Author: kmf17

Imagine how campus would look like if everyone moved from class to class at a snail’s pace?

Find out how things in this world look at a different speed in time during the one-of-a-kind multimedia event with polymath Jeff Lieberman, the exciting host of The Discovery Channel’s “Time Warp.”

He will bring to Case Western Reserve University his eclectic brand of art, science, music and robotic sculpture and give the free, public talk, sponsored by CWRU’s College Scholars Program and the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts of Sciences, on Monday, April 5, at 5 p.m. in Strosacker Auditorium on the south quad of Case Western Reserve University.

The MIT scientist and teacher, Lieberman joins his co-host, digital imaging expert Matt Kearney in Time Warp programs. to use technology to see and understand wonders of the world through the use of high-speed cameras that transform ordinary events such as a cat licking its paw or an egg dropping and breaking in artistic and awe-inspiring moments.

The College Scholars students selected Lieberman, 30, as this year’s speaker.

“He has wide appeal to students from the different majors,” said Linda Ehrlich, College Scholars Program director.

Lieberman has Bachelor of Science degrees in science and mathematics and two master’s degrees. At MIT’s Media Lab, he has created a Cyberflora installation, described as a robotic flower garden that senses and responds to people in a lifelike manner, and the Motor Learning Robotic Wearable Suit that teaches motor skills like dancing and sports.

Away from his studies, the Renaissance man is a musician (drums, saxophone and piano) and plays in the band Gloobic, an inventor “of robotic-related stuff” and artist of technological sculptures.

For more information, visit Lieberman’s Web site and view some of his time warp videos.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

The world’s experts on stories and storytelling in books, movies, songs and in our very minds and memories, will gather in Cleveland to examine and discuss what keeps us hanging on every word.

More than 350 scholars from 19 countries and 5 continents will meet for the 25th anniversary convention of the International Society for the Study of Narrative. The meeting is organized by Case Western Reserve University’s English Department and its Center for the Study of Writing, and directed by CWRU English Professor Kurt Koenigsberger.

Events will take place at the Renaissance Hotel, on the CWRU campus, and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Some are free and open to the public.

Included on the program are studies of major literary works (novels by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Toni Morrison), the films of Hitchcock and other major directors, and stories related in the Bible and other ancient or sacred texts. Recent and popular narrative forms are also well represented: science fiction, Warren Zevon’s music, Superman comics, Harry Potter, “Sex in the City, . . . ”

The narrative world extends well beyond art and entertainment. Also on the program are examinations of how doctors and patients tell stories of illness and recovery, why we have become so fascinated by memoirs, how story-telling works in oral cultures, and how stories shape us as citizens and selves.

Among the CWRU presenters will be Nicole Emmelhainz on science fiction, William Marling on African child soldiers, Brad Ricca on Superman’s origins, Mark Pedretti on Robert Lowell, Per Aage Brandt on cognition, Penny Tucker on autobiography, Susan Dominguez and Bryan Conn on Native American stories, and Peter Whitehouse, Mark Bassett, and Eric Chilton on ecological awareness.

As part of the conference CWRU faculty member Erika Olbricht will lead a tour of downtown Cleveland’s memorials and historic places to show how places connect to stories of the past.

The conference coincides with CWRU’s annual Writing Week, which includes several events open to the public.

The conference is supported by CWRU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English, the Center for the Study of Writing, the Center for Culture and Cognition, the Department of Music, the Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, the Gender and Sexuality in Medicine Working Group and the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities. Conference partners include the Cleveland Cinematheque, the Dittrick Medical History Center, and the Allen Memorial Medical Library.

A free, public talk will be given by Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D., on Friday, April 9, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., in Ford Auditorium of the Allen Memorial Library on the CWRU campus, 11000 Euclid Ave. Her topic is “The Novelization of the Body (Nests, Shells, and Scars) or, How Medicine and Stories Need One Another.” She is professor of clinical medicine and director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The lecture is supported by the Edward S. and Melinda Melton Sadar Fund for lectures in disciplinary writing, and is part of the University’s Writing Week activities.

For more information, go online or call the CWRU English Department at 368-2340.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

The real, creative and diverse world of research goes on display during Case Western Reserve University’s annual Research ShowCASE 2010. The free, public event takes place Thursday, April 15, in Veale Center on the CWRU campus from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

From understanding how ancient mammals can help us conserve modern ones to how sleep can impact the intake of carbohydrates by adolescents are among the A to Zs of research highlighted in active demonstrations, four panel discussions and hundreds of poster displays.

“Research ShowCASE provides evidence of how research and scholarship bring value to the university, our community and the world,” says Cindy Barker, director of Research ShowCASE 2010.

Six Case Western Reserve University presenters will report on efforts and initiatives aimed to keep Cleveland Metropolitan School District children healthy, during a lunch program from noon to 2 p.m. Case Western Reserve University’s President Barbara R. Snyder welcomes guests.

WKYC Anchor and health reporter Monica Robins will moderate the program that explores:

• “Oral Health Care and Education in Cleveland Public Schools” by James Lalumandier from the School of Dental Medicine’s department of community dentistry,

• “Hypertension in Children: Screening in Cleveland Public Schools” by Marilyn Lotas from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing,

• “The Extensive Care Unit Project in Cleveland Public Schools” by Scott Frank from the School of Medicine,

• “The Impact of Mental Health: Mood Disorders and Mental Illness” by Elizabeth Short, associate director of the Schubert Center for Child Studies,

• “The Impact of Foreclosures on Children, Families and Neighborhoods” by Claudia Coulton from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and

• “The Overall Impact of CWRU’s Civic Engagement Programs and Services” by Latisha James, director of the Center for Community Partnerships.

Three morning panel discussions will showcase the university’s strengths in research in the areas of: energy (The Great Lakes Energy Institute: Advancing Energy Research and Education for a Better World); Advance Materials (Institute for Advance Materials—IAM@Research ShowCASE: Developing the Next Industry/Academic Composite”; and health care (“How Do We Get Our Share of the Funding Pie?). The day concludes with a number of awards from the Inamori Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Graduate and Postdoctoral Student Poster Competition Awards.

Registration is required for all panels. http://showcase.case.edu”>Go online to sign up for a panel or for more detailed information.

