for calendar items, notices and classifieds (free to JHU faculty, staff and students) is noon Monday, one week prior to publication date. Phone: 443-287-9900 Fax: 443-287-9920 General e-mail: gazette@jhu.edu Classifieds e-mail: gazads@jhu.edu On the Web: gazette.jhu.edu Paid advertising, which does not represent any endorsement by the university, is handled by the Gazelle Group at 410343-3362 or gazellegrp@comcast.net.

October 26, 2009 • THE GAZETTE

R E C O G N I T I O N

Two new Whiting School Faculty Scholars named By Phil Sneiderman

Homewood

WILL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU

JAY VANRENSSELAER / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU

atalia Trayanova and Louis Whitcomb have been selected as the first recipients of two new Faculty Scholar awards in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins. This designation, awarded for a three-year term, provides exceptional faculty with flexible financial support to promote their research, teaching activities and entrepreneurial thinking. Trayanova, a professor of biomedical engineering and a researcher in the Institute for Computational Medicine, has been named the Whiting School’s first William R. Brody Faculty Scholar. Her award was established by Robert A. Seder in honor of former Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody. The award was given in recognition of Trayanova’s development of computational tools and simulations that advance understanding and improve the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders. Seder is a university trustee and a member of the Whiting School’s National Advisory Council and the Department of Biomedical

Louis Whitcomb

Natalia Trayanova

Engineering’s Advisory Board. He is chief of the Cellular Immunology Section at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center. The other new Whiting School honoree, Whitcomb, is a professor of mechanical

engineering and director of the Laboratory for Computational and Sensing Robotics. He has been named the school’s inaugural Louis M. Sardella Faculty Scholar, recognizing Whitcomb’s research in underwater and medical robotics.

The award given to Whitcomb was established by Sardella, who received a degree in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins in 1969 and founded the Sun Automation Group, an international industry leader in the manufacturing of machinery used in corrugated-box production. Sardella has long supported the Whiting School, both as a former member of the school’s National Advisory Council and Society of Engineering Alumni and through his philanthropic efforts. In addition to establishing the new Faculty Scholar award, Sardella has endowed a named professorship, the Louis M. Sardella Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and two undergraduate scholarships. Nick Jones, the Benjamin T. Rome Dean of the Whiting School, praised Seder and Sardella for supporting the school’s educational and research endeavors. “Bob and Lou are providing far more than recognition of two outstanding members of the Whiting School faculty,” Jones said. “Their gifts will enable Louis and Natalia to pursue their interests, to conduct research that will have real and positive impact on the world. This type of support is critical to our faculty and the school’s success. We are extremely grateful for their generosity.”

Now hear this: Scientists show how tiny cells deliver big sound By Maryalice Yakutchik

Johns Hopkins Medicine

eep in the ear, 95 percent of the cells that shuttle sound to the brain are big, boisterous neurons that, to date, have explained most of what scientists know about how hearing works. Whether a rare, whisper-small second set of cells also carries signals from the inner ear to the brain and has a real role in processing sound has been a matter of debate. Now, reporting on rat experiments in the Oct. 22 issue of Nature, a Johns Hopkins team says that it has, for what is believed to be the first time, managed to measure and record the elusive electrical activity of the type II neurons in the snail shell–like structure called the cochlea. And it turns out that the cells do indeed carry signals from the ear to the brain, and the sounds to which they likely respond would need to be loud, such as sirens or alarms that might even be described as painful or traumatic. The researchers say they’ve also discovered that these sensory cells get the job done by responding to glutamate released from sensory hair cells of the inner ear. Glutamate

is a workhorse neurotransmitter throughout the nervous system, and it excites the cochlear neurons to carry acoustic information to the brain. “No one thought recording them was even possible,” said Paul A. Fuchs, the John E. Bordley Professor of Otolaryngology– Head and Neck Surgery and co-director of the Center for Sensory Biology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a co-author of the report. “We knew the type II neurons were there, and now at last we know something about what they do and how they do it.” Working with week-old rats, neuroscience graduate student Catherine Weisz removed live soft tissue from the fragile cochlea and, guided by a powerful microscope, touched electrodes to the tiny type II nerve endings beneath the sensory hair cells. Different types of stimuli were used to activate sensory hair cells, allowing Weisz to record and analyze the resulting signals in type II fibers. Results showed that unlike type I neurons, which are electrically activated by the quietest sounds we hear and which saturate as sounds get louder, each type II neuron would need to be hit hard by a very loud sound to produce excitation, Fuchs said.

The cell bodies of both type I and type II neurons sprout long filaments, or axons, that head to the brain, and some others that connect to sensory hair cells. Unlike the big type I neurons, each of which makes one little sprout that touches one sensory hair cell in one spot, the type II cells have projections that contact dozens of hair cells over a relatively great distance. “Somewhat counterintuitively, the type II cell that contacts many hair cells receives surprisingly little synaptic input,” Fuchs said. “In fact, all of its many contacts put together yield less input than that provided by the one single hair cell touching a type I neuron.” Fuchs and his team postulate that the two systems may serve different functional roles. “There’s a distinct difference between analyzing sound to extract meaning—Is that a cat meowing, a baby crying or a man singing?—versus the startle reflex triggered by a thunderclap or other sudden loud sound.” Type II afferents may play a role in such reflexive withdrawals from potential trauma.” This study was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and by a grant from the

Blaustein Pain Foundation of Johns Hopkins. Authors on the paper are Fuchs, Weisz and Elisabeth Glowatzki, all of the Center for Hearing and Balance and the Center for Sensory Biology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Related Web sites Paul Fuchs:

http://neuroscience.jhu.edu/ PaulFuchs.php

Elisabeth Glowatzki:

http://neuroscience.jhu.edu/ ElisabethGlowatzki.php

Center for Sensory Biology:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ institute_basic_biomedical_ sciences/research/research_ centers/sensory_biology

Center for Hearing and Balance:

http://ww2.jhu.edu/chb

Homewood junior dies of injuries from hit-and-run accident

he Homewood campus is mourning the tragic death of Muriel Frankl, a 20-year-old junior in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, who died in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 17, after being struck by a truck the previous afternoon. Plans for a memorial service at Homewood are incomplete and will be announced as soon as they are available. Frankl, a molecular and cell biology major from Wilmette, Ill., was trying to cross St. Paul Street when struck by a hit-and-run driver in what witnesses and the police described as a speeding white Ford F-250, traveling north in the narrow lane on the east side of the street. Taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious head wounds and other injuries, Frankl was put

on life support and died at 2:30 a.m. with her parents and many of her friends—70 of whom had come to the hospital—by her side. “Everyone who knew her loved her. She just had a sparkling personality, and everyone was a friend of hers,” Frankl’s Alpha Phi sorority sister Allie Rosenwasser told a WMAR-TV reporter. “We haven’t even begun to feel the loss of her as a leader, not only in our sisterhood but as a presence on campus.” Frankl, who was helping conduct ALS research in the School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology, was the third generation of women in her family to be part of the university’s East Baltimore campus community. Her aunt Rebecca Z. German is a professor in the School of Medicine, and her

grandmother Pearl S. German is a professor emerita in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. In a letter to faculty, staff and students, Adam Falk, the James B. Knapp Dean of the Krieger School; Paula Burger, dean of undergraduate education; and Susan Boswell, dean of student life, said, “Every student contributes in no small measure to the community we create together at Johns Hopkins. The loss of any student, particularly in so tragic and senseless a manner, grievously wounds us all. … We stand in solidarity with [Muriel’s] many Johns Hopkins friends and her Alpha Phi sisters at this most sad and difficult time.” The pickup truck being sought by the police, whose vehicle description included a license plate number registered to a resident

of Carroll County, was found in the Ashburton neighborhood of Baltimore City around midnight on Saturday. The owner turned himself in to detectives on Tuesday and was released after giving a statement. Following a police investigation, the state’s attorney will determine whether charges will be filed. Funeral services were held Oct. 21 at Beth Emet, The Free Synagogue, in Evanston, Ill., and were reportedly attended by nearly 1,000 people, including 30 of Frankl’s sorority sisters. She is survived by her parents and two younger brothers. Memorial contributions may be made to the Beth Emet Congregation Soup Kitchen at 1224 W. Dempster St., Evanston, IL 60202 or to the Greater Chicago Food Depository at 4100 W. Ann Lurie Place, Chicago, IL 60632.

4 THE GAZETTE â&#x20AC;˘ October 26, 2009

Recovering from surgery, Daniels Instrumental says â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the news is very goodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Continued from page 1

en days after his Oct. 12 surgery, President Ronald J. Daniels sent a broadcast message to faculty, staff and students to update them on his physical condition, medical prognosis and activities on the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behalf. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My recovery is progressing well and I am slowly, but surely, starting to feel much better,â&#x20AC;? he wrote from his Nichols House residence, where he has been since leaving the hospital on Oct. 19. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yesterday, Provost [Lloyd] Minor and I took a long early morning victory lap through the Homewood campus and I talked with a number of senior leaders on and off campus. Today, I continue to have conversations with university administrators on various issues. I will be doing my best to balance my doctorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; insistence on a good, long recovery with my constitutional inability to remain at rest for very long. This will be a challenge. While I will not return to work full time until sometime in December, I am, and will continue to be, engaged with the university on core strategic and operational issues.â&#x20AC;? Danielsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; surgery, which took place at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, was performed by a team led by Richard Schulick, the John L. Cameron, M.D., Professor for Alimentary Tract Diseases in the School of Medicine. To access a mass next to Danielsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pancreas, the surgeons performed a Whipple procedure, during which part of his pancreas was removed. In his message last week, Daniels explained that while the Whipple procedure is often used for the removal of pan-

creatic tumors, which he did not have, it is also used to remove other tumors in the gastrointestinal system. Daniels said that his pathology report, which he had indicated he would share with the Johns Hopkins community, was now complete, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and the news is very good.â&#x20AC;? He said that the report identified a rare type of tumor in the intestine (duodenum) that is technically called a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In my case, fortunately, the pathologists reported that the tumor was of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;low malignant potential,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; a category in which the vast majority of patients are cured following surgery alone,â&#x20AC;? he wrote. His doctors, he said, told him that the tumor had been identified early, that it was still small and completely localized, and that it was fully removed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a consequence,â&#x20AC;? Daniels said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;there is no need for further therapy. Therefore, my goal is straightforward: recover fully from the surgery. And, of course, more generally, the outlook is the same as when I last communicated with you [following the surgery]: My prognosis is excellent.â&#x20AC;? Since his surgery, Daniels has been in frequent contact with senior leadership, including Provost Minor, who has been managing the business of the university on a day-by-day basis and standing in for him as needed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can tell you firsthand that the president is recovering wonderfully,â&#x20AC;? Minor said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have communicated daily since his surgery, and he continues to be very involved in all of the most pressing university matters. Now that he has his BlackBerry back, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no stopping him.â&#x20AC;?

good people. great commnities.

