Current issue
Milestones
Promoted:
Paul G. Feinstein, from research associate to research assistant
professor, Mombaerts Lab.
Marc Flajolet, from research associate to senior research associate,
Greengard Lab.
Shiaoching Gong, from research assistant professor to research associate
professor, Heintz Lab.
Jyoti Kumar Jaiswal, from postdoctoral associate to research assistant
professor, Simon Lab.
Daniel C. Nelson, from research associate to research assistant
professor, Fischetti Lab.
Raymond Schuch, from research associate to research assistant professor,
Fischetti Lab.
Hired:
Catherine Adamidi, laboratory manager, Tuschl Laboratory.
Vasiliki Anest, postdoctoral fellow, Allis Laboratory.
Jose Avalos, postdoctoral associate, MacKinnon Laboratory.
Julia Bellamy, assistant to the office of the general counsel, General
Counsel.
Jeremy Biane, research assistant, Nottebohm Laboratory.
Erin Brachman, postdoctoral associate, O’Donnell Laboratory.
David Brosgol, director, Investments.
Rafael Catala-Rodriguez, postdoctoral fellow, Chua Laboratory.
Gilles Charvin, postdoctoral associate, Siggia Laboratory.
Camille Clowery, copy editor, Rockefeller University Press.
Sanford Coker III, systems administrator, Information Technology.
Jason Crockett, copy editor, JCB, Rockefeller University Press.
Ana Paula Garate, postdoctoral associate, LARC.
Michelle Ryu Gleason, postdoctoral associate, Hudspeth Laboratory.
Eve-Ellen Govek, postdoctoral associate, Hatten Laboratory.
Terry Graziano, assistant to the office of technology transfer,
Technology Transfer.
Cagan Gurer, postdoctoral associate, Münz Laboratory.
Erica Yvonne Jacobs, postdoctoral associate, Chait Laboratory.
Fronia Johnson, building services coordinator, Housing, Faculty House.
Seth Katz, associate, Investments.
Martina Kopp, postdoctoral associate, Rice Laboratory.
Kai Lam, animal attendant, LARC.
Lok Man John Law, postdoctoral associate, Rice Laboratory.
Heather Lee, research assistant, Friedman Laboratory.
Anthony Liporace, director of finance information systems, Finance
Office.
Yun Lu, research assistant, Shaham Laboratory.
Todd Mariani, interactive communications specialist, Communications
and Public Affairs.
Maria Nieves Martin Alguacil, visiting professor, Pfaff Laboratory.
Danissa Martinez, animal attendant, LARC.
Nathifa Mawiyah, administrative receptionist, Telecommunications
Services.
Rhonda McCurchin, nursing assistant, Hospital Nursing Inpatient.
Joelle Miller, archival assistant, Archive Center.
Anna Sophia McKenney, research assistant, Rout Laboratory.
Gaitree McNab, biosafety officer, Laboratory Safety and Environmental
Health.
Shane Murrell, human resources assistant, Human Resources.
Celeste C. Nelson, clinical research nurse practitioner, Breslow
Laboratory.
Irina Nudelman, research assistant, Heintz Laboratory.
Santa Pecoraro, office administrator, Hepatitis Center.
Alexander Ploss, postdoctoral associate, Rice Laboratory.
Ryan Raaum, postdoctoral fellow, Gotschlich Laboratory.
Heike Rebholz, postdoctoral associate, Greengard Laboratory.
Cristian Rosario, dean’s office assistant, Dean’s
Office.
Luis Santory, painter, Housing, Faculty House.
Jan Skotheim, visiting fellow, Siggia Laboratory.
Tanya Stevens, postdoctoral associate, Heintz Laboratory.
Laxmi Manohar Tirunagari, research assistant, Sakmar Laboratory.
Jernej Ule, postdoctoral associate, Darnell, R. Laboratory.
Anthony Valencia, lead porter, Housing, Faculty House.
Glorimar Vendrell, animal attendant, LARC.
Huidong Wang, postdoctoral associate, Darnell, R. Laboratory.
Stefan Wennmalm, postdoctoral fellow, Simon Laboratory.
Emily Wiley, visiting professor, Allis Laboratory.
Katherine Wojciechowski, research assistant, Gadsby Laboratory.
Wei Xu, visiting scientist, Ott Laboratory.
Bevan Yeates, telecommunications technician, Telecommunications
Services.
Xianglin Yuan, research support specialist, Proteomics Resource Center.
Mingming Zhou, research associate, Greengard Laboratory.
Awarded:
The 2005 Gairdner International Award, to Jeffrey M. Friedman,
“for contributions to our understanding of obesity and
particularly for the discovery of the adipose tissue hormone,
leptin.” Friedman is one of six recipients of the award,
which will be conferred at a symposium in Toronto in the fall.
Thirteen members of the Rockefeller University faculty have been
honored with the prestigious award since it was established in
1959. Look for more coverage of Friedman’s Gairdner Award in
the next issue of The Rockefeller University Scientist.
Friedman is head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics.
Jeffrey M. Friedman, the Passano Award, which recognizes exception
contributions to the advancement of medical science. The award,
which is given by the Passano Foundation, will be presented in
Baltimore, Maryland on April 19. Friedman is head of the Laboratory
of Molecular Genetics.