As part of Research ShowCASE, the Intersections: Source Symposium and Poster Session will take place on April 16 in Adelbert Gym. Intersections is an opportunity for the university community and others to see the broad and diverse work being done across campus by outstanding undergraduates. Learn more.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

University Trustee and family celebrate father’s influential role in industry

At yesterday evening’s Distinguished Lecture event, President Barbara R. Snyder announced a $1.25 million leadership gift from the Callahan family to endow the university’s annual Distinguished Lecture in honor of Francis Joseph Callahan Jr.

“We believe that naming the Distinguished Lecture in honor of my father is a fitting way to pay tribute the legacy of Joe Callahan—a man dedicated to distinction in all he does,” said Cornelia Callahan Richards, Callahan’s daughter and co-trustee of the Callahan Family Foundation.

Joe Callahan is chairman emeritus of Swagelok, a leading fluid system manufacturer headquartered in Solon, Ohio. After graduating from the Naval Academy, serving as project officer on the world’s first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, and earning two engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Joe Callahan began his Swagelok career in 1958 at what was then Crawford Fitting. Joe Callahan quickly rose to the top of the organization and instilled his overall philosophy of respect and quality service. He amassed 23 patents in his 40 years at the firm, and Swagelok companies grew to more than $1 billion in annual sales.

“Our father’s business success was grounded in his belief that everything should be done ‘first-class,’” said Timothy Callahan, son and co-trustee of the Callahan Family Foundation and a Case Western Reserve University trustee. “He has always said, ‘Find the best people, give them everything they need to succeed and treat everyone with respect.’”

Joe Callahan also has given generously of his time and assets to the Northeast Ohio community. He has served on the boards of the Cleveland Clinic, Marymount Hospital, Cleveland Institute of Music and John Carroll University. In addition, he has made substantial leadership gifts to Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, among many others.

“The Distinguished Lecture brings to campus leading experts in their fields, people committed both to improving the world and enhancing our understanding of it,” Case Western Reserve University President Barbara R. Snyder said. “Joe Callahan has set a similar standard in his professional and philanthropic contributions. We are gratified by this opportunity to name our distinguished lecture in his honor.”

The Distinguished Lecture at Case Western Reserve University was established in 2005 to engage the university community in discussion of important topics of the time. A faculty committee annually selects speakers. Previous speakers include Jared Diamond, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who examines the influences that drive the rise and fall of cultures and societies; Kay Redfield Jamison, an international authority on mood disorders; and E.O. Wilson, a legendary biologist who is widely considered to be the father of the modern environmental movement.

Last evening’s lecture, “Engineering and Civilization: Bridges, Infrastructure, and the Sources of Success and Failure,” was delivered by Henry Petroski, the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University.

For more information contact Marv Kropko, 216.368.6890.

The Federal Communications Commission’s new National Broadband Plan calls for connecting more Americans to broadband Internet access as a way of improving U.S. society and transforming industry.

Case Western Reserve University is already doing its part to help a major segment of the Cleveland population through its new Case Connection Zone pilot research project, designed to provide faster broadband access to local residents and Case Western Reserve students who call the neighborhoods surrounding campus home.

The project, announced late last fall, is moving full speed ahead with dozens of neighborhood residents now signed up for the pilot phase.

Research from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences suggests that a large number of households in communities surrounding the university either do not have Internet access or do not have broadband access. The Case Connection Zone pilot project aims to close the gap.

The project is more than just an opportunity for residents to log onto the Internet for leisure. According to Case Western Reserve officials leading the initiative, the program has software in place to meet specific metrics and goals such as contributing to neighborhood and public safety; increasing completion rates of high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects; monitoring and identifying chronic health conditions for increases in wellness education; and increasing knowledge of and participation in household and neighborhood energy education and management.

The university’s project is referenced in the National Broadband Plan: “Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, with 40 institutional partners, vendors and community organizations, is planning a University Circle Innovation Zone in the economically impoverished area around the university to provide households, schools, libraries and museums with gigabit fiber optic connections.” The citation also notes that organizers expect “this network to create jobs in the community and spawn software and service development for Smart Grid, health, science and other applications, as well as foster technology, engineering and mathematics education services.”

The university is working to connect the first 100 households in the area immediately adjacent to the university. This major investment will hopefully “change the way people feel about and view technology. It’s bringing technology into everyday life,” said Latisha James, director of Case Western Reserve’s Center for Community Partnerships. Program participants will receive the same quality Internet connectivity enjoyed by students, faculty and staff.

She added that the homeowners and residents in the pilot program are “incredibly excited.” The beneficiaries range from older people to tech savvy graduate students.

An Alpha House on Juniper Road has been set up as a demonstration site to educate residents on how to use the new technology. Tours of the house will be available on Thursday, March 25, beginning at noon. More information is available online.

The pilot program is initially scheduled to last 12 months. The computer equipment is free for participants. When the research study is completed, residents will be able to keep the equipment and continue the service with fees subsidized by community partners.

The project has the potential to connect more than 25,000 local residents.

For more information contact Kimyette Finley, 216.368.0521.

Planned Events March 25 Include Ceremony Featuring David Wilson
as Inaugural Robert J. Herbold Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Robert J. (Bob) Herbold (GRS ’66, ’68), retired vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp. and now the managing director of The Herbold Group, LLC, will visit Case Western Reserve University on March 25 for a series of events, including his lecture on how the United States can become more competitive globally.

Herbold will speak at 5 p.m. on the topic, “Does the U.S. Realize It’s in Competition? How America Can Keep Its Edge in the Age of Globalization.” This lecture will be held in the Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein Research Building on the Case Western Reserve campus and is free and open to the public.

Earlier in the day, Herbold’s philanthropic support of Case Western Reserve University will be highlighted at a noon ceremony featuring David Wilson as the inaugural Robert J. Herbold Professor of Biomedical Engineering. The ceremony will also be held in the Wolstein Building and is open to the public at no charge.

Herbold has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Cincinnati and both a master’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from Case Western Reserve.

Herbold has authored two books, “The Fiefdom Syndrome” (Random House 2004) and “Seduced by Success: How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning” (McGraw-Hill 2007). The Herbold Group is a consulting business focused on profitability, strategic and operational issues of corporations, non-profits, educational institutions and government bodies.

Herbold is also an operating partner of the private equity firm Thoma Bravo and serves on the board of directors of Agilent Technologies, Indachin Ltd. Hong Kong and Vision Solutions Inc.

He is a member of the board of The Heritage Foundation, Nanyang Technological University and the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He is on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and he is senior executive in residence at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and international graduate business schools.