7\abO\b /^^`]dOZ /^^ZWQObW]\ 4SS ASQc`Wbg 2S^]aWb T]` 5ÒRcObS AbcRS\ba Â&#x2019; EOaVS` 2`gS` W\ SdS`g /Ô`b[S\b Â&#x2019; " V]c` 4`]\b 2SaY Â&#x2019; 1]\dS\WS\b :]QObW]\ Â&#x2019; C\RSÙ`]c\R 5OÒUS Â&#x2019; 7\R]]` >]]Z Â&#x2019; 4`SS AVcbbZS AS`dWQS Â&#x2019; =\ aWbS 4Wb\Saa 1S\bS` Â&#x2019; 0`SOYTOab 0O` Â&#x2019; >Sba ESZQ][S 1]\bOQb 1][[c\Wbg T]` 2SbOWZa

^O`YQVO`ZSa Q][

" #%$ #& " & <]`bV 1VO`ZSa Ab Â&#x2019; 0OZbW[]`S ;2 &

a]cbVS`\[O\OUS[S\b Q][

â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I quickly realized is that a lot of teachers had a good sense of the pedagogy and were on solid footing. It was the extra things that were the issue,â&#x20AC;? says Trahey, one of the two current mentors in the program. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There might be a problem with the principal, a budget issue or theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re having a hard time adapting to life in the big city.â&#x20AC;? The Music Teacher Mentoring Program was founded in 1998 by then Peabody Preparatory Dean Fran Zarubick. Zarubick and others at Peabody wanted to address the high turnover rate among the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elementary and middle school music teachers, and at the same time promote the arts and engage the community. By pairing up new music teachers with mentors from Peabody, the program could stabilize and improve the schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; music programs and inspire a new generation of artists. Currently, the program provides support to roughly 70 teachers in 70 schools. Trahey says that many of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music teachers come from outside the area or are from well-supported programs where they never had to worry about such issues as lack of equipment, length of classroom instruction time, budget cuts or student disciplinary concerns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And now they come to the inner city, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re having to deal with many or all of those things,â&#x20AC;? Trahey says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They might come into a situation where they are the only person in the building advocating the arts, and they clash heads with the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principal.â&#x20AC;? Trahey, who holds a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in performance and music education from Peabody and a master of music degree from Yale, directed educational programming and outreach events for the Hartford (Conn.) Symphony Orchestra just prior to joining Peabodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faculty. He has taught at Yale and the Baltimore School for the Arts and in the Baltimore City Public Schools system. As a teaching artist, he has presented musical demonstrations to more than 40,000 schoolchildren. Trahey also teaches a course in Community Engagement at the Conservatory and directs Peabodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tuned-In program, which offers full Peabody Preparatory scholarships to promising public school music students. Once accepted, the students receive a weekly private lesson with Preparatory faculty, the opportunity to work with accompanists and tickets for them and their families to attend concerts and other cultural events around Baltimore. The Music Teacher Mentoring Programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead mentor is Eric Rasmussen, chair of Peabodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Early Childhood Music program, which teaches children the joys of music through listening, singing, moving, dancing and playing. Rasmussen, who has taught early childhood music since 1991 and joined the Peabody Preparatory in 2000, is also a composer and educational consultant for early childhood music recordings.

Midori at Shriver Hall SINCE HER HISTORIC DEBUT at age 11 with the New York Philharmonic, Midori has retained the dazzling technique that established her as one of the most important violinists of our time, known as a fierce and sensitive master musician and innovator with the interpretive depth to match the virtuosity. She and pianist Robert McDonald, her longtime collaborator, make their Shriver Hall Concert Series debut at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, in Homewoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shriver Hall. For program details and ticket information, go to www.shriverconcerts.org.

Together, Trahey and Rasmussen target first- and second-year music teachers in the city whom they feel could most benefit from a mentoring experience. Trahey says that this often involves cold-calling, or literally knocking on doors, to inquire if schools have a new music teacher. The two want to find teachers who are receptive and want assistance. Once they make a connection, the mentors work with the teachers to help them achieve their goals. This could take the form of an instrument lesson, finding ways to buy new or used instruments or learning techniques for dealing with unruly students. Trahey says that he meets with some mentees regularly, while others he hears from just once in a while, when they are in need of assistance. Teachers in the program and their students sometimes attend Peabody concerts or tour the campus. Rasmussen says that a common concern for the teachers is maintaining class discipline. To help combat the issue, Rasmussen recommends a lesson plan with lots of components so that if something is not working, the teacher can move on quickly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I tell them itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to overplan. That way you are able to adapt on the fly and still accomplish the objective you had in mind,â&#x20AC;? he said. Many issues, he says, revolve around poor communication between teacher and administration. For example, teachers may arrive at a school expecting to lead the band but are asked to teach general music instead. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now they are a fish out of water in terms of what their expertise is,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can sit down with the teachers and take them through what they have to know.â&#x20AC;? Preparatory Dean Carolee Stewart says that the Music Teacher Mentoring Program and Tuned-In, which she helped conceive and implement, are just two of the ways that Peabody is actively engaging with the community. Stewart says that the mentoring program, which is supported by grants from local foundations, was created by people who wanted to support the teachers in Baltimore. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There can be a lot of frustration among this group, especially [with] the way the arts are supported,â&#x20AC;? Stewart says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So there was this perceived need, and Peabody stepped in to provide the support these teachers needed. Our main goal hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t changed. We are trying to be involved with the Baltimore community as much as possible.â&#x20AC;? Trahey says that teachers in the mentoring program helped him pick the inaugural students in the Tuned-In program, which has worked with two dozen students since its founding in 2007. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In order for us to have success with our Tuned-In program, our mentoring program needs to be strong,â&#x20AC;? Trahey says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a lot of crossover here. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to find these kids if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not in the schools or they are not getting proper musical instruction.â&#x20AC;? Trahey says that he foresees a day when a teenager with whom he had worked directly or indirectly through the mentoring and Tuned-In programs auditions for admission to Peabody. In fact, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s counting on it. G

October 26, 2009 • THE GAZETTE

Genetic hint for ridding the body of hepatitis C

Design contest seeks student ideas for group study space

By Meg Marquardt

By Rachel Dillon

Johns Hopkins Medicine

he Sheridan Libraries has launched a design competition and is inviting design submissions for a group study space for the new Brody Learning Commons. Called yrBLCspace, the contest is open to all Johns Hopkins University students and is being sponsored by the Friends of the Libraries. “Feedback from our students is critically important,” said Winston Tabb, Sheridan Dean of University Libraries and Museums.

Tabb, “but by and large we wanted to let the students run with it and really get creative.” The competition runs through Dec. 7, and a panel of judges led by Tabb will select the finalists during Intersession. But it is the student body who will ultimately select the official winner, whose concept will inform the architects’ final design. Early in the spring semester, the finalists’ entries will be displayed, and students will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite. The winner—in addition to receiving $250—will be recognized on a plaque noting which study room had been inspired by his or her design. Second- and third-place

“Group study space will be a major component of the new building. We very much want to hear from our users to ensure we create spaces that will accommodate their research and study needs.” The contest is open to all design formats, from drawings and depictions using software programs like Google SketchUp to dioramas and physical models. In addition to their design, students are asked to submit a brief written project description, including how the space will function and how it might enhance the learning experiences of Johns Hopkins students. Contest criteria include the designed space’s flexibility, sustainability and creativity. The room must be no less than 150 square feet and no more than 300 square feet. “We have a few set guidelines,” said

winners will receive $100 and $50 prizes, respectively. The Brody Learning Commons is named to honor the university’s 13th president, William R. Brody, and his wife, Wendy. The five-story building will sit directly to the south of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and is being built for technologydriven, collaborative learning. The facility will feature ample natural light; smart technology throughout; group study, quiet reading and seminar space; exhibit space for art; and a cafe. Construction of the Brody Learning Commons is to begin in June 2010 and is scheduled to be completed in July 2012. Contest information, including the full list of rules and an entry form, can be found at www.library.jhu.edu/yrBLCspace.

Development and Alumni Relations

SPECIAL OFFER

ONE BEDROOMS FROM $855 MONTHLY

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ Medicine/viralhep

pacious apartment living set in a prestigious hi-rise building. Adjacent to Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus and minutes from downtown Baltimore. Amenities include an on-site restaurant, salon and convenience store.

