Two Royal Fellows from Chemistry

Chemistry professors Dr. Michael Klein and Dr. Alan MacDiarmid were elected fellows of the Royal Society of London, the world's oldest scientific academy in continuous existence which was founded in 1660. Fellows are elected for their contributions to fundamental research that results in greater scientific understanding or for innovation in scientific or technological progress.

"Election to the fellowship of the Royal Society is recognized worldwide as a sign of the highest regard in science," noted SAS Dean Sam Preston. "We are proud to have such distinguished scientists on our faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences." The Royal Society's fellowship includes such luminaries of science as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Francis Crick, James Watson, and Stephen Hawking.

In 2000, Dr. MacDiarmid was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on conducting polymers, more commonly known as "synthetic metals." Dr. Klein, a leader in the use of computational methods to make clear the structure and dynamics of condensed matter, was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences earlier in May.

Dr. Gutsche: Distinguished Service

Dr. Brett B. Gutsche, emeritus professor of anesthesia in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, has received the Distinguished Service Award by the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology. The award recognizes Dr. Gutsche's lifetime of services in the field of obstetric anesthesia. Dr. Gutsche was also recognized for his leadership which served to guide SOAP's growth as a national and international resource. He was honored for his medical contributions including safer, more effective ways to relieve childbirth pain and a better understanding of the dangers of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia and fetal distress.

Dr. Snyder: Gentle Giant Award

Dr. Peter J. Snyder, professor of medicine, division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, at the School of Medicine has received the Gentle Giant Award from the Pituitary Network Association. The Gentle Giant Award is presented to an individual or entity in recognition of distinguished contribution and dedication to the field of pituitary/endocrine medicine. Dr. Snyder received the award for his longstanding advocacy of improved treatment of patients, and his outstanding contribution and dedication to pituitary patient care, education, and the field of pituitary endocrine medicine. Founded in 1992, PNA is the world's largest growing patient volunteer organization dedicated to the treatment and cure of pituitary disorders.

Dr. Thompson: Investigator Award

Dr. Craig B. Thompson, professor and chair of the department of cancer biology at the School of Medicine, has received the 2003 Clinical Investigator Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Thompson is also scientific director of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the Abramson Cancer Center. He received this year's award for his pioneering work on the critical role that receptors on the surfaces of T-cells play in regulating a myriad of complicated immune cell functions. His discoveries have contributed to the design of new therapies for autoimmune disease, transplant rejection, cancer, and AIDS

Dr. Trojanowski: Rotary Grant Dr. John Trojanowski, director of the Alzheimer's Research Trust has been awarded a $250,000 Alzheimer's research grant. Given by the Rotarian Clubs from North and South Carolina and Georgia, the Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust (CART) was started to fund for the research and cure of Alzheimer's and Alzheimer's related diseases. "funding from sources like the Rotarians allow us to jumpstart scientific research on the many targets that we think are the molecular pathways to curing Alzheimer's," said Dr. Trojanowski. According to Dr. Trojanowski, Penn received the award primarily because of the work of Dr. Domenic Praticó, assistant professor in pharmacology. His work on isoprostanes, fatty acids that are formed as the result of free radical damage, have opened up a new avenue of promising research in which drugs created to prevent oxidative stress may halt Alzheimer's.

GSE Awards

The GSE Outstanding Service to Students Award is presented annually to recognize a member of the GSE community "who has shown a strong commitment to GSE students." It is intended to acknowledge an individual who goes beyond his or her official responsibilities to guide students in their academic and professional lives and who simply makes life better for students with his or her thoughtfulness and care. The recipient of this year's Award is Isabel Boston. Ms. Boston, a records assistant in the Student Records Office, is currently working part-time for her undergraduate degree. A source of support and guidance for students, faculty, and staff, she is recognized as one of GSE's most valued customer service representatives. Recommended to the Student Affairs Committee as "bright, articulate, convivial, and caring," Ms. Boston was praised as "an invaluable asset to GSE and the Student Records Office in particular" and for "her commitment to the staff and, more important, to our students who are the beneficiaries of her superior skills and admirable work ethic."