Herbold joined Microsoft in 1994 as executive vice president and chief operating officer, retiring in 2001. He was responsible for finance, corporate marketing, market research, manufacturing and distribution, information systems, human resources and public relations. During his years with the company, Microsoft experienced a fourfold increase in revenue and a sevenfold increase in profit. From 2001 to 2003, Herbold worked half-time for Microsoft as executive vice president assisting in government, industry, and customer areas. Prior to joining Microsoft, Herbold was part of The Procter & Gamble Company for 26 years. In his last five years with P&G, he served as senior vice president of advertising and information services. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s worldwide marketing/brand management operations as well as all marketing related services, such as media and retail promotion programs.

Herbold’s experiences at Microsoft and Procter & Gamble were the basis of an article he authored in the January 2002 issue of the “Harvard Business Review” entitled “Inside Microsoft: Balancing Discipline and Creativity.” It focused on how companies can improve their profitability and agility.

Schedule:

• 12 to 1 p.m.-Biomedical Engineering Chair Ceremony/Lecture featuring David Wilson (inaugural chairholder), Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein Research Building. Wilson is the inventor of cryo-imaging, a
  biomedical imaging system that delivers incredibly detailed images, making it possible to visualize an entire image in microscopic detail or to pinpoint a single cell.
• 5 to 6 p.m.-Robert Herbold Lecture, “Does the U.S. Realize It’s in Competition? How America Can Keep Its Edge in the Age of Globalization,” Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein Research Building.

For more information contact Marv Kropko, 216.368.6890.

ABC kicks off its next season of the “Dancing with the Stars” franchise on Monday, March 22. A football star, several actresses and an Olympic medalist are just a few of the cast members who will compete for the chance to own a mirror ball trophy.

Case Western Reserve University will have its own crop of dancers take to the floor on Saturday, March 20. A vice provost, an athletic trainer and an undergraduate admission director are just a few of the university “stars” on the roster. However, they’re competing for more than just bragging rights. They’re planning to bring their best waltzes, hip hop and cha cha moves to raise funds for pediatric cancer patients at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.

Dance Marathon at Case Western Reserve University (DM-CWRU), a new student group, will present “Dancing with the CWRU Stars 2010” at 7 p.m. in Horsburgh Gymnasium. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for the rest of the campus community.

Eric Mott, chair of DM-CWRU’s board of directors, said the organization aims to help the local community through service. The group routinely sends volunteers to Rainbow Hospital. Their motto is “For the Kids!”

Each Case Western Reserve celebrity dancer has been paired with a pro from university dance groups or local dance studios. Most of the duos have been practicing for several weeks in preparation for tomorrow night’s event.

Donald Feke, vice provost for undergraduate education and professor of chemical engineering, is one of the faculty/staff stars. “This is a charity event and it’s a very worthy cause,” he said about signing up. He took ballroom dancing as a hobby more than 20 years ago. “It has allowed me to remember how much I enjoy ballroom,” said Feke, who will perform a waltz.

Susan (Suzi) Higgins, head athletic trainer, was recruited by one of her students to join the fundraiser. She’s training for a half marathon and felt dancing would be a good way to supplement her workouts. The biggest surprise so far? Remembering the steps for her salsa/samba routine. Her solution was to have her husband video tape one of her practice sessions. Higgins said she “never thought I could dance in heels, but I’m picking it up OK.” She’d like to continue dancing for fun.

Remembering the steps is also the biggest concern of Shannon Yuhnke, training and support manager for the IT operations group in the Division of Student Affairs. However, that won’t stop her from taking to the dance floor tomorrow night for a cha cha routine benefitting a worthy cause. “Justin (her dance partner) has been very patient with me, which has helped to calm my nerves a bit.”

Although most faculty/staff stars are doing ballroom or Latin styles, the DM-CWRU committee approached Ryan Keytack with a different idea. The associate director of undergraduate admission said he’ll “attempt” to do a hip hop/funk routine to help raise funds for children battling illness. “Cancer has impacted my family in many ways, so it’s also personal for me. I’m thrilled to give back to a community that means so much to me.” He participated in Dance Marathon as a graduate student and saw how it “brings so many facets of campus life together. I’m a believer.” His professional partner encouraged him to watch the show “America’s Best Dance Crew” to brush up on his hip hop skills. “I’ve never been this sore in my life,” he said about the practice sessions.

Campus members will play an important role in choosing the winners of “Dancing with the CWRU Stars.” The champions will be crowned based on a combination of audience votes and recommendations from a panel of judges.

According to DM-CWRU, the roster for “Dancing with the CWRU Stars” is:

• Susan Alexander, assistant director of financial aid for student employment, paired with Gordon Kwan (All About Dancing)
• Lora Doleh, Division of Student Affairs, paired with Alex Hamberger (CWR ’08)
• Donald Feke, vice provost of undergraduate education, paired with Samara McCullough (Case Ballroom Dance Society)
• Lynmarie Hamel, assistant dean of undergraduate studies, paired with Andy Slimak (Fred Astaire of Northfield)
• Susan Higgins, head athletic trainer, paired with Frank Zevnik (Fred Astaire of Willoughby)
• Michael Kenney, senior instructor of chemistry, paired with Shannon Liauw (Let’s Dance Cleveland)
• Ryan Keytack, associate director of undergraduate admission, paired with Bianca Rodriguez (Case Urban Elementz)
• Shannon Yuhnke , training and support manager for the IT operations group, paired with Justin Chiou (Case Ballroom Dance Society)

Send an e-mail to [email protected] for more information about the event.

For more information contact Kimyette Finley, 216.368.0521.

Case Western Reserve University Law Professor Michael Scharf and Co-Author Paul Williams of American University Emphasize Vital Role of State Department Legal Advisers in Times of Crisis

When the United States faces an international crisis, can its international law obligations be set aside if the executive branch so chooses? The answer would depend on how one answers another question: Is International law really law?

Co-authors Michael P. Scharf, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and Paul R. Williams, a law professor at American University, Washington D.C., take a close look at this controversial matter in their important new book, “Shaping Foreign Policy in Times of Crisis: The Role of International Law and the State Department Legal Adviser” (Cambridge University Press).

Monday at Harper’s Magazine online, Scharf answered crucial questions relating to issues the book brings to light. (Read Michael Scharf’s responses in Harper’s Magazine Q&A.