‘Nature’:

www.nature.com/nature/index.html

Nerve transplants possible treatment for ALS-related respiratory failure

ecause the inability to breathe is an ultimate cause of death of patients with ALS, Johns Hopkins scientists are targeting the diaphragm as a therapeutic target by transplanting stem cells directly into rats’ cervical spinal cords, precisely where the motor neurons that control this respiratory muscle are located. “We are transplanting stem cells that will become astrocytes because these cells play an important role in maintaining the health of motor neurons,” said Angelo Lepore, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Nicholas Maragakis, an associate professor of neurology at the School of Medicine. The team showed that transplanting ratderived stem cells into the rodents’ cervical spinal cords helped slow down the decline of diaphragm function and therefore extended survival in the rat model of ALS. Their findings show that a targeted delivery of stem cells to the cervical spinal cord is a promising therapeutic strategy because even the partial rescue of motor neurons resulted in a

decreased loss of respiratory function. “I think that we first need to examine the potential of human-derived cells following transplantation before we can say whether this strategy will work in human patients,” Lepore said. “While the initial results are promising, a number of key experiments must be conducted before this therapy is translated to the clinic, including testing the efficacy of a similar class of human stem cells.” The team’s work was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held Oct. 17 to 21 in Chicago. —Maryalice Yakutchik

• University Parkway at West 39th Street • Studio, One & Two Bedroom Apartments • Daily & Monthly Furnished Suites • 24-Hour Front Desk • Family Owned & Managed

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ stem_cell_research/coaxing_cells/ at_the_bench.html

1 MONTH FREE RENT* HURRY! LIMITED TIME OFFER!

*With a 1 year lease. 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. Call for details. • Dramatic multi-level floor plans • FREE High Speed Wireless Internet with T1 access • Fully carpeted • Stainless steel kitchens available • Washer/dryer in each apartment • Building security system • 24 hour front desk attendant • Gated parking lot • Fitness/entertainment center Choose your own unique home at

LEASING CENTER OPEN MONDAY – SATURDAY

Call or stop by for more information

410-243-1216

Related Web sites Angelo Lepore and his work on ALS:

chesapeake commons

p e r s o n a l LIVING s p a c e

Johns Hopkins Center for Viral Hepatitis:

unique APPROACH

Related Web sites

410.539.0090

ore than 70 percent of people who contract hepatitis C will live with the virus that causes it for the rest of their lives, and some will develop serious liver disease, including cancer. However, 30 percent to 40 percent of those infected somehow defeat the infection and get rid of the virus with no treatment. In the Sept. 16 advanced online edition of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers working as part of an international team report the discovery of the strongest genetic alteration associated with the ability to get rid of the infection. “If we knew why some people got rid of the disease on their own, then maybe we could figure out ways to help other people who didn’t. Or maybe even help prevent infections entirely,” said David Thomas, professor of medicine and director of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins. A previous study led by David Goldstein of Duke University had found a variation in a single chemical of DNA, known as a single-nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, near the IL28B gene, which, while poorly understood, is thought to help the immune response to hepatitis C viral infection. People infected with hepatitis C who carried the C/C variation SNP near their IL28B gene were found more likely to respond to hepatitis C treatment, which can rid some patients of the virus. So the team, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health, wondered if the C/C variation—as opposed to the C/T or T/T alternatives—also played a role in some people’s ability to get rid of the virus without the help of medication. To do this, they assembled information from six studies that had over many years collected DNA and hepatitis C infection information from people all over the world. The team then analyzed DNA at the IL28B gene from a total of 1,008 patients, 620 of whom were persistently infected and 388 of whom had been infected but no longer carried any virus. DNA analysis revealed that of the 388 patients who no longer carried the virus, 264 have the C/C variation. “This is the strongest clue to date to understanding what would constitute a successful immune response,” Thomas said. “We don’t yet know the significance of this C variant, but we know we need to do more work to find out what it means and whether it might be helpful to halting the disease.” In addition to confirming that the C/C

variant correlates with the ability to get rid of the virus once infected, the researchers also noticed an intriguing trend: The C/C variant does not appear equally in all populations. To investigate further, they analyzed DNA from more than 2,300 people worldwide in order to further examine distribution of the C/C variant in different populations. Of the 428 samples from Africa, only 148 carried the C/C genotype; in contrast, of the European samples, 520 out of 761 carried the C/C variant. The most striking were the DNA samples from Asia, where 738 of 824 samples carried C/C. “We wonder if this SNP also explains some of the genetic basis for the population difference of hepatitis C clearance,” said Chloe Thio, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins. “It’s been reported that African-Americans are less likely to clear the disease than Caucasians.” The team said it plans to pursue this research further to better understand why some populations become chronically infected. “This is an exciting step toward better understanding of what the immune response is against the virus so we can improve our therapies,” Thio said. This study was principally funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Cancer Institute, both of the National Institutes of Health. Authors on the paper are Thomas, Thio and Gregory Kirk, all of Johns Hopkins; Maureen Martin, Ying Qi, Colm O’hUigin and Mary Carrington of SAIC-Frederick and Ragon Institute; Dongliang Ge and David Goldstein, of Duke University; Judith Kidd and Kenneth Kidd, of Yale University School of Medicine; Salim Khakoo, of Imperial College London; Graeme Alexander, of University of Cambridge; James Goedert, of the National Cancer Institute; Sharyne Donfield, of Rho; Hugo Rosen, of University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; Leslie Tobler and Michael Busch, of Blood Systems Research Institute; and John McHutchison, of Duke University School of Medicine.

W EST 39 TH S TREET B A LT I M O R E , MD 21210 105

601 North Eutaw Street

410.539.0090

www.chesapeakecommons.com Monday-Friday 9-5, Saturday and after hours by appointment only, Sunday closed.

410-243-1216 WWW.B ROADVIEW A PARTMENTS . COM

BROKERS WELCOME

Owner Managed

Cancer Continued from page 1 innovative methods of arresting tumor growth and metastasis.” The NCI, which is an agency of the National Institutes of Health, will allocate the Johns Hopkins–based Engineering in Oncology Center’s funding over five years. As the name of the center suggests, the researchers will look at how physical sciences play a role in the way cancer spreads, commonly called metastasis. Denis Wirtz, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering, will direct the center, and Gregg L. Semenza, a leading researcher at the School of Medicine, will serve as associate director. “Metastasis is a highly coordinated, multistep process,” Wirtz said. “Cancer cells break free from a primary tumor, penetrate into the bloodstream, evade host defenses, stick to the interior walls of blood vessels and travel to other organs, where they set up new cancer cell colonies. During this cascade of events, tumor cells push on and are pushed by mechanical forces within their microenvironment. Cells translate those mechanical forces into biochemical signals that affect cell growth and function. If we can gain a better understanding of this process, we may find new and better ways to treat cancer.” Wirtz, who is principal investigator, also serves as associate director of the university’s Institute for NanoBioTechnology, a crossdivisional institute launched in May 2006 with 185 Johns Hopkins faculty members who are using nanoscience to answer questions in medicine, the basic sciences and public health. The new cancer center will similarly draw on Johns Hopkins researchers with diverse expertise to study the role of physical forces involved in the development and spread of cancer. “Mechanical forces inside the body, such

as shear exerted by blood flowing through blood vessels, typically destroy the millions of cancer cells that are constantly shed from tumors,” Wirtz said. “But the ‘fittest’ of cancer cells survive these Darwinian-like selective pressures and may become the culprits that spread cancer. Little is known about the effect of mechanical forces on the regulation of cancer cell growth. That is what the Engineering in Oncology Center and the National Cancer Institute want to find out. The results should point us to therapies and diagnostic tools that complement existing genetic or molecular treatments.” In a congratulatory letter to Wirtz concerning the new center, Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels wrote, “This is a terrific achievement that highlights the value of interdisciplinary research and collaboration across the university, and the increasing importance this approach will have in the coming years. I am especially proud to see Johns Hopkins lead the way in this manner. … Not only will you be embarking into a new realm of scientific collaboration, you will be, at the same time, establishing Johns Hopkins as a leading center of excellence in this field. The ongoing fight against cancer demands new ideas, perspectives and approaches, and that is precisely what you are creating in [this] center.” Semenza, the associate director, is affiliated with the School of Medicine’s departments of Pediatrics, Medicine, Oncology and Radiation Oncology, and the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine. He is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor in Medicine and founding director of the Vascular Program at the school’s Institute for Cell Engineering. He also has ties to the School of Medicine’s Department of Biological Chemistry and to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Semenza and Sharon Gerecht, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, will lead one of the center’s three key research projects related to how cancer spreads. They will focus on analyzing

We Come to School Every Day. We are in the company of some very smart and highly educated people, and we all serve a distinguished institution. Our creative services experts spend a lot of time listening and have learned a great deal here over the years, and our clients benefit from that every day. Marketing & Creative Services is a unit of Government, Community and Public Affairs. We have changed the name of our unit—an outgrowth of Design & Publications—but the most important part of our name is still the same as yours: Johns Hopkins. To see what we’ve been doing for Johns Hopkins University, please visit www.mcs.jhu.edu or to find how we can help you please contact Chris Cullen at ccullen@jhu.edu.

Marketing & Creative Services Full-service solutions for the Johns Hopkins community

WILL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU

6 THE GAZETTE • October 26, 2009

The Johns Hopkins Engineering in Oncology Center at INBT will be headed by Denis Wirtz, left. Gregg Semenza will serve as associate director.

the makeup and physical properties of the extracellular matrix, the three-dimensional scaffold in which cells live. “Normal cells live in a flexible scaffold, but cancer cells create a rigid scaffold that they climb through to invade normal tissue,” Semenza said. “We will study how this change occurs and how it is affected by the amount of oxygen to which cancer cells are exposed. Our studies have shown that cancer cells are deprived of oxygen, which incites them to more aggressively invade the surrounding normal tissues where oxygen is more plentiful. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 controls the responses of cancer cells to low oxygen, and we have recently identified drugs that block the action of HIF-1 and inhibit tumor growth in experimental cancer models.” The center’s second key research project teams Wirtz with Greg D. Longmore, a cancer cell biologist at Washington University in St. Louis. The two will study the physical basis for cancer cell adhesion and de-adhesion and how it increases the likelihood that cancer cells will break free, move into the bloodstream and migrate to other tissues. “Cancer cells are able to modulate proteins on the surface almost like a protein ‘brake’ that allows them to adhere or de-adhere in response to mechanical forces,” Wirtz said. The center’s third primary research project will be led by Konstantinos Konstantopoulos, professor and chair of the Whiting School’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Martin L. Pomper, who holds appointments in the School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology and the Kimmel Cancer Center. These two researchers will investigate the effects of fluid mechanical forces at different oxygen tension microenvironments on tumor cell signaling, adhesion and migration. “Fluid flow in and around tumor tissue modulates the mechanical microenvironment, including the forces acting on the cell surface and the tethering force on cell-substrate connections,” Konstantopoulos said. “Cells in the interior of a tumor mass experience a lower oxygen tension microenvironment and lower fluid velocities than those at the edges in proximity with a functional blood vessel, and are prompted to produce different biochemical signals. These differential responses affect tumor cell fate— that is, whether a cell will live or die, and whether it will be able to detach and migrate to secondary sites in the body.” All three projects will combine experimental and computational/theoretical results to develop a better picture of how these mechanical forces influence cancer metastasis. In addition to the research component, the Engineering in Oncology Center will have a multidisciplinary training program for predoctoral students and postdoctoral