Vanessa Ruta, the
2005 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, which honors
graduate students at or near the completion of their studies who
have done high-quality, original and significant work in biological
sciences. Ruta will receive a certificate, travel expenses to
attend a scientific symposium at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center in Seattle, and an honorarium. It is the fourth year in a
row that a Rockefeller Graduate student has one a Weintraub
award. Ruta is graduate student in Rod MacKinnon’s Laboratory
of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics.
Cindy Maria Quezada, a postdoc in Erec Stebbins’ Laboratory of
Structural Microbiology, a 2005 L’Oreal Women in Science
fellowship. Quezada studies how bacteria manipulate normal cellular
processes in order to proliferate and survive within our cells. The
award was presented at an April 12 ceremony at the American Museum
of Natural History.
Annick Gauthier, the 2005 Science and Engineering Research Canada (NSERC)
Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize. Gauthier, a postdoc in Charlie
Rice’s Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, studies
how hepatitis C hijacks the liver’s cellular machinery while
staying hidden from the body’s immune defenses. The prize,
which includes a cash award, recognizes outstanding Canadian
researchers who have reached a high level of excellence at an early
stage of their careers. Gauthier is originally from Pincourt,
Quebec.
Monika Lachner (Allis lab), Akimitsu
Konishi (de Lange lab), Benjamin Short (Fuchs lab), Takashi
Soyano (Chua lab) and Marcus Stensmyr (Mombaerts lab), postdoctoral fellowships from the
Human Frontier Science Program, which provides support for
scientists doing basic research on the mechanisms of living
organisms, who are working in countries other than their own. In
addition, Rockefeller graduate students Vincent Archambault and
Jost Enninga received HFSP fellowships for postdoctoral study at
other institutions.
Bruce McEwen, a
honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor at their Spring Commencement ceremony on April 30.
McEwen, who is the son of a University of Michigan English
professor and attended high school in Ann Arbor, is head of
Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology.
Xin Yu, a two-year research grant from the Lymphoma Research
Foundation, which awards grants to support research into new leads
for lymphoma treatment. Yu, who is a postdoc in Bob Roeder’s
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, recently
discovered a new form of a B-cell-specific gene activation protein
(OCA-B/p35) critical for effective immune response.
José L. Avalos, a 2005 Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellowship.
Awarded each year to approximately 50 young scientists conducting
research relevant to the study of cancer, Damon Runyon fellowships
provide financing to postdocs for three years. Avalos is a postdoc
in Rod MacKinnon’s Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and
Biophysics.
The Rockefeller University
Scientist, a gold
circle of
excellence award from the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education. The Scientist, which is Rockefeller’s external newsletter
about Rockefeller people and discoveries, is produced by the Office
of Communications and Public Affairs.
Named:
Paul Greengard, to the National Advisory Council on Aging, the group
that advises the National Institute on Aging on the conduct and
support of biomedical, social and behavioral research and training
on the diseases and conditions associated with aging. Greengard is
head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.
Thomas Tuschl, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Tuschl,
who is head of the Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology, is one of
12 current Rockefeller faculty members to have been awarded this
appointment, which includes substantial funding for research.
Published:
Modeling in the Neurosciences, Second Edition:
From Biological Systems to Neuromimetic Robotics, edited by George Reeke. The book has 24 chapters
covering selected aspects of how to model neural systems,
ranging from calcium diffusion and dendritic cable equations to
network analysis by graph theory and the use of robots to model
neural systems. Reeke is head of the Laboratory of Biological
Modeling.
Obituary:
Martin A. Rizack, emeritus
associate professor, died on March 7, 2005 at his home in Mamaroneck, New
York. He was 78.
Rizack was a biochemist and clinical pharmacologist
who joined Rockefeller as a fellow and assistant physician in 1957. His
research focused on peptide hormones, in particular hormones involved in
the release of fatty acids from fat-cell stores, and the control of steroid
synthesis in adrenal cells. He described and characterized the enzyme
hormone-sensitive lipase and the role of cyclic AMP in its activation. His
research also explored the possibility of implanting or transferring
cellular receptors, particularly those for lipoproteins, to determine
whether this could correct problems of receptor function.
Rizack also was a pioneer in understanding drug
interactions in patients taking more than one medication at a time. His
book on this subject, The Medical Letter
Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions, was the
first such book to be widely read by physicians, and was translated into
several languages. Rizack began a long affiliation with The Medical Letter, as a member of its
editorial board, in 1966.
Beyond his research, Rizack made many contributions to
the university. He established and directed central facilities at the
Rockefeller Hospital for clinical chemistry, hematology and bacteriology.
He also was a member of the Hospital’s Institutional Review Board. In
addition, he served as associate dean of graduate studies from 1966 to
1974, and during the Vietnam conflict was a liaison with draft boards,
working to allow students to complete their thesis research.
Rizack received the A.B. degree from Columbia
University in 1946 and the M.D. from Columbia’s College of Physicians
and Surgeons in 1950. In 1960, he received the Ph.D. from The Rockefeller
University, for research in Vincent Dolez’s laboratory, and was also
appointed assistant professor that year. In 1967, he became head of the
Laboratory of Cellular Biochemistry and Pharmacology. Rizack was a fellow
of the American College of Physicians.
He is survived by his wife,
Angeline Mastri, and five children from a previous marriage.
April 15, 2005
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