Scharf and Williams have appeared recently on C-SPAN Book TV to discuss their findings from meetings the authors held with the ten lawyers who headed the Department of State Office of Legal Adviser, from the Carter administration to that of George W. Bush. A C-SPAN Book TV rebroadcast is scheduled for 11 p.m. March 21 and is available for viewing anytime online.

Based on insider accounts of the decision-making process during thirty major crises, the book explores whether international law is real law or just a political arrangement that policymakers may choose to ignore.

With a foreword by the Obama administration’s State Department Legal Adviser, Harold Koh, the book includes chapters focusing on the experiences of each legal adviser, as well as discussions with foreign Legal Advisers from the UK, Russia, China, Ethiopia, and India for comparative perspective. The book ends with an in-depth case study of the drafting of the White House Torture Memos, in which the authors write that a cabal of government lawyers intentionally cut the State Department Legal Adviser out of the process in order to advocate policies and tactics that were in violation of international law.

Scharf and Williams each has served in the Office of Legal Adviser within the State Department, and both work closely with the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) as co-founders of the non-profit group, which provides pro bono legal assistance to states and governments involved in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and war crimes prosecutions. In 2005, the PILPG was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for help in the prosecution of major war criminals.

Scharf is the John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Professor of Law and director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Williams holds the Rebecca I. Grazier Professorship in Law and International Relations at American University and teaches at the School of International Service and the Washington College of Law.

More information about Shaping Foreign Policy in Times of Crisis: The Role of International Law and the State Department Legal Adviser is available online.

For more information contact Marv Kropko, 216.368.6890.

Study Proves Blood-stage Infection Due to Population Mixing and Disease Evolution

In a paradigm changing discovery, Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria has been identified in a population historically thought to be resistant to the disease, those who do not express the Duffy blood group protein on their red blood cells, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Pasteur Institute, and the Madagascar Ministry of Health. In a study of more than 600 individuals from eight communities covering the main malaria transmission areas of Madagascar, the researchers found that 10 percent of people experiencing clinical malaria were Duffy-negative and infected with P. vivax. These findings were published in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Since the early 1920s, it has been widely accepted that people of African ancestry are resistant to P. vivax blood-stage infection and clinical malaria. The Duffy-negative blood group, one of the more than 30 blood types, is predominant in most African ethnic groups. In recent years, researchers have begun to suspect that P. vivax, the world’s most abundant malaria parasite, had made its way into the blood of Duffy-negative people, but until now, confirming evidence that the parasite had entered the red blood cells remained elusive.

The Case Western Reserve-Pasteur Institute team has documented their novel discovery with the first photographic evidence of the parasite’s presence within red blood cells of many Duffy-negative people experiencing malarial illness. It is understood that those with this blood type, can have P. vivax living dormant in their liver cells where it does not make people sick. What has distinguished Duffy-negatives from all others was that the malaria parasite was unable to cross the threshold from liver cells to blood cells. The lynchpin responsible for resistance to vivax malaria has been that when the Duffy antigen is missing the parasite is not able to invade the red blood cell and cause disease.

“The study confirms that P. vivax is not dependent on the Duffy antigen for establishing blood-stage infection and disease in Madagascar. Evolution of new parasite strains, infiltrating a new group of people who are Duffy-negative, seems to be occurring within a population of people from different ethnic backgrounds,” says Peter A. Zimmerman, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and Professor of International Health, Genetics and Biology in the Center for Global Health and Diseases at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “These findings will have a major impact on efforts to eliminate malaria worldwide, particularly in large regions of Duffy-negative west, central and southern Africa.”

The study’s findings suggest that population mixing on the island of Madagascar increases the Duffy-negative’s susceptibility to P. vivax. With ancestors of both Duffy-negative Africa and Duffy-positive Southeast Asia in Madagascar, P. vivax has steady opportunity to attempt infection of Duffy-negative red blood cells. Through these opportunities, and the lifecycle necessity of blood-stage infection, P. vivax strains in Madagascar may be optimizing an otherwise cryptic invasion pathway.

Malaria, one of the world’s “big three” diseases, is a major health problem. Forty percent of the world’s 6.5 billion people live in areas where malaria transmission occurs. As many as three million people are diagnosed with new cases of P. vivax malaria each year, which is one of the four types of malaria. “It will be imperative for the global health community to find ways to prevent the spread of these new strains of P. vivax to the continent of Africa,” says Dr. Zimmerman.

In Madagascar, malaria is endemic to more than three-quarters of the island. With almost one million clinical cases reported each year, this disease is a major public health problem. Major efforts to fight malaria are focused on Plasmodium falciparum. While P. vivax is the second most prevalent malaria parasite, public health data on it is limited. “We did not anticipate such a widespread phenomenon when we started the study with our Malagasy colleagues from the National Malaria Control Programme. Finding vivax malaria in a group previously considered resistant adds yet another public health threat to this population. It was bad news. We need to understand how the parasite has evolved in Madagascar to spread disease to a broader population,” says Dr. Didier Ménard from Pasteur Institute.

Dr. Odile Mercereau-Puijalon, Head of the Parasite Molecular Immunology Unit at the Pasteur Institute, commented, “The large numbers of P. vivax parasitized red blood cells in Duffy-negative patients shows an efficient invasion process in cells considered to be resistant to infection. This capacity is clearly not restricted to a single P. vivax strain in Madagascar and is a widespread phenomenon across the island. Our findings illustrate the extraordinary capacity of malaria parasites to overcome barriers. This calls for increased vigilance in the efforts to control malaria.”

With these novel findings, the Case Western Reserve and Pasteur Institute researchers will examine how the malaria parasites successfully invade the cells and determine the molecular receptor involved in this process. Through their future studies the team hopes to determine how these parasites invade red blood cells and contribute to development of an effective vaccine against vivax malaria.

For more information contact Jessica E. Studeny, 216.368.4692.

For more information contact Christina DeAngelis, 216.368.3635.

“Tipping Points in Urban Change: Modern Perspectives on Agents of Urbanization,” will offer a forum for considering the similarities and differences in the modernization of cities during the 20th century and in global cities now under construction or in the planning stages. The free, public event takes place on Thursday, March 25, at the Baker Nord Center for the Humanities, Clark Hall, 1-4:30 p.m.