fellows. The training program will be codirected by Peter Searson, INBT’s director and the Joseph R. and Lynn C. Reynolds Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the School of Medicine’s Kenneth W. Kinzler, who is among the world’s most-cited cancer biologists and who serves as co-director of the Johns Hopkins Ludwig Center. Other Johns Hopkins researchers affiliated with the Engineering in Oncology Center are Sean X. Sun, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and two faculty members from the Department of Biomedical Engineering: Kevin Yarema, associate professor, and Aleksander S. Popel, professor. In addition to Longmore, the researchers from other institutions who will participate in the Johns Hopkins–based center are Timothy C. Elston, a theoretical and computational biophysicist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Yiider Tseng, an experimental biophysicist and biochemist at the University of Florida; and Charles W. Wolgemuth, a theoretical and computational biophysicist at the University of Connecticut. The center will incorporate two dedicated research facilities, also known as cores. The EOC Imaging Core will be established under the existing Integrated Imaging Center on the Homewood campus. J. Michael McCaffery, associate research professor of biology in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, will oversee the Imaging Core and facilitate imaging resources for EOC faculty. Searson will oversee the EOC Microfabrication Core, which will assist researchers in making the needed materials and devices for their experiments. The Engineering in Oncology Center will be administered by the Institute for NanoBioTechnology, located on the Homewood campus, where research will occur in renovated laboratory facilities. Training and collaboration with investigators located at the four other research universities on the grant will occur through periodic onsite visits and via Web-based platforms. G More information about the National Cancer Institute’s Physical Sciences–Oncology Centers program can be found at http://physics.cancer .gov/centers.

Related Web sites Johns Hopkins Engineering in Oncology Center at INBT:

http://engineering.oncology.jhu .edu

http://inbt.jhu.edu

Institute for NanoBioTechnology:

Need extra copies of ‘The Gazette’? A limited number of extra copies of The Gazette are available each week in the Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs, Suite 540, 901 South Bond St., in Fells Point. Those who know they will need a large number of newspapers are asked to order them at least a week in advance of publication by calling 443-287-9900.

October 26, 2009 • THE GAZETTE

Online medical informatics journal to launch in December B y K at e r i n a P e s h e va

Johns Hopkins Medicine

KEITH WELLER

wo Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers have assembled a 25-member editorial board of international experts to launch a quarterly online medical journal devoted to original research and commentary on the use of computer automation in the day-to-day practice of medicine. According to its editors, the creation of Applied Clinical Informatics, the official publication of the International Medical Informatics Association, reflects the booming demand for information about the pitfalls and promise of such proliferating tools as electronic patient records and online pharmacy orders. Target audiences include clinicians already using clinical software, hospital and pharmacy executives, clinical informatics specialists and policy-makers focused on economic efficiencies and safety. “This journal will compile worldwide research and clinical experiences with medical information systems so that hospitals and other health care institutions can learn from mistakes that have been already made. It’s a chance to do it right the first time,” said Christoph Lehmann, neonatologist and director of Clinical Informatics at Hopkins Children’s. “It is designed to bridge the gap between the medical-soft-

Christoph Lehmann, neonatologist and director of Clinical Informatics at Hopkins Children’s, created ‘Applied Clinical Informatics’ and will serve as editor in chief.

ware engineer and the health care provider at the patient’s bedside.” The new journal is the brainchild of Lehmann, who will be its editor in chief, and fellow medical informatician George Kim, who will act as managing editor. A growing number of U.S. hospitals and private physician practices are already using “paperless” electronic records, “order entry” systems for prescriptions and laboratory tests,

and electronic “checklists” for designing treatments and avoiding medical errors. Such applications may speed up and improve the delivery and quality of health care, according to experts, but in many cases, the Johns Hopkins team says, the adoption of these systems has been sluggish, error-ridden and rife with unforeseen and unintended consequences and costs. “Just as scientific publishing of medical

and biological experiments helps forge best practices in surgery and drug treatments,” Kim said, “we want to publish results of all the practical tests of the brilliant eggheads’ ideas so that hospitals and others don’t have to reinvent the wheel or conduct an experiment every time they use a new computer program.” The journal’s editors have already started to gather original research, including studies and case reports, for the debut issue expected to go online in December. Also to be featured are trend reports, editorials, accounts of negative experiences and guest blogs about the latest developments in the industry. The journal can be accessed at www.aci-journal.org. Neither Johns Hopkins nor the editors have ownership stake in the journal. Lehmann and Kim have published widely in the field of medical informatics and have conceived, developed and implemented several proven medical software applications used today at Johns Hopkins and other institutions. Among them are an ordering tool for pediatric chemotherapy that reduces medication errors in patients undergoing cancer treatment, an online infusion calculator that reduces medication errors in children undergoing IV infusions and a Web-based program to prescribe special categories of restricted antibiotics as a faster and safer alternative to phone or fax orders. Applied Clinical Informatics will be published by the German publisher Schattauer.

Physicians have less respect for obese patients, study suggests B y S t e p h a n i e D e sm o n

Johns Hopkins Medicine

octors have less respect for their obese patients than they do for patients of normal weight, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. The findings raise questions about whether negative physician attitudes about obesity could be affecting the long-term health of their heavier patients. As patients had higher body mass index, or BMI, physicians reported lower respect for them, according to the study, being published in the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. In a group of 238 patients, each 10-unit increase in BMI was associated with a 14 percent higher prevalence of low patient respect. BMI, calculated from a person’s weight and height, is a shorthand method used to determine whether someone is at a healthy weight. A person whose BMI is 25 to 29.9 is considered

overweight; a BMI higher than 30 is considered obese. Mary Margaret Huizinga, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the School of Medicine, says that the idea for the research came from her experiences working in a weight loss clinic. Patients would come in and “by the end of the visit would be in tears, saying no other physician talked with me like this before. No one listened to me,” said Huizinga, the study’s leader and director of the Johns Hopkins Digestive Weight Loss Center. “Many patients felt like because they were overweight, they weren’t receiving the type of care other patients received,” she said. Data was collected from 238 patients at 14 urban community medical practices in Baltimore. Patients and physicians completed questionnaires about their visit, their attitudes and their perceptions of one another upon the completion of the encounter. On average, the patients for whom physicians expressed low respect had higher BMI than

patients for whom they had high respect. Previous studies have shown that when physicians respect their patients, patients get more information from their doctors. Some patients who don’t feel respected may avoid the health care system altogether, surveys and focus groups have shown. One limitation of the new study, Huizinga says, is that it was unable to link low physician respect directly to poor health outcomes. “The next step is to really understand how physician attitudes toward obesity affect quality of care for those patients, to really understand how this affects outcomes,” she said. “If a doctor has a patient with obesity and has low respect for that person, is the doctor less likely to recommend certain types of weight loss programs or to send her for cancer screening? We need to understand these things better.” Ultimately, she says, physicians need to be educated that obesity bias and discrimination exist. One good place to start would be in medical school, where Huizinga says

little is taught to reduce or compensate for these negative attitudes. “Awareness of their own biases can lead to an alteration of behavior and sensitivity that they need to watch [in] how they act toward patients,” she said. Other researchers involved with the study were Lisa A. Cooper and Jeanne M. Clark, both of the School of Medicine; and Sara N. Bleich and Mary Catherine Beach, both of the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Related Web sites Mary Margaret Huizinga:

Johns Hopkins Digestive Weight Loss Center:

Armstrong BALLINGER ARCHITECTS AND TIM CRANE PHOTOGRAPHY

Continued from page 1 medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said, “We will do more than formally announce the opening of a wonderful new building. We will usher in a new era of medical education that raises the bar even higher and that will be as transformative for this century as the original Hopkins model was for the last.” “Our Genes to Society curriculum builds on the fundamental insights learned during the past several decades through the study of molecular biology,” said David G. Nichols, vice dean for education and professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine. “With this new knowledge, and within this beautiful new building, students will begin by studying the basic building blocks of life and progress through higher and higher levels of organization and complexity. Through the use of advanced teaching technologies and collaborative learning, Genes to Society marks a revolution in medical education.”

The Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building, dedicated on Saturday, provides a state-of-the-art home for the School of Medicine’s new curriculum.

This milestone curriculum will be taught within a building designed to accommodate, nurture and encourage learning opportunities. The building’s advanced anatomy lab, digital classrooms and laboratories, lecture

halls and study areas are designed to better prepare physicians for fully understanding the relevance of science to patient care. The 100,000-square-foot building is named in honor of Anne and Mike Armstrong,

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/ faculty/Huizinga.html

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ digestive_weight_loss_center

whose generous donation helped fund its construction. Mike Armstrong is the chair of the boards of Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. “Johns Hopkins is an institution whose culture is rich with tradition and innovation,” he said. “It is here that the practice of modern medicine was born, and it is here that we will begin a new chapter in Hopkins’ storied history. It is my and Anne’s great honor to have had a part in creating this fabulous new building. We know that it will graduate new generations of physicians and researchers who will extend the frontiers of medicine.” The four-story building contains a lecture hall and cafe on its first floor; the college advisory program, a learning studio and classrooms on the second; teaching labs and academic computing facilities on the third; and anatomy labs and reading rooms on the fourth. For more about the Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building and the Genes to Society curriculum, or to view additional photographs of the building, go to www .hopkinsmedicine.org/armstrongbuilding. G

8 THE GAZETTE • October 26, 2009

Medical M edical d l research s iss tthe beginning g g off hope. p And today its promise has never been greater. But despite the considerable progress that’s been made in new treatments and therapies, too many Americans still suffer from heart disease, asthma, depression, Parkinson’s and other incurable diseases. We can change this – through significant, annual increases in federal funding for medical research. It’s one of the best investments we can make in our future.

Tell your members of Congress that you support significant, annual increases in medical research funding. Go to ResearchMeansHope.org to send your message today.

