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Honors & Other Things
February 26, 2008, Volume 54, No. 23

Gates Cambridge Scholar: Mr. Cook

Cook

Mr. Joshua Cook has been awarded a 2008 Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Mr. Cook is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a major in biology. During his time at Penn, he has conducted research on the etiology of type-2 diabetes at the Joseph Stokes Research Institute of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He has also spent nearly three years as a clinical intern at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. At Cambridge he plans to pursue an MPhil in clinical biochemistry at the IMS Metabolic Research Laboratories. He hopes to become a physician-scientist specializing in translational diabetes care. Mr. Cook won the fellowship through the endorsement and sponsorship of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

 

 

 

 

Excellence in Critical Care: HUP

Three critical care units at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania have been honored with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The Beacon Awards indicate success in the areas of recruitment and retention, education, training and mentoring, research and evidence-based practice, patient outcomes, leadership and organizational ethics, and healing environment.

Tax Check-off Grant: Dr. Cooperman

The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalitionhasawarded Dr. Barry Cooperman, professor of chemistry and biological chemistry, with a 2008 Breast Cancer Income Tax Check-off Grant. Every penny of the more than $2 million raised through the initiative goes directly to fund breast and cervical cancer research conducted by Pennsylvania researchers. Pennsylvania income tax-payers are reminded to check line 35 on the PA 40 tax form to donate their state tax refund to help make a difference.

Anatomists Board: Dr. Sanger

Sanger

Dr. Joseph W. Sanger, professor emeritus of cell and developmental biology in the School of Medicine, has been elected to a three-year term (April 2008 to April 2011) as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Anatomists.

Dr. Sanger’s research focuses on cellular analysis of the formation of myofibrils, stress fibers, cleavage furrows in living cells, and mechanisms of movement of the infectious bacterium, listeria monocytogenes.

 

 

 

 

Bioengineering Chair: Dr. Meaney

Meaney

Dr. David F. Meaney, professor of bioengineering, has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Bioengineering, effective September 1, 2007. Dr. Meaney, an accomplished scholar, researcher, and teacher, is also a visionary leader. “With David at the helm, we have an opportunity to take the bioengineering program to an even higher level of excellence and to extend its impact across Penn Engineering and the entire campus,” stated SEAS Dean Eduardo Glandt.

Dr. Meaney received his B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1987, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. Honors include the William J. Stickel Gold Award in 1995, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 1998, the John Paul Stapp award in 1999, and the 2001 Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award in the field of bioengineering. Dr. Meaney is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Neurotrauma and is on the Advisory Committee for the Stapp Car Crash Conference.

Author of more than 95 peer reviewed papers in journals that include Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Journal of Neuroscience, and Biophysical Journal, Dr. Meaney’s research focuses on understanding the mechanical cues that regulate injury, repair, and growth in cells and tissues of the central nervous system. Applications of this work include testing new approaches for repairing damaged tissues in the brain and spinal cord after injury.

 

 

Berger Award: Mr. Cech

cech

Thomas R. Cech, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry received Penn Engineering’s prestigious Harold Berger Award on January 31 for his “groundbreaking research on RNA and its transformational impact on biotechnology.” The Berger Award is presented bi-annually by the School of Engineering and Applied Science to a technological innovator who has made a lasting contribution to the quality of life. As the featured speaker in Skirkanich Hall, his talk entitled, “Two tales of multi-disciplinary research,” highlighted the importance of collaborative and interdiciplinary efforts in both his own work and science and engineering in general, and addressed ways in which universities could create productive interactions between researchers in diverse fields.

 

 

 

 

Left to right: Dean Eduardo Glandt, Judge Harold Berger, and Thomas R. Cech

Under Secretary's Award: Dr. Asch

Dr. David Asch, Robert D. Eilers Professor of Health Care Management and Economics at Wharton, received the 2008 VA Under Secretary’s Award for Health Services Research. This award is the highest honor for VA health services researchers. It recognizes a VA researcher whose work has led to major improvements in the quality of veterans’ health care, has made key contributions through excellence in training and mentorship, and has enhanced the visibility and reputation of VA research through national leadership. Dr. Asch is also professor of medicine, health care systems, operations and information management and medical ethics and executive director of the  Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.

 

Almanac - February 26, 2008 , Volume 54, No. 23