The symposium looks at the people responsible for these urban plans, the dynamic role played by rebuilding, expositions and museums in changing cities, and the particular circumstances in which growth or decline occurred. Presenters will explore Colon City in Panama, Detroit and Seoul, Korea, in light of the larger historical forces of industrialization and globalization.

The symposium is directed by Case Western Reserve University historian Professor Miriam Levin and sponsored by the CWRU Department of History, the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences and the National Science Foundation.

The forthcoming book, “Urban Modernity: Cultural Innovation in the Second Industrial Revolution“(MIT Press), inspired the symposium.

Levin, the first author, developed the book from a project funded by the National Science Foundation.

According to Levin, a historian of technology, at the turn of the 20th century, Paris, Berlin, Chicago, London, and Tokyo became interconnected through international competition for industrial power and prestige. Leaders in each city relied on a combination of rebuilding, world fairs, and museums to create a society based on up-to-date science and technology and a belief in material progress.

“They became models for what a city is,” Levin said. “With the decline of the industrial base of these cities in the late 20th century, many similar agendas have been floated for revitalizing old cities and/or creating new kinds of cities in emerging regions such as Asia and the Persian Gulf.”

Elaborating on that idea of urban development then and now will be a panel of speakers who will present case studies on city development:

• Marixa Lasso, Associate Professor of history at Case Western Reserve University, will talk about “Defining Modernity: Panama Canal” from 1-1:35 p.m.
• Robert Fishman, Professor of architecture and urban planning at University of Michigan, will present “Motor City: The Rise and Fall of Detroit as the Archetypal Industrial Metropolis” from 1:40-2:15 p.m.
• Peter G. Rowe, the Raymond Garbe Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and University Distinguished Professor at Harvard University, will discuss “The City and its Stream: Turning Points: Modern Seoul’s Modern Development” from 2:20-2:55 p.m.

From 3-3:45 p.m. Robert H. Kargon, the Willis K. Shepard Professor of the History of Science at The Johns Hopkins University and a contributor to Urban Modernity, will moderate a roundtable discussion with the presenters.

For information, call 368-8961 or visit http://case.edu/humanities.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

The Honorable Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the current chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, will give the keynote address for Case Western Reserve University’s 2010 Stokes Leadership Symposium on Monday, March 22, at noon in Ford Auditorium.

In her free, public talk, Lee will address the topic, “Opportunities for All, Pathways out of Poverty: My Journey from Public Assistance to Public Service.”

Case Western Reserve University President Barbara R. Snyder will open this symposium with a welcome and introduction. After Lee speaks, Joseph White, the chair of the department of political science and Luxenberg Family Professor of Policy Studies, and David Miller, associate professor of social work at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, will comment and pose questions to begin a discussion with Lee. White will also moderate the engagement with the audience.

Since 1998, Lee has represented California’s 9th Congressional District. She took the seat of retiring Congressman Ron Dellums in whose office she had interned.

In 2009 she took on an additional leadership role. Lee was sworn in as the chair of the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus, which works to overcome problematic social and economic issues facing minorities in the United States.

Her Congressional work includes serving on the House Appropriation Committee and several of its subcommittees: Financial Services; Health and Human Services/Labor/Education; State and Foreign Operations. She is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, serving on the subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and the subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Representative Lee also serves as Senior Democratic Whip on the House Leadership team .

She has been a leader in fighting for legislation to prevent to spread of HIV/AIDS at home and abroad. Those efforts have resulted the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; and a special advisor for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. She has successfully pushed for the awarding of $48 million to refund PEPFAR over five years to continue the fight against AIDS and TB. She was also instrumental in the approval of National Black AIDS Awareness Day.

About the Louis Stokes Leadership Symposium: It is a public forum dedicated to leadership in public service and civic engagement as espoused by retired U. S. Rep. Louis Stokes. The symposium provides a platform for an individual who exemplifies these qualities to lead a thought-provoking discussion—among members of the campus, the Greater Cleveland community, and others—about the continuing importance and value of public leadership at the beginning of the 21st century. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 1968, and became the first African American member of Congress from the state of Ohio. He served 15 consecutive terms. He is a Visiting Senior Scholar at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

Go online for more information.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

Approximately 75 researchers in the field of nursing from around the region learned tips about how to turn their research into headline news during the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing‘s daylong conference, “Research into Policy: Making the Journey,” on Friday, March 12.

It was everything from what to wear before the camera and how to sound on air when media and public policy experts—Dennis E. Eckart, former U.S. Congressman; Monica Robins, reporter/anchor with WKYC Channel 3 News and senior health correspondent; and Dan Moulthrop, founding host of WCPN 90.3 FM’s “The Sound of Ideas” morning program—talked about telling their research stories.

The panelists from the session, “Communicating Research Findings to Key Stakeholders: How to Talk with Media Representatives, Government Officials,” had some helpful hints for researchers at the nursing school and others across campus.

• Tell the truth.
• Don’t say, “No Comment” –it makes one sound guilty.
• Find people impacted by the research to put a human face to the research and make the story more compelling.
• Speak with confidence—this is important for both radio and television.
• Don’t read notes but talk as though having a conversation with the reporter.
• Explain research in short sentences or use metaphors to convey ideas.
• Remember a television story is generally about 90 seconds long.
• Don’t look at the camera but at the reporter.
• Dress in solid dark colors according to skin color. Avoid whites and light colors or prints that make everyone larger.

Eckhart had some quick pointers for reaching government officials:

• Call or visit the local representative’s or senator’s office with request.
• Be timely with information asked for. Do not ask for something five months before a piece of legislation goes to the floor for discussion.
• Get the point of the visit or message in the letter.
• Always say thank you after meeting.
• Do not expect political favors in exchange for a donation or you may yourself in the front-page headlines.

If you have a research story that you would like to reach the media, contact your school’s communication director, or university media relations representatives, who are also available to help you work with the media outreach: Susan Griffith (nursing and dental medicine, humanities, social work and university events; Marv Kropko (law, management, technology transfer); and Kevin Mayhood (engineering and science).

The Research into Policy conference was hosted by the school’s SMART Center to examine how nursing research and nurse researchers influence and create health policy across different countries, settings and populations.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

Members of Case Western Reserve University’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community soon will have a place on campus to call their own. As part of its efforts toward increased inclusiveness, Case Western Reserve will open a new Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center this spring.

The LGBT Center’s mission is to provide an inviting place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, faculty, staff and alumni. It also welcomes supporters, friends, family and those who want to learn more about LGBT issues.