MORE FUNDING TODAY. MORE MIRACLES TOMORROW. A message from patients and the physicians and researchers of America’s medical schools, teaching hospitals, universities, research companies and organizations.

ResearchMeansHope.org

10x15.25_Claire_NEWS.indd 1

6/3/09 11:39:32 AM

October 26, 2009 • THE GAZETTE O C T .

2 6

–

N O V .

Calendar Continued from page 12 Mind/Brain Institute. 338 Krieger. HW

“Targeting Acyltransferases in Cancer and Metabolic Diseases,” a Biological Chemistry seminar with Philip Cole, SoM. 612 Physiology. EB Tues., Oct. 27, noon.

“Linkage-specific Polyubiquitin Recognition,” a Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry thesis defense seminar with Joshua Sims. 517 PCTB. EB

Tues., Oct. 27, 2 p.m.

“A New Golden Age of Phonics?” a Center for Language and Speech Processing seminar with Mark Liberman, University of Pennsylvania. B17 CSEB. HW Tues., Oct. 27, 4:30 p.m.

“Transforming Our Understanding and Treatment of Mental Illness,” a Mental Health seminar with Philip Wang, NIMH. B14B Hampton House. EB Wed., Oct. 28, noon.

Wed., Oct. 28, 1:30 p.m. “The Sodium/Iodide Symporter (NIS): An Unending Source of Surprises,” a Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry seminar with Nancy Carrasco, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 517 PCTB. EB Wed., Oct. 28, 3 p.m.

“APL and

the Solar Probe PlusDesign Effort,” a Materials Science and Engineering seminar with Douglas Mehoke, APL. 110 Maryland. HW “Toeplitz Operators on Pseudoconvex Domains,” a Complex Geometry seminar with Zuoqin Wang, KSAS. Sponsored by Mathematics. 308 Krieger. HW

Wed., Oct. 28, 3 p.m.

“XML and Web Technologies for Data and Reproducible Research,” a Biostatistics seminar with Duncan Temple Lang, University of California, Davis. W2030 SPH. EB Wed., Oct. 28, 4 p.m.

“Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery,” a Health Policy and Management Fall Policy seminar with Ambassador Mark Lagon, executive director, Polaris Project, and Sydney Ford, YANA (You Are Never Alone) Baltimore. B14B Hampton House. EB

Thurs., Oct. 29, noon.

“Spatial Intelligence for China and Global Studies,” an MSE Library seminar with Shuming Bao, University of Michigan. Co-sponsored by the East Asian Studies Program. Electronic Resource Center, M-Level, MSE Library. HW Thurs., Oct. 29, noon.

The Randolph Bromery Seminar— “The Beginning of the Age of

Thurs., Oct. 29, noon.

PS-2009 JHU Gazette THINK 10-23.qxd

10/23/09

9:19 PM

Mammals in Wyoming” with Ken Rose, SoM. 304 Olin. HW Thurs., Oct. 29, 1 p.m. “Generation of Neuronal Cell Diversity in the Developing Mammalian Brain,” a Neuroscience research seminar with Joshua Corbin, Children’s National Medical Center. West Lecture Hall, WBSB. EB

“Efficient Spatially Adaptive Convolution and Correlation,” an Applied Mathematics and Statistics seminar with Michael Kazhdan, WSE. 304 Whitehead. HW

Thurs., Oct. 29, 4 p.m.

2 Fri., Oct. 30, 12:15 p.m. “Responding to Violence in Schools Before It Starts: What’s Going On in Baltimore?” a SOURCE seminar with Philip Leaf, SPH. Cosponsored by the JHSPH Child Health Society. W3030 SPH. EB Fri., Oct. 30, 12:15 p.m. “SingleSynapse Metaplasticity by a Local Switch in NMDA Receptors,” a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Ming-Chia Lee, Duke University Medical Center. Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW Fri., Oct. 30, 4 p.m. “Why Is Human Rnase 3 Cytotoxic? Molecular Interaction With Heparin,” a Biology special seminar with Margaret Dah-Tsyr Chang, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan ROC. 101 Macaulay. HW

Thurs., Oct. 29, 4 p.m. “Structure-Guided Design of Multivalent Lectins for Antiviral Activity,” a Biology seminar with Giovanna Ghirlanda, Arizona State University. 100 Mudd. HW

“Combining Classical and Modern Techniques in C. elegans to Solve Mechanisms of Morphogenesis,” a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Bob Goldstein, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

“Neonatal Morbidity in the Urban Slums of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India: Perceptions and Care-Seeking Behaviors,” an International Health thesis defense seminar with Zohra Patel Balsara. W2015 SPH. EB

David Bodian Seminar—“Excitatory Synapses Get the Blues: Dysregulation of Serotonin Signaling in Depression” with Scott Thompson, University of Maryland, Baltimore. Sponsored by the Krieger Mind/ Brain Institute. 338 Krieger. HW

Fri., Oct. 30, 11 a.m. “Wind Energy Technology Development and Deployment in the U.S.— 20% by 2030,” a CEAFM seminar with Michael Robinson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Boulder, Colo. 110 Maryland. HW

Mon.,

Fri., Oct. 30, 9:30 a.m.

SPE C IA L E V E N TS Sat., Oct. 31, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “Screenwriting,” a one-day

seminar with Marc Lapadula, Yale University and Johns Hopkins University. Sponsored by the Master of Arts in Writing Program. $50 fee includes full screenplay manuscript and course packet. For more information or to RSVP (by Oct. 27), call 202-452-1927 or e-mail writingprogram@jhu.edu. 210 Hodson. HW Mon., Nov. 2, 5:30 to 7 p.m.

“27 Years Outside,” a slide talk by landscape painter Stuart Shils. (See photo, p. 12.) A reception follows the artist’s talk. Sponsored by the Homewood Art Workshops and Homewood Arts Programs. 101 Jones Building, Mattin Center. HW

Mon., Nov. 2, 12:15 p.m.

THEATER Fri., Oct. 30, Sat., Oct. 31, and Sun., Nov. 1, 8 p.m. The

Barnstormers present T.S. Eliot’s comedic play The Cocktail Party. Swirnow Theater, Mattin Center. HW

Mon., Nov. 2, 4 p.m.

Nov. 2, 4 p.m. “The Unusual Mitochondria of Malaria Parasites,” a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology seminar with Akhil Vaidya, Drexel University College of Medicine. W2030 SPH. EB

W OR K SHOPS Center for Educational Resources

presents Bits & Bytes workshops; intended for Homewood faculty and TAs, but Homewood staff are welcome to attend. To register or for more information, go to www .cer.jhu.edu/events.html. Garrett Room, MSE Library. HW • Tues., Oct. 27, 1 p.m. “Introduction to Photoshop.” • Thurs., Oct. 29, 1 p.m. “Intermediate Photoshop.”

Page 1

We teach kids how not what to think.

to think,

The solar system is composed of nine planets. Detroit is the automotive capital of the world. Global warming is not a serious threat. Often, facts change. That’s why we teach kids not just what today’s facts are, but how to analyze, theorize, question, test and formulate new ideas—so when the facts change, they will know how to adapt and even lead that change.

PARK Learn to think

2425 Old Court Road • Baltimore, MD 21208 • 410-339-4130 • www.parkschool.net

November 20 Tours with Principals

8:45 a.m. Parents only Reservations required, 410-339-4130 admission@parkschool.net

10 THE GAZETTE • October 26, 2009 P O S T I N G S

B U L L E T I N

Job Opportunities The Johns Hopkins University 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, or other legally protected characteristic in any student program or activity administered by the university or with regard to admission or employment.

Homewood

Office of Human Resources: Suite W600, Wyman Bldg., 410-516-8048 JOB# POSITION

41040 41052 41068 41216 41220 41225 41357 41383 41428 41584 41655 40726 40857 41090 41238 41256

Development Coordinator DE Instructor, CTY Network Security Engineer II Project Manager, CTY Program Manager, CTY Sr. Administrative Coordinator Special Events Coordinator Assistant Program Manager, CTY Program Associate Executive Assistant Vice President, Government, Community and Public Affairs Sr. Associate Director, Direct Response Marketing Research Service Analyst LAN Administrator LAN Administrator Campus Police Lieutenant

Schools of Public H e a l t h a n d N u r s i n g Office of Human Resources: 2021 East Monument St., 410-955-3006 JOB# POSITION

41461 41153 39780 41323 41456 41473 41388 40586 41338 40889 41398 41237 41049 41232 40927 41380

Administrative Coordinator K4H Content Supervisor Sr. Technical Writer Occupational Therapist Research Specialist Program Specialist Program Officer Project Director, Research 2 Prevention Research Data Analyst Program Coordinator Research Data Analyst PI Foundation Program Manager Regulatory Coordinator Academic Program Coordinator E-Learning Coordinator, PEPFAR Strategic Project Coordinator

School of Medicine

Office of Human Resources:

98 N. Broadway, 3rd floor, 410-955-2990 JOB# POSITION

38035 35677 30501 22150 38064

Assistant Administrator Sr. Financial Analyst Nurse Midwife Physician Assistant Administrative Specialist

41260 41481 41521 41593 41604 40915 41053 41103 41161 41453 41486 41503 40463 40683 40907 41208 41316 41329 41334 41400 41440 41513 41546 41616

Campus Police Sergeant Research Assistant Research Technologist Registration Manager Research Data Manager Fulfillment Specialist Academic Program Coordinator Academic Services Specialist Sr. Technical Support Analyst Academic Adviser Academic Program Coordinator Director, Multicultural Affairs Research Service Analyst Sr. Programmer Analyst Science Writer Software Engineer Research Assistant Content Management Librarian Desktop Publishing Specialist Research Service Analyst Head of Library Systems Bioethics Research Project Specialist Laboratory Technician Preservation Intern

41247 38680 40912 41561 39308 41265 39306 39296 40884 40120 41277 40770 40758 40328 38840 40968 41361 41204 38886 40827 41463 40678 39063 41451

Laboratory Technician Research Nurse Clinic Assistant Sr. Sponsored Project Analyst Software Engineer Fogarty Program Coordinator Programmer Analyst Data Assistant Program Director Sr. Research Assistant Research Program Coordinator Sharepoint Developer Physician Assistant YAC Co-Facilitator Communications Specialist New Media and Web Editor Special Events Assistant Assistant Director, MHS Program Research Assistant MarCom Web Developer Research and Evaluation Officer Research Program Assistant II Research Assistant Multimedia Systems Specialist

37442 37260 38008 36886 37890 37901

Sr. Administrative Coordinator Sr. Administrative Coordinator Sponsored Project Specialist Program Administrator Sr. Research Program Coordinator Casting Technician

This is a partial listing of jobs currently available. A complete list with descriptions can be found on the Web at jobs.jhu.edu.

