News from the School of Medicine-Kansas City

In celebration of African American History Month, the School of Medicine will sponsor a seminar on "Staring at Tomorrow's Access to Medicine." Leslie Becker, MD, a Kansas City, Kan., urologist, will give the presentation at noon Feb. 19 in Clendening Amphitheater. There will be a reception at 11:30 a.m. in the Clendening Library. Faculty, students and staff are invited.

Kim Fechtel, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, received a new, three-year $149,959 total costs grant from the American Diabetes Association for "Prevention of Hyperglycemia-Induced Neural Tube Defects by Folates and Folate Derivatives in the Laboratory Rat."

Andras Szabo, PhD, Michael Bowman, Christopher Braun, and Richard Alper, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutics, are the co-authors of "Cardiovascular Effects Produced by R-(+)-8-Hydroxy-2-(Di-N-Propylamino) Tetralin in the Preoptic Area of Conscious Rats," which was published in the European Journal of Pharmacology, 315/2:187-194, 1996. Szabo, Bowman and Braun previously worked in Alper's lab.

News from the School of Nursing

The next School of Nursing Research Colloquium will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Jan. 31 in 1015 Orr-Major. Lauren Aaronson, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor and associate dean for research; Kathleen O'Connell, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor; and Lorie Richards, PhD, OTR, assistant professor of occupational therapy education, will discuss "Science of Self-Report: Findings from a Conference."

The Jan. 25 Pharmacology Update session, "Pharmacologic Management of Depression and Dementia in the Elderly," has been re-scheduled for March 8. The KU School of Nursing in cooperation with the KU Area Health Education Centers are the sponsors of Pharmacology Update, a Saturday morning continuing education program for advanced practice nurses. The programs are presented via interactive video from 9 a.m. to noon. There will be additional programs Feb. 15, March 22 and April 12. Call continuing education, ext. 4488, for more information.

Heather Jones, RN, MSN, PNP, clinical instructor, passed her certification exam and is now a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. Jones has a full-time practice assignment at the Mustang Corral at Argentine Middle School, a school-based health clinic.

Jan Davidson, RN, MSN, ARNP, FNP-C, CEN, assistant professor, began a new practice assignment at the Cottonwood Clinic, Merriam, a weight management clinic where she performs physical assessments, monitors progress and educates clients.

News from the School of Allied Health and the Center on Aging

Patricia Pohl, PhD, PT, assistant professor of physical therapy education and an assistant scientist in the Center on Aging, was appointed to the Specialization Academy of Content Experts in Geriatrics for the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Her term is for three years.

News from the Kansas Cancer Institute

Diane Persons, MD, assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and director of clinical cytogenetics laboratory, has been invited to serve as a member of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) cytogenetics working committee. With this appointment, the status of the Cytogenetics Laboratory at KU Medical Center will change from a submitting laboratory to a reference laboratory for SWOG cytogenetic studies.

The next Kansas Cancer Institute Research Round Table will be from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 4 in Lied Auditorium. The speaker will be Stephen Ethier, PhD, associate professor in the division of cancer biology in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He will discuss "The Role of Onteractions Among erbB Family Members and Their Ligands in Growth Regulation of Human Breast Cancer Cells." Free lunch will be available for the first 35 attendees.

News from University Relations

Staff in the office of university relations received four awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VI for their external publication, Bulletin. Bulletin is produced three times a year to inform alumni, Kansas City and Kansas physicians, as well as friends of the university of the activities and issues facing KU Medical Center, with an emphasis on academic, patient care and research aspects of the institution. Its circulation is about 14,000. The magazine's staff consists of Randy Attwood, director of university relations; Amy Bennett, editor; Sharon Hartbauer, art director and photographer; and Greg Crawford, art director and designer (KU, Lawrence). Contributing writers from university relations are Tom Bassing, Van Buckley and Rosemary Hope. Bulletin was recognized in the periodicals magazines category with a Silver Award and in the visual design magazines category with a Gold Award. Hope received a Bronze Award in the feature story writing category for her article "Fungus Flourishes at Center," and Buckley received a Bronze Award in the feature story writing category for his article "Here's to Jimmy." Both articles were published in Bulletin No. 3, 1995. CASE District VI comprises 186 institutions in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. There were more than 600 entries from 70 organizations for 53 CASE District VI award categories. The awards were presented at the Jan. 18-22 CASE conference in Kansas City, Mo.

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