To advance the LGBT Center’s efforts, the university is recruiting a part-time coordinator to manage programming, services and advocacy efforts. This individual also will work closely with The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

“These initiatives mark important signs of progress at Case Western Reserve,” President Barbara R. Snyder said. “They build on years of hard work by many students, staff and faculty, and represent an opportunity to increase inclusion and awareness across our university.”

The new LGBT Center will be housed in what is now Thwing Center’s Hitchcock Lounge, along with several adjacent areas (take a virtual tour). It will include a lounge, kitchenette, office, and study and meeting space. It has been designed to offer areas that encourage informal gatherings as well as more structured events. In addition, the LGBT Center will provide places where people can seek both information and support.

The renovation has been made possible through a generous donation from a private foundation.

Jes Sellers, co-chair of the LGBT Committee and director of University Counseling Services, expressed deep gratitude for the foundation’s gift. He said that the new LGBT Center “will be a place where LGBT students will have a sense of belonging and comfort.”

In the past, Sellers explained, some members of the LGBT community questioned their identity and place on campus. Today’s generation has different experiences that they want to celebrate and share. The LGBT Center represents a natural step in that evolution.

“To the rest of the campus community, it gives this group heightened visibility,” said Jane Daroff, also an LGBT Committee co-chair and a social worker with University Counseling Services. “It’s the university recognizing their existence on campus.”

Locating the new LGBT Center in Thwing made sense on multiple levels. First, Thwing is the university’s primary building for undergraduates, housing the bookstore, the Undergraduate Student Government, the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women and several other student-oriented organizations. Second, the architecture of Hitchcock Lounge lent itself to the kind of warm and comforting environment the university and foundation hoped to create.

“This building is rich in history and architectural heritage,” said University Architect Margaret Carney. “The foundation’s staff walked through this space and immediately appreciated not only its key location, but also the inherent beauty of the architecture itself.”

As part of the project, many architectural details removed during earlier renovations are being restored. The exterior doors, which face Euclid Avenue, are being replaced with a new door that closely resembles those from the building as it was first constructed in 1897. While that door is an emergency exit, it and three others being added to the interior of the space will add significantly to the sense of history and authenticity of the space.

In addition, the renovation aims to be environmentally friendly. Sustainable design elements include bamboo flooring, non-toxic paints and finishes, LED lighting and recycled furniture.

“We were able to incorporate some antique pieces of furniture which had come out of other CWRU buildings,” Carney said. They “will enhance the feeling of warmth and permanence within the LGBT Center.”

The new LGBT Center will include a space christened the Hart Crane Reading Room, named in honor of the gay Ohio poet who attended Western Reserve University in the early 1920s. Crane was born in Garrettsville, but spent much of his young life living with his grandmother in a house on East 115th Street. His best-known works include a series of poems called Voyages and The Bridge, a mammoth effort intended to serve as a more hopeful counterpoint to T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. The campus has two markers honoring Crane, but this will be the first campus space to bear his name.

The new LGBT Center will provide a long-awaited home for members of the LGBT community and their allies. It also will serve as a source of information and insight for those who have lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender children or loved ones. Finally, it also will be a place that welcomes alumni and prospective students, faculty and staff.

For more information about the University’s new Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, visit the LGBT Center’s web site. It includes information about upcoming events, policies and resources. The site also showcases special opportunities, such as the LGBT Center’s sponsorship of the 10% Series of the 2010 Cleveland International Film Festival.

Case Western Reserve University’s International Bioethics Education Program will go to the movies in Spain, May 9-24, to explore major bioethical issues in films like Alejandro Amenabar’s The Sea Inside, the story of Ramán Sampedro’s 30-year struggle to end his life.

Up to 20 people enrolled in the course will engage in discussions with Spanish film directors such as Juan Luis Buñuel (the son of legendary filmmaker Luis Bu ñuel and director of the 2007 documentary “Calandra: 40 Years Later,” critics, professors and film students during the three-credit, two-week study abroad course, “Perspectives on Illness and the Art of Healing in Spanish Cinema.”

The course explores such controversial issues as persistent vegetative states, comas, euthanasia and other mental and physical states.

“Films and novels bring something to the subject that a lecture and textbook can’t,” said Stuart Youngner, Susan E. Watson Professor and Chair of Bioethics at the CWRU School of Medicine.

The study trip combines CWRU’s talents in bioethics and film. Youngner and Linda Ehrlich, associate professor of modern languages and literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences, will co-teach.

Ehrlich researches Asian and European film and has brought together some of Spain’s leading film experts to participate in seminars during the two-week course.

Youngner, who is a self-proclaimed film buff, uses film as a way of explaining complicated bioethical issues in the lifelike scenarios seen on the big screen.

“Bioethics deals with dozens of issues,” Youngner said. “One way to understand problems is through arts and literature.”

Unlike other Bioethics’ abroad experiences, this course is open to college-age students here and elsewhere, staff, adult learners, and faculty interested in learning more about issues of illness and healing.

Registration closes April 1, but new students will be accepted if openings remain available after the deadline.

The trip costs $2,500. This includes lodging and in-country transportation. Airfare and tuition are separate.

Ehrlich says, “Illness and Healing” will be taught in English.

The course should appeal to individuals with a wide range of interests from those in bioethics to others with a desire to learn more about film art in Spain to Spanish majors with an interest in the cultures of the Basque and Catalan regions, she added.

The experience begins with pre-trip readings, viewings and writings. What follows in Spain are a wealth of films and side trips to places like Girona to visit a unique early cinema museum and architectural tours of Barcelona’s modernist architecture and its hospitals. The trip also includes free time to see some of the regular tourist stops.

Once in Spain, the group will spend May 9-12 at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and later at the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastián in the second week from May 16-21.

Barcelonan highlights are the reviews of Pedro Almodóvar’s films by film critic and professor Carlos Losilla; Joaquim Jordá’s 2006 film “Mas allá del espejo,” about rehabilitation following a brain injury; a discussion with photojournalist Montse Armengou, who produced the investigative TV documentaries about recovering historical memories of the Spanish Civil War and viewing her 2002 “The Lost Children of Francoism”; and a look at film scholar (and former physician) Esteve Riambau’s Orson Welles’ unfinished film version of Don Quixote.

San Sebastian is a seaside city. One of the places toured will be a museum devoted to the work of Spanish sculptor, Eduardo Chillida.