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

Notices Peabody Prep Adult & Continuing Education — ACE is presenting two mini-

classes for its Fall II eight-week sessions. Both will be held in the Preparatory Annex on Centre Street. World Music Survey is an introduction to the music of non-Western cultures through film, demos, hands-on workshops, lectures and discussions. The class, taught by Lori Kesner, meets weekly, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, beginning Nov. 7. Ballroom Dancing: Smooth and Latin American offers instruction in ISTD (International) techniques for beginners in waltz, foxtrot, quickstep and more. Taught by Preparatory Dance artistic director Carol Bartlett, the class will be held weekly from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, beginning Nov. 9. Cost for each mini-class is $105. For more information or to register, go to www .peabody.jhu.edu or call 410-234-4630.

Chili, Dessert Entries Needed for Cookoff — Entries, both spicy and sweet, are

needed for the Seventh Annual Chili CookOff and Bake-Off to benefit the annual Johns Hopkins University campaign for United Way of Central Maryland and the Johns Hopkins Neighborhood Fund. The deadline to register is Monday, Nov. 9. The event will be held in Homewood’s Glass Pavilion from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13;

B O A R D

winning recipes will be announced at 12:30 p.m. There is no entry fee. Guest judges will award prizes for first-, second- and third-place winners in both the chili and baked goods categories. Contestants also are eligible for a “People’s Choice” award in each category, based on the popular vote. Spectators will be able to sample the chili and bake-off items, while they last, and purchase lunch—which includes chili, cornbread, dessert and a beverage—for $5. To register, send entries to Jacklyn Coe at jcoe@jhu.edu or call 410-516-6060. Include entrant’s name, department or division, campus or home address, phone number, e-mail address and name of recipe. Details will be mailed to participants following registration. For more information about this event and other United Way campaign activities, go to www.jhu.edu/unitedway and click on the link for special events. Seasonal Flu Vaccines — Seasonal flu

vaccines will be offered free of charge to faculty and staff of the Homewood campus (and their spouses/same-sex domestic partners) on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 27 and 28. Vaccines will be administered from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Glass Pavilion, Levering. Distribution of the H1N1 vaccine has just begun in Maryland. If Johns Hopkins secures a supply, an announcement will be made with the relevant information. Questions about flu shot schedules should be directed to Debbie Mills at dmills@jhu.edu.

Johns Hopkins Neighborhood Fund now accepting grant applications By John Black

Faculty, Staff and Retiree Programs

aculty, staff, students and retirees who are involved with nonprofit organizations that need funding to provide programs and services to communities near Johns Hopkins campuses are encouraged to submit requests for funding from the Johns Hopkins Neighborhood Fund. Applications for the 2010 grant year are due by 5 p.m. on Dec. 18. Part of the Johns Hopkins institutions’ annual United Way of Central Maryland Campaign since 2007, the Neighborhood Fund supports nonprofits that serve communities in close proximity to Johns Hopkins campuses and that are associated with Johns Hopkins through employee or institutional involvement. The program is designed to help address community needs in the areas of community revitalization, education, employment, health and public safety. During the 2008 campaign, more than $220,000 was designated to the Neighborhood Fund by Johns Hopkins affiliates to lend support to community organizations

New from JHU Press Routes of Learning: Highways, Pathways and Byways in the History of Mathematics By Ivor Grattan-Guinness

his seminal collection gathers together many general writings of one of the world’s leading historians of mathematics. The routes to mathematical wisdom resemble twisted pathways and empty byways rather than straight highways, and Ivor Grattan-Guinness has spent a lifetime traveling these roads to try and unravel the knot that is the history of mathematics. This book gathers some of his best articles and sets the work of mathematics in its social and political contexts. ($35 paperback)

working to improve the lives of those in need and to strengthen the neighborhoods Johns Hopkins shares with the citizens of Baltimore. To date, the fund has awarded 23 grants to support a variety of efforts, including a homeless shelter, student mentoring programs, nutritious meals for those in need, new curricular materials and instructional support for at-risk students. Organizations requesting grants must hold a 501(c)(3) tax code designation or use a 501(c)(3) as a fiscal agent; be associated with Johns Hopkins through institutional involvement or affiliation with faculty, staff, students or retirees; and deliver services within the Live Near Your Work program boundaries and/or a 3/4-mile radius of a Johns Hopkins campus that participates in the United Way of Central Maryland campaign. To download a grant application, view eligibility guidelines or see a list of past recipients, go to http://web.jhu.edu/uw/ NeighborhoodFund.html or contact Faculty, Staff and Retiree Programs, part of the Office of WorkLife and Engagement, at 410-5166060.

October 26, 2009 â&#x20AC;˘ THE GAZETTE

Classifieds APARTMENTS/HOUSES FOR RENT

Cedarcroft, 3BR, 1.5BA TH, W/D, dw, fenced yd w/deck. $1,250/mo + utils. 410-378-2393. Cedonia, quiet 1BR apt, new kitchen and flrs, W/D, landscaped fenced yd, deck, free prkng, nr JHH/Homewood/Morgan State, nr public transportation, pets welcome. $695/mo + utils. aprede1@yahoo.com. Charles Village, lg 5BR house on pretty, tree-lined street, new renovations, perfect for 5 adults, option to end lease June 30. $2,300/mo + utils + sec dep ($2,300). Ramsay Antonio-Barnes, 443-803-3572. Charles Village, corner 2BR, 2BA condo w/balcony, 1,200 sq ft, clean, CAC, 24-hr front desk, steps to Hopkins shuttle, all utils inclâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d. 410-466-1698. Charles Village, 1BR apt nr Hopkins shuttle. $700/mo incl water, heat. 410-369-6034 or stonefresh@gmail.com. Cross Keys Village, 1BR apt w/hdwd flrs, CAC/heat, free prkng, 24-hr security, swimming pool. $900/mo + utils (water inclâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d). 646-284-2279 or tamrirev@yahoo.com. Ellicott City, sublet new 2BR, 1BA apt, 20-min commute to Hopkins. $1,420/mo. 410-236-0453. Evergreen/Roland Park, 2nd-flr studio apt w/priv deck entrance, eat-in kitchen, nr Hopkins/Loyola, adjacent to Alonzoville, avail Nov 2. $675/mo incl utils, cable TV (sec dep reqâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d). 410-366-3049. Hampden (41st St), 3BR apt/house, new BA, newly painted, living rm, dining rm, kitchen, pantry, dw, W/D, garage. $1,400/ mo. 410-338-4455. Jacksonville, updated 3BR, 2BA singlefamily house, gas heat, 2-car garage. $1,750/ mo + utils. 410-877-9283. Jefferson Court, 2BR, 2.5BA TH, hdwd flrs, W/D, CAC, quiet area w/active community association, steps to JHMI/SoM/SoN, convenience of campus living/amenities of a private home. $1,200/mo + utils. 443-838-5575. Loch Raven Village (Towson), 3BR, 1.5BA brick TH, AC, W/D, finâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d bsmt, backyd w/deck, nr Beltway/schools/shopping, no pets, avail Dec 1. $1,000/mo + utils. wwang1268@yahoo.com. Mt Vernon, sublet 1BR apt for winter months. $125/wk incl all utils. 425-890-1327.

M A R K E T P L A C E

Patterson Park, 2BR, 1.5BA house, hdwd flrs, crpt upstairs, stainless steel appls, skylight, exposâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d brick, 1.25 mi to JHMI. $1,100/mo. 443-286-4883. Rodgers Forge, 3BR, 2BA TH, W/D, finâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d bsmt, CAC, great county schools, familyfriendly neighborhood. $1,600/mo + utils. 410-592-2684 or dickgeorge@comcast.net. Upper Fells Point, 2BR, 1BA apt, W/D, dw, CAC, kitchen, living rm, gated fence, backyd, mins to JHH. 410-733-4622 or ldtantengco@yahoo.com. 4BR, 4BA EOG TH, walk to JHH/JHMI, fully upgraded to energy-efficiency codes, owner will finance qualified buyers, options to rent, buy or rent-to-own, check LNYW program, receive max tax benefit. ddincm@ yahoo.com. 419 Chadford Rd, luxury 3BR, 2.5BA TH in gated community, w/garage. $2,000/mo. Ash, 443-386-6288. Updated 1BR condo in secure, gated community, assigned prkng, swimming, tennis, nr hospital and university. $1,200/mo incl utils. 410-375-7748. 10 N Wolfe St, 2BR TH w/2 full BAs, 3-story, finâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d lower level w/full BA, possible 3rd BR. $1,300/mo + utils. 410-608-9138.

HOUSES FOR SALE

Butchers Hill/Canton, beautiful 2BR, 1BA rehabbed TH, new kitchen w/granite and stainless steel, conv to JHH. $154,900. Tracy, 443-864-5461.

6WD\ DW &DQWRQ ŕ˛Ź V RQO\ IURP -+0, 'LVFRXQWHG H[WHQGHG VWD\ UDWHV IRU IDFXOW\ VWDII SDWLHQWV WKHLU IDPLOLHV

Mt Washington, 2BR, 2.5BA TH in Greenberry Woods Condominiums, community pool, playground and tennis court. $180,000. 410-493-4929. Patterson Park, renovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d 3BR, 2BA house facing the park, 1 mi to JH campus. $289,000. 410-675-4817 or skj2428@yahoo.com.

Quiet N.Chapel, steps from JHMI, Fabulous - Updated, Townhome 3BD, 2.5BA, 3 levels, CAC, designated parking. for Rent Jefferson Court

$1595 mo. + util.