The Phi Delta Kappa Award for an Outstanding Dissertation has been presented to Dr. Angela Reyes for "The Other Asian: Linguistic, Ethnic and Cultural Stereotypes at an After-School Asian American Teen Videomaking Project." An ethnographic and linguistic anthropological study, her dissertation explores the role of an after-school project in creating relations of power and identity encountered by Asian-American teens encounter at both local and societal levels.

The GSE Educational Alumni Association presented the 2002 William E. Arnold Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in a Graduate Program to two of its students: Angela Reyes, a Ph.D. student in the Language in Education Division, and Christy McWayne, a doctoral student in the School, Community, and Clinical Child Psychology program in the Psychology in Education Division. As a doctoral student, Ms. Reyes has been an organizing force behind both academic and social issues at GSE and the larger Penn community. She co-founded and convened both the Educational Linguistics Forum and the Asian American Studies Colloquium series and served on the Ethnography Forum Advisory Board as well as other boards and committees.

Ms. McWayne has demonstrated her commitment to the GSE community and to the field of education through her program, teaching, and research activities. Instrumental in the creation of the first annual Cross-University Mentoring Conference, which brought together early childhood researchers from six universities, she has also served on the Student Affairs Committee and on Parent Policy Council, the parent governance group for Head Start in Philadelphia.

Four Awards for Research Excellence

Four post-doctoral scientists have received awards for Research Excellence form the Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health and the Department of Obstetrics and gynecology. They are: Dr. Paula Stein, and Dr. Petr Svoboda, the Bayard T. Storey Award; Dr. Lin Zhang, the Susan Heyner Award and Dr. Jing Yang, the Joseph C. Touchstone Award. The awards were established in 1999 to honor the service and scientific contributions of professors emeriti of the Department and Center.

Nursing: Research Award

The Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research has won the annual research award in health services research from AcademyHealth for its paper "Hospital Nurse Staffing and Patient Mortality, Nurse Burnout, and Job Dissatisfaction," which was published in the October 2002 issue of JAMA. "We are all busting with pride as this is the first major recognition of research done by nurses and about nursing in the national interdisciplinary association of scholars and policymakers in health services research," said Center Director Dr. Linda Aiken. Dr. Sean Clarke, assistant professor of nursing and Dr. Julie Sochalski, associate professor of nursing, were also named authors on the paper.

Regional Project of the Year

The University of Pennsylvania will receive the Regional Project of the Year Award for the Community Development Program from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission at a reception on June 4. The project brought together a partnership of long-standing University City institutions, neighborhood organizations and non-profit agencies to participate in a comprehensive strategy for the continuing revitalization of the West Philadelphia portion of the University City District.

LGBT Center: Grand Jury Award

The LGBT Center has received the Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance. The Center was cited for the adaptive reuse of the Carriage house completed by Freeman Architects. The LGBT Center and the University adapted a 1877 carriage house by combining restoration of existing architectural features with new elements. The award recognizes the project for demonstrating how and oft neglected building type can be re-used and contribute to community character."

School of Medicine: 2nd in Funding

The School of Medicine ranks second in the total monetary value of grants among academic medical centers in the U.S. according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In fiscal year 2002 Penn received 933 research and training grants worth approximately $347.7 million up by $29 million from the previous year. "Our number two position on the NIH rankings should stand as further testimony to Penn's national prominence," said Dr. Arthur Rubenstein, dean of the School and EVP for UPHS. Penn's standing in the NIH awards rankings reflects our continued efforts toward translational research--integrating the basic science research for which Penn is renowned directly into clinical studies and healthcare practice." Penn also had 11 departments ranked in the top five in their respective fields. Biostatistics was ranked first, psychiatry, pathology and laboratory medicine, and dermatology were ranked second. The other departments in the top five were, medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, pharmacology, physiology and radiology.