Go online to learn more about the study abroad experience.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

The two newest trustees elected to Case Western Reserve University’s board have strong personal ties to the university and distinctive academic and business experiences.

Charles E. Hallberg, 59, of Naples, Fla., and James Clair Wyant, 66, of Tucson, Ariz., both Case Western Reserve alumni, began as trustees Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, for terms running until the spring of 2014.

A student-athlete who majored in physics while earning his bachelor’s degree from Case Institute of Technology in 1965, Wyant is dean of the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, one of the world’s foremost teaching and research programs in optics.

Hallberg, an active member of the executive committee reviewing Case Western Reserve’s readiness for a capital campaign, graduated from the Case Western Reserve School of Law in 1977. He is founder of MemberHealth LLC, in Solon, Ohio.

“We are delighted to have two such accomplished graduates join the Board of Trustees,” said board Chair Bud Koch.

“Each has first-hand experience of the ways a Case Western Reserve education can help prepare an individual for success in life,” said President Barbara R. Snyder.

James Clair Wyant

James Clair Wyant was named dean of the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona in 2005. Prior to that, Wyant had a long and distinguished career as a University of Arizona faculty member. He received his doctorate from the University of Rochester, in Rochester, N.Y., in 1968 after previously achieving his Master of Science degree there.

Wyant was a co-founder of the WYKO Corporation and served as its president and board chairman from 1984 to 1997 when it was sold to Veeco. WYKO designed and manufactured high precision optical metrology instrumentation widely used in the magnetic data storage industry. In 2002 he co-founded the 4D Technology Corporation and he currently serves as its board chairman.

In April 2008, Wyant funded the naming of the track at the Village at 115 in honor of Bill Sudek, his coach, mentor and friend when Wyant was a student at the Case Institute of Technology, now Case Western Reserve University.

Charles E. Hallberg

Before earning his law degree from Case Western Reserve, Charles E. Hallberg graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 from the University of Massachusetts.

Hallberg’s business experience has allowed him to grow MemberHealth into a leading prescription benefit management company that administers one of the nation’s largest Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. In 2007, MemberHealth became part of the Universal American Corp. family of companies. As a result, MemberHealth now operates as a subsidiary of Universal American and is an integral part of Universal American’s “Healthy Collaboration” model for health care.

MemberHealth has more than 63,000 pharmacies in its nationwide network and provides exceptional customer service to the more than 1.7 million members it serves.

For more information contact Marv Kropko, 216.368.6890.

Early development of social skills and intelligence has its long-range economic payoffs, according to Nobel Laureate James Heckman. He offers an equation on human capital development as a way to secure America’s economic future. The public can learn about his ideas for building the future when he gives the free, public talk, “The Economic Case for Investing in Early Childhood Education,” sponsored by the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University.

Heckman will speak on Thursday, March 18, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., in Ford Auditorium in Allen Memorial Library.

“Professor Heckman offers an economist’s perspective on human potential and how development of this potential has positive economic consequences for the future,” said Jill E. Korbin, director of the Schubert Center.

After winning the Nobel Prize in 2000, Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, set out to understand why the country’s workforce was falling behind other countries and jeopardizing the nation’s security. He began to rethink the way America looks at the human and economic potential of its children.

During his talk, Heckman will elaborate on how early development of academic and social skills are essential for lifetime success, and how quality investments in children from birth on yield quality economic returns for society.

The talk is free and open to the public. Online registration is required. Call 368-0540 for information.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

The artistic talents of Christopher Pekoc from the art studio and education program in the College of Arts and Sciences hits the big screen during the 34th annual Cleveland International Film Festival, March 18-28, at Tower City Cinemas at Tower City Center in downtown Cleveland.

Included among a group of short independent films, shown at 4:40 p.m. on
Friday, March 19, and again at noon on Monday, March 22, will be “The Beauty of Damage: the world of Christopher Pekoc.”

The 19-minute documentary is based on CWRU Art Historian Henry Adams’ essay on Pekoc’s work with the title of “The Beauty of Damage,” and it appeared in a catalogue that accompanied the exhibit of the artist’s work at the Convivium33 gallery in 2006-07.

The film explores the development of Pekoc’s artist life and was produced by award-winning Telos Production producer Thomas Ball. Adams helped initiate the project and co-produced it with Ball.

Funding came from Cleveland philanthropist Toby Devan Lewis, with additional support from the university.

In addition to the inside look at Pekoc’s art, described by Poet, Critic and former chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts Dana Gioia, as “visually stunning and sensual…and equal parts beautiful and unsettling,” the film includes commentaries by Adams, CWRU Vice President of University Relations Lara Kalafatis and Pekoc.

Adams gives a verbal description of descending into Pekoc’s basement studio in Tremont to describe walls lined with images of thorny branches, bird’s wings and human body parts.

“This is Pekoc’s alchemical laboratory, where bits and pieces of damaged, beautiful things are fused together into works of art,” Adams said.

“The Beauty of Damage” will be among six short films shown on Friday, March 19, and Monday, March 22.

Go online for details about the Cleveland International Film Festival.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

Spring break is usually thought of as a time for students to get away for some fun in the sun. Although some students will indeed take a much-deserved break the week of March 8-12, dozens of Case Western Reserve University students will use their time off to give back to communities both close to home and around the globe.

Several groups or departments are sponsoring alternative spring break trips in which students, staff or faculty members volunteer to help people or organizations in need.

This year’s projects are diverse, ranging from construction at an elementary school in Nicaragua to creating a clean water system for a primary school in Thailand to continuing cleanup and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.

Read more to find out how dozens of campus members plan to help communities in need:

New Orleans:

Since January 2006, students, staff and community members associated with the Center for Civic Engagement and Learning (CCEL) have traveled to New Orleans six times to assist with Hurricane Katrina cleanup and rebuilding efforts . Volunteers gut houses, rebuild parks and playgrounds, volunteer at community health clinics, work at schools and assist coordinators at area food banks. This year’s group will include nearly 50 students and staff members from Case Western Reserve and Fisk universities (learn more about the Case Western Reserve-Fisk Exchange program). The Cleveland Hillel Foundation and Hillel Builds are also sponsoring an alternative spring break trip to New Orleans to work on community service projects.