(OOLRWW 6WUHHW %DOWLPRUH

www.theinnat2920.com toll free 1.877.774.2920

-B-

2BRs avail in furnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d 3BR, 2BA Fells Point apt, W/D, free Internet access, quiet street in best neighborhood, 15-min walk to SoM. $350 and $400/mo + utils. xzhan45@gmail .com. F wanted for 2BR, 1BA TH in Patterson Park (N Milton and Baltimore St), W/D, dw, nr shuttle stop, share w/easygoing F. $437.50/mo + utils. vfbiomar@yahoo .com. Share seven elegant rms in Roland Park w/JHU staff member, priv BR and BA, fp, prkng, laundry. $1,025/mo. 410-365-8096. Share sweet 2BR house, walk to Federal Hill and all the good spots downtown. $650/mo. 410-499-9179. Furnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d BR w/priv BA in split-level Carney house, share w/young M profâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l, W/D, free Internet access, no smoking/no pets, shortterm only. $550/mo + sec dep ($500). Teresa, 443-850-3520 or teresatufano@gmail.com.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;97 Honda CX, red, 2-dr, 5-spd, AC, passenger side airbag, great on gas, 101.4K mi. $3,850/best offer. 410-294-5194. â&#x20AC;&#x2122;94 Honda Civic, 2-dr, good on petrol, 90K mi. $2,000/best offer. 410-236-0453. â&#x20AC;&#x2122;91 Honda Accord LX, automatic, white, 4-dr, power windows/locks, Pioneer radio, CD/iPod connection, new Polk spkrs, good cond, well-maintained, 156K mi. $1,700/ best offer. 443-904-2830 or solarbeaver@ comcast.net.

ITEMS FOR SALE

Beautyrest Black series mattress, king-size, Antonia plush, never used, still in packaging, has tags. $1,400. Anne, 443-827-2363. Hoover Wind Tunnel 2 vacuum cleaner, rated #1 by Consumer Reports. 410-4675636 or chazmeyers47@hotmail.com. Computer cabinet, candelabra, stationary bike, file cabinet, clothes steamer, glass

Whirlpool refrigerator, white, 21.6 cu ft, w/ ice maker. $125. 410-665-7030. Miscellaneous furniture: couch, armchair, coffee table, $100; TV stand, $30; papasan chair, $50. http://baltimore.craigslist.org/ fuo/1418726285.html. Conn alto saxophone, mint condition. $650/best offer. 410-488-1886. Microwave, chair, tripods, printer, computer, digital piano, 3-step ladder, beach chairs (2), stool, reciprocating saw. 410-455-5858 or iricse.its@verizon.net. Nikon 77mm clear NC filter, $50; Nikon 52mm clear NC filter, $25; Haier air conditioner w/remote, 12,000 BTUs, $100; window air conditioner, 5,200 BTUs, $50. 410-807-5979 or aroop@cyberdude.com.

SERVICES/ITEMS OFFERED OR WANTED

Wanted: loving caregiver for 2-mo-old in home while mother works from home, 10 hrs/wk. $10/hr. 410-350-4605. Looking for CS partner; I will take the exam in December. wdyh_co@hotmail.com. Old-fashioned residential and commercial cleaning at an old-fashioned price; free estimates. Kathleen & Kathy, 443-554-6140. Teaching Farsi from scratch to advanced level, conversation, grammar, private or small groups. i_karimi@yahoo.com. Looking to hire someone for garden cleanup, raking leaves, etc, nr Homewood. $15/hr. Jim, 410-366-7191 or jwilli33@gmail.com. JHI is looking for interpreters for Vietnamese, Greek, Farsi, Burmese, Somali. $35-$45/hr. jhicommunity@gmail.com. Guitar lessons w/experienced teacher, beginner through advanced, many styles taught; teacher will travel. Joe, 410-215-0693. R&D Maintenance, interior/exterior painting, grass cutting and home/deck power washing, licensed and insured, free estimates, very affordable. 410-335-1284 or randy6506vfw@yahoo.com. Tutor avail: All subjects/levels; remedial, gifted and talented; also college counseling, speech and essay writing, editing, proofreading. 410-337-9877 or i1__@hotmail.com. Affordable landscaper/certified horticulturist avail to maintain existing gardens, also design, planting, masonry; free consultations. 410-683-7373 or grogan.family@ hotmail.com. Horse boarding, 20 mins from JHU, beautiful trails from farm. $500/mo (stall board) or $250/mo (field board). 410-812-6716 or argye.hillis@gmail.com. Need GRE tutor for at least 2 mos, especially for verbal; rates negotiable. andrea.hobby@ gmail.com. Piano lessons w/experienced teacher, Peabody doctorate, all levels/ages welcome. 410-662-7951. Artist/cartoonist looking for work, logos, cartoon strips, 1-panel cartoons, business cards, T-shirts. 443-200-3371.

410-935-5470

PLACING ADS

SPECIAL DISCOUNTS FOR JHH EMPLOYEES!

QUEST DENTAL KATHERINE GRANT COLLIER, DDS A full-service practice for all your dental health needs.

DFFRPPRGDWLQJ

INN at 2920

M Christian wanted to share Marylander apt, furniture, all amenities, must share rent and Internet service. 443-287-3527.

fish, stools (2). 443-520-2050 or barbtuck@ verizon.net.

rxpbcg@verizon.net

We provide the best quality dental care with a comprehensive range of services, including: COSMETIC â&#x20AC;˘ RESTORATIVE â&#x20AC;˘ PREVENTIVE â&#x20AC;˘ SURGICAL EORFN WR 2 ŕ˛Ź 'RQQHOO 6T ROOT CANALS â&#x20AC;˘ CROWNS â&#x20AC;˘ BRIDGES EORFN WR ZDWHUIURQW DENTURES â&#x20AC;˘ INVISALIGN To schedule an appointment, call us at )XOO EUHDNIDVW LQFOXGHG (OHJDQW FRQYHQLHQW

F wanted for lg sunny rm, share house, high-speed Internet, kitchen, W/D, living rm, dining rm, porch, deck, 2 blks to JHMI shuttle, 12 blks to Homewood. $450/mo + utils. 410-963-8741.

CARS FOR SALE

Renovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d 3BR, 2.5BA house w/screened porch, fenced yd, prkng, sec sys, walk to Homewood. $299,000. 919-607-5860 or 410962-5417.

ERXWLTXH KRWHO -XVW PLQXWHV

Lg, partly furnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d bsmt BR w/priv BA avail in beautifully renovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d 3BR RH in Mayfield, across from Herring Run Park, nr Lake Montebello, 10 mins to JHMI, 5 mins to Morgan. $600/mo incl utils and wireless. mayfieldroom@gmail.com.

Lutherville, 4BR, 2BA single-family house in quiet neighborhood, nr Towson High School. $340,000. 410-375-1960.

Patterson Park, 2BR, 1BA RH, W/D, dw, exposâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d brick, yd, available early November. $1,200/mo (w/incentives). 410-241-2767 or jdph@me.com.

www.brooksmanagementcompany.com

ROOMMATES WANTED

Second flr of charming, newly renovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d 3BR house, full BA, 2 lg rms, office, shared kitchen, off-street prkng. $700/mo incl utils and cleaning service. Margaret, 410-645-8868.

Mt Washington, 5BR, 3.5BA house, 3 yrs old, 2-car garage. $2,500/mo + utils. 443939-6027 or qzzhao@gmail.com.

Johns Hopkins / Hampden

249 S Castle St, excellent, completely renovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d RH w/gourmet kitchen, gorgeous patio, best architectural details, walk to JHMI/Fells Point/Canton, open house on Sundays, noon-2pm. 301-730-0159.

Harborview, 2BR, 1BA single-family house in quiet neighborhood overlooking city skyline, nr all amenities, 5 mins to Bayview, 20 mins to East Balto and Homewood, nr Canton and Fells Point. $169,900. 443-604-2797 or lexisweetheart@yahoo.com.

Timonium (8 Tyburn Ct), spacious 4BR, 3BA house on cul-de-sac, one of the newer houses in area, move-in cond, walk to Dulaney High, 2 mi to I-83 and lt rail station. $375,500. Debbie, 410-241-4724.

WYMAN COURT APTS. (BEECH AVE.) Effic from $570, 1 BD Apt. from $675, 2 BD from $775 HICKORY HEIGHTS APTS. (HICKORY AVE.) 2 BD units from $750 Shown by Appointment 410-764-7776

(410)502-8565 or (410)502-8566 or stop in to see us at 1000 East Eager Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

Classified listings are a free service for current, full-time Hopkins faculty, staff and students only. Ads should adhere to these general guidelines: â&#x20AC;˘ One ad per person per week. A new request must be submitted for each issue. â&#x20AC;˘ Ads are limited to 20 words, including phone, fax and e-mail.

â&#x20AC;˘ We cannot use Johns Hopkins business phone numbers or e-mail addresses. â&#x20AC;˘ Submissions will be condensed at the editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discretion. â&#x20AC;˘ Deadline is at noon Monday, one week prior to the edition in which the ad is to be run. â&#x20AC;˘ Real estate listings may be offered only by a Hopkins-affiliated seller not by Realtors or Agents.

(Boxed ads in this section are paid advertisements.) Classified ads may be faxed to 443-287-9920; e-mailed in the body of a message (no attachments) to gazads@jhu.edu; or mailed to Gazette Classifieds, Suite 540, 901 S. Bond St., Baltimore, MD 21231. To purchase a boxed display ad, contact the Gazelle Group at 410-343-3362.

12 THE GAZETTE • October 26, 2009 O C T .

2 6

–

N O V .

Calendar

C O L L O Q UIA Mon., Oct. 26, 4 p.m. “RNA Folding Landscapes From Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy,” a Biophysics/Physics colloquium with Dave Thirumalai, University of Maryland. 111 Mergenthaler. HW

“The Origins of GPS and the Role of APL in the Technology,” an Applied Physics Laboratory colloquium with Brad Parkinson, Stanford University. Parsons Auditorium. APL

Tues., Oct. 27, 2 p.m.