Nicaragua:

CCEL’s newest alternative spring break trip is an international service and immersion program in Nicaragua. Thirteen undergraduate students and two staff members will travel to the rural community of Chinandega to work with Waves of Hope, a nonprofit organization. Their main project will be the construction of a kitchen for an elementary school. Angela Lowery, CCEL’s student service coordinator, said this will allow children to receive at least one full meal during the school day. The volunteers will also tutor children in English. Lowery said the campus community has responded favorably to this latest project, including funding provided by the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence. “CWRU students have participated in pre-trip sessions to learn about the history and culture of Nicaragua. They are also coordinating fundraising events to raise additional money for the nonprofit’s ongoing projects,” she explained.

Thailand:

The Case Western Reserve chapter of Engineers Without Borders works with developing communities to design engineering solutions. The group will travel to Piang Luang, Thailand, to provide clean water to a primary school that serves 1,200 students. The eight-member team will gather information and data on the health of the children and the community to assess the type of water supply design needed. The implementation phase is scheduled for August. The student volunteers are Sanchit Goyal , Stephen Fleming, Ken Hornfeck, Marshall Lukacs and Riya Basu. Their faculty adviser is Andrew Rollins, Department of Biomedical Engineering. Lynn Rollins, an adviser, and Tom Bell-Games, a mentor, will also be on the trip. Goyal, a third-year student majoring in electrical engineering, said the choice between a service trip or a getaway to a place like Florida was easy. “An EWB trip is an experience like none other. What could be better than traveling the world while applying your education in ways that can really help people?”

Cleveland:

A small group of students will spend spring break right here in Cleveland learning about social justice issues and participating in service activities. The group will spend March 6-10 volunteering at homeless shelters and health clinics, and they will provide street outreach. The volunteers also plan to explore the root causes and possible solutions.

Guatemala:

The Global Medical Initiative student group is working with Refugee International on a trip to Sarstun, Guatemala. A group of 14 students will spend the week assisting a surgical team and bringing medical supplies from Medwish.

Other projects:

Information about several other alternative spring break trips is available online.

For more information contact Kimyette Finley, 216.368.0521.

The RecyleMania competition recently passed the halfway point, and Case Western Reserve University’s overall totals continue to remain impressive.

“We’ve added approximately 3,000 pounds of composting per week to this year’s totals compared to last year’s,” said Gene Matthews, director of facilities services. “Through the first five weeks this year we’ve recycled a total of 121,473 pounds compared to last year’s five-week total of 88,329 pounds,” he added.

Case Western Reserve’s recycling rate during last year’s RecycleMania was around 15 percent (as measured by dividing the total recyclables by weight over the total waste stream including recyclables by weight), a figure Matthews said the university hopes to increase this year by a significant amount.

More than 600 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and as far away as Qatar are participating in this year’s competition. As more schools take part in the competition, the university’s ranking in specific categories has dropped. However, Matthews said that “with a little effort we can improve our ranking through the second half of this year’s competition.”

According to the College and University Recycling Council (CURC), which oversees RecycleMania, surveys have indicated that 80 percent of participating schools experienced a noticeable increase in recycling collection during the competition.

The university aims to be “climate neutral,” and RecycleMania is just one aspect of that commitment.

For more information contact Kimyette Finley, 216.368.0521.

Initially High Cell Loss in Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) Tapers Quickly

One year post-surgery, patients who underwent Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) experienced greater cell loss overall compared to those who underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PKP), according to a new analysis of data collected from the Cornea Donor Study (CDS) Investigator Group’s 2008 Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study (SMAS). However, the study, published in the March issue of Ophthalmology, showed that cell loss in DSAEK patients plateaued more quickly than in those who underwent PKP. The two procedures are alternative methods of corneal transplant surgery for diseases affecting the back cell layer of the cornea, the endothelium.

Both the operation and recovery time associated with DSAEK are shorter because the 360-degree PKP wound is larger, weaker and more prone to rupture. PKP, a procedure that has been actively performed for more than 50 years, involves replacing all the layers of the cornea with healthy donor tissue. DSAEK is a newer procedure, developed within the last five years, by which the diseased, endothelium—a layer of cells that maintains the cornea’s clarity and thinness—is replaced with a piece of only healthy donor endothelial tissue. “There is no question of the immediate benefits of DSAEK,” says senior author of the study Jonathan H. Lass, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Eye Institute. These benefits include greater eye integrity due to a smaller wound; quicker recovery with less visual distortion; and decreased severity in postoperative surface problems, such as dry eye.

According to Dr. Lass, the present study suggests the potential long-term benefits of DSAEK may outweigh the initial cell loss. “The fact that the transplants are less susceptible to trauma is promising for this growing procedure. DSAEK patients are seeing more quickly than PKP patients and this data suggests that long term they may do better too,” says Dr. Lass. The study’s authors hypothesize that the greater initial cell loss associated with DSAEK is due to greater surgical manipulation of the donated graft itself.

“Demand for DSAEK has grown rapidly because patients appreciate the faster visual recovery with fewer activity restrictions. The greater early cell loss seen with DSAEK initially caused some concern about long-term graft survival, but the results of this study, together with what we’ve learned from continued follow up of DSAEK pioneers treated over five years ago, have helped allay those fears,” says Marianne Price, Ph.D., lead author of the study and Executive Director, Cornea Research Foundation of America.

DSEAK and PKP are both used to manage when the cornea swells due to Fuchs’ dystrophy and pseudophakic/aphakic corneal edema, both conditions affecting the function of the corneal endothelium. The study also found that patients who underwent PKP to correct Fuchs’ dystrophy could expect significantly less cell loss 12 months after the surgery than PKP recipients suffering from pseudophakic/aphakic corneal edema. DSAEK, on the other hand, resulted in similar cell loss after one year for these two diagnoses. The study concludes that long-term follow-up with DSAEK patients will be needed to determine whether differences similar to those experienced by PKP recipients will emerge over time.

Francis W. Price, M.D., and Mark S. Gorovoy, M.D., co-authors of the study, have been leaders in the field of DSAEK surgery since its inception. Dr. Gorovoy says, “As I’ve seen in my patients six years out, the stabilization of endothelial cell loss mitigates the surgical trauma and promotes continued graft clarity. It’s reassuring to have confirmation from the data that the continued clinical success of these patients supports the significant benefits of DSAEK over PKP in the long term management of patients with corneal endothelial failure.”

Funding for this study was provided to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine by the National Eye Institute.

For more information contact Jessica E. Studeny, 216.368.4692.

For more information contact Christina DeAngelis, 216.368.3635.