“Moral Insecurity: Patient Risk Prevention vs. Prescription Maximization,” an Anthropology colloquium with Joe Dumit, University of California, Irvine. 400 Macaulay.

Got There,” a JHSPH Black Graduate Student Association panel discussion of career development strategies, with 10 minority public health professionals. Co-sponsored by the Career Services Office. W1214 SPH (Sheldon Hall). EB “Fortresses and Icebergs: The Evolutions of the Transatlantic Defense Market and the Implications for U.S. National Security Project,” a SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations/CSIS panel discussion with Jeffrey Bialos, co-author of Fortresses and Icebergs; John Hamre, CSIS; Jacques Gansler, University of Maryland School of Public Policy; David Bertreau, CSIS. For information or to RSVP, phone 202-775-3289 or e-mail dmorrow@csis.org. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 1800 K Street NW. SAIS

Fri., Oct. 30, 8 a.m.

Tues., Oct. 27, 4 p.m.

Thurs.,

Oct.

29,

p.m.

“Johannes Kepler’s Living Cosmology,” a History of Science, Medicine and Technology colloquium with Patrick Boner, KSAS. Room 102, 3505 N. Charles St. HW C O N FERE N C E Mon., Nov. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Protection Project at

SAIS presents Trafficking in Persons as a Form of Violence Against Women, a daylong conference, with a keynote address by Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, special rapporteur on trafficking in persons at the United Nations; a panel discussion with Hassan Sallam, Suzanne Mubarak Regional Centre for Women’s Health and Development; Laura Lederer, vice president, Global Centurion; Jane Sigmon, U.S. Department of State; and Mohamed Mattar, executive director, Protection Project at SAIS. Panel will be followed by a screening of the movie Playground with the director Libby Spears. For information and to RSVP, contact epanter2@jhu.edu. Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building. SAIS D IS C USSIO N S / TA L K S Mon., Oct. 26, 2 p.m. “Present and Future Challenges in Transatlantic Trade Policy,” a SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations discussion with Catherine Ashton, European Commission, and Ewa Bjorling, Swedish minister for trade. For more information and to RSVP, phone 202-6635880 or e-mail transatlanticrsvp@ jhu.edu. Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building. SAIS Mon.,

Oct.

26,

6:30

p.m.

“Urban High School Reform: Challenges and Opportunities,” a School of Education panel discussion with representatives from the Center for Social Organization of Schools and Baltimore high schools. Reception at 6 p.m. The Hall, Education Building. HW

Wed., Oct. 28, 8 p.m. The Peabody Concert Orchestra and the Cathedral Choir perform music by Johann Strauss Jr., Twynham and Saint-Saens. For free advance tickets call 410-464-4000. Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 N. Charles St. Sun., Nov. 1, 2 p.m. Peabody Prep presents its Young People’s String Program Halloween Concert. Friedberg Hall. Peabody

Shriver Hall Concert Series presents violinist Midori. $33 general admission, $17 for non-JHU students and free for JHU students. Shriver Hall Auditorium. HW

Sun., Nov. 1, 5:30 p.m.

FI L M / V I D EO

HW Tues., Oct. 27, 4:15 p.m. “Photoacoustic Calorimetry in Chemistry and Biology: Listening to What Molecules Have to Say,” a Chemistry colloquium with Randy Larsen, University of South Florida. 233 Remsen. HW

Wed., Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. The Peabody Singers perform Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. $15 general admission, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students with ID. Griswold Hall. Peabody

Plein air painter Stuart Shils talks at Homewood

he Homewood Art Workshops kicks off its 35th anniversary celebration with a slide talk by renowned landscape painter Stuart Shils on Monday, Nov. 2. Shils’ talk, “27 Years Outside,” will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the Mattin Center’s F. Ross Jones Building, Homewood campus. A reception will follow Shils’ presentation. A Philadelphia native, Shils has been a devoted plein air landscapist since 1982. His richly atmospheric paintings of his hometown, as well as of Ireland, Israel and Italy (above, Corsiano), have been exhibited in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Tel Aviv. Shils’ 13 summers spent painting on the coast of County Mayo, Ireland, were the subject of the 2004 PBS documentary Ballycastle. Shils, 55, teaches master classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and for 10 years he has been an annual visiting critic at the Vermont Studio Center. He is represented by the Tibor de Nagy Gallery and Davis & Langdale Co., both in New York. Publications including The New York Times, Art in America, The New Yorker and The New Republic review his work regularly. Homewood Art Workshops was founded in 1974 by Eugene Leake (1911–2005), a painter and former Maryland Institute College of Art president. This event is dedicated to his memory. Shils’ talk is co-sponsored by Homewood Art Workshops and Homewood Arts Programs. For more information, call 410-516-6705.

Tu e s . ,

Oct.

27,

4:30

p.m.

“Why Are There So Many Poor People in Africa and South Asia?” a SAIS International Economics Program discussion with Shantayanan Devarajan, World Bank. For information and to RSVP, phone 202-663-7787 or e-mail aetra1@jhu.edu. 714 BernsteinOffit Building. SAIS

Election of President Obama?” a European Studies Program discussion with Jodie Allen, Pew Research Center, and Stephen Szabo, German Marshall Fund. For more information and to RSVP, phone 202-663-5796 or e-mail ntobin@jhu.edu. Rome Building Auditorium. SAIS Wed.,

Oct.

28,

12:30

p.m.

“Women and the Politics of Change in the Middle East,” a “Year of Religion” panel discussion with Lina Abou Habib, Collective for Research and Training on DevelopmentAction; Mahnaz Afkhami, Women’s Learning Partnership; Wajeeha Al-Baharna, Bahrain Women Association; Asma Khader, Jordanian National Commission for Women; and Rabea Naciri, Democratic Association of Moroccan Women. Azar Nafisi of SAIS will deliver the opening remarks. Part of the SAIS Cultural Conversations series. For more information and to RSVP, phone 202-663-5635 or e-mail laustin@jhu.edu. Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building. SAIS

“Where Angels Fear to Tread: Religion and Informal Enterprise in Nigeria,” an African Studies Program discussion with Kathleen Meagher, London School of Economics. For more information and to RSVP, phone 202-663-5676 or e-mail itolber1@jhu .edu. 736 Bernstein-Offit Building. SAIS

“AntiAmericanism in Europe: Is There a Change in Attitudes Since the

Wed.,

Tues., Oct. 27, 5 p.m.

“A Chilean Perspective on the South American Defense Council and Other Regional Initiatives,” a Latin American Studies Program discussion with Jose Goni, Chilean ambassador to the United States. For more information and to RSVP, phone 202-663-5734 or e-mail jzurek@jhu.edu. 517 Nitze Building. SAIS Wed., Oct. 28, 12:45 p.m.

Oct.

28,

5:30

p.m.

“Minorities in the Workplace: Where They Are and How They

Thurs., Oct. 29, 7 p.m. Screening of Matthew Barney’s films Cremaster 4 and Drawing Restraint 10, with an introduction and discussion led by Drew Daniel, KSAS and one-half of the electronic music duo Matmos. (See “In Brief,” p. 2.) Shriver Hall Auditorium. HW

REA D I N G S / B OO K TA L K S

Fri., Oct. 30, 12:15 p.m.

“The Road to Financial Reformation: Warnings, Consequences, Reforms,” a SAIS International Finance Club discussion by economist Henry Kaufman of his book by the same name. For more information, call 832-693-8997 or saisinternationalfinanceclub@ gmail.com. Rome Building Auditorium. SAIS

I N FORMATIO N SESSIO N S

Wed., Oct. 28, 7 p.m. Local author and journalist John Eisenberg will discuss his latest book, That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins. HW

G RA N D ROU N D S

“Life by the Book: Pragmatically Using Text in Large-Scale -Omics,” Health Science Informatics grand rounds with Hagit Shatkay, Queen’s University, Ontario. W1214 SPH. EB

Mon., Nov. 2, 7 to 9 p.m. Online information session for the MS in Biotechnology Program. RSVP online at http://advanced.jhu.edu/ rsvp/index.cfm?ContentID=1616.

L E C TURES

The 19th Annual Larry L. Ewing Memorial Lecture—“Germ Cells, Transposons and Non-Coding RNAs” by Norman Hecht, University of Pennsylvania. Sponsored by the Bloomberg School of Public Health. W2030 SPH. EB

Wed., Oct. 28, 4:30 p.m.

Author and academic Christos Papadimitriou will discuss his critically acclaimed graphic novel Logicomix, an epic tale of the spiritual odyssey of Bertrand Russell. Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins.

Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m.

Mon., Oct. 26, 4 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 29, noon. The John H. Hanks Memorial Lecture—“Role of Vitamin D in Host Defense Against Microbial Pathogens” by Robert Modlin, UCLA. Sponsored by Molecular Microbiology and Immunology/Infectious Diseases. W1020 SPH. EB Thurs., Oct. 29, 4:15 p.m. “The Trope of Form: On Liturgy and Invention,” a Tudor and Stuart lecture by Bruce Holsinger, University of Virginia. Sponsored by English. 201C Dell House. HW

The 2009 Samuel Iwry Lecture— “Samaritans and Jews: New Developments Pertaining to Their Early Relations” by Gary Knoppers, Pennsylvania State University. Sponsored by Near Eastern Studies. 205 Krieger. HW

Mon., Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m.

SEMI N ARS Mon.,

Oct.

26,

12:15

p.m.

“Regulation of Proliferation in the Developing Endoderm,” a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Marko Horb, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montreal. Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW Mon., Oct. 26, 4 p.m. David Bodian Seminar—“The Visual Shape Alphabet and Its Neural Population Code” with Chou Po Hung, National Yang Ming University. Sponsored by the Krieger

Continued on page 9

Calendar

Key

(Events are free and open to the public except where indicated.)

APL BRB CRB CSEB

Applied Physics Laboratory Broadway Research Building Cancer Research Building Computational Science and Engineering Building EB East Baltimore HW Homewood KSAS Krieger School of Arts and Sciences PCTB Preclinical Teaching Building

SAIS School of Advanced

MUSI C

Peabody at Homewood Center presents the Vinca Quartet, a Peabody faculty recital. Great Hall, Levering. HW

Wed., Oct. 28, 7 p.m.

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