Psychologist to lead Graduate School

As dean, Peter Salovey hopes to bridge a gap that is cultural as well as geographic.

“There’s probably no farther walk on this campus than from the Sterling Hall of Medicine to the Kline Biology Tower,” says psychologist Peter Salovey, Ph.D. ’86, the new dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. For graduate students on the medical campus, isolated from fellow students in other fields, says Salovey, “this is more than just a geographical problem: it is a cultural problem.”

Peter Salovey

In his new role as dean of the 760 faculty members and 2,300 students in the arts and sciences—that is, all students at Yale working toward M.A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees—Salovey hopes to bridge that divide and bring together graduate students separated by discipline as well as geography. He will rely to a large degree on the McDougal Graduate Student Center, located at the Hall of Graduate Studies on York Street about halfway between Sterling and Kline, which offers career counseling, seminars in teaching, social events and a place simply to hang out. Salovey hopes that graduate students will be increasingly likely to trek over from the medical campus to take part in the McDougal Center’s activities, and also will encourage the center to offer programs on Cedar Street.

Salovey foresees an expanded role for the McDougal Center as a sponsor of public service programs, which already offer opportunities for graduate students to meet one another and to get involved in the larger New Haven community. “We’re very interested in encouraging community volunteerism and participation in social policy and social concerns,” Salovey said. “I will be working closely with the McDougal Center fellows who already are organizing such community service experiences.”

Salovey succeeds neuroanatomist Susan Hockfield, Ph.D., who in January became the first scientist appointed provost of the university. As did Hockfield, Salovey plans to keep his laboratory running, spending Fridays there. Salovey does basic research into how human emotions influence thought and action. With colleague John D. Mayer, Ph.D., he developed the notion of “emotional intelligence,” the view that just as people have a wide range of intellectual abilities, they also have a repertoire of measurable emotional skills and competencies that profoundly affect their functioning. As deputy director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, he investigates the effectiveness of health promotion messages in persuading people to change risky behaviors, and he has conducted similar work on health communications targeting cancer prevention behaviors. In a quasi-academic role, Salovey also plays stand-up bass for the Professors of Bluegrass.

—Cathy Shufro

Notes

Robert L. Bell, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery (gastroenterology) who specializes in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery, performed the first laparoscopic gastric bypass at Yale in August 2002, a month after joining the faculty. Interest in gastric bypass surgery, a technique he learned as a fellow at the University of Maryland, is on the increase after last year’s Dateline NBC broadcast on weatherman Al Roker’s successful procedure.

The Yale Medical Group recently announced the following appointments: James A. Brink, M.D., professor of diagnostic radiology, has been named interim chair of diagnostic radiology. Brink, who also holds a degree in electrical engineering, was elected to membership in the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance and has twice been a recipient of the Godfrey Hounsfield Award for Research Excellence in Computed Tomography. Anne McB. Curtis, M.D. ’70, HS ’75, professor of diagnostic radiology, will serve as vice chair of clinical affairs and oversee the clinical quality improvement initiative. Vladimir Neklesa, M.D., associate research scientist in diagnostic radiology, will continue as director of information technology and partner with Yale-New Haven Hospital to further implement the Picture Archive and Communication System, which enables e-delivery of images to referring physicians for rapid interpretation. Howard P. Forman, M.D., associate professor of diagnostic radiology, who continues as vice chair for finance and administration, will assist in evaluation of all outpatient opportunities.

José Costa, M.D., deputy director of the Yale Cancer Center and professor and vice chair of pathology, was awarded the Josep Trueta Medal by the Catalan government in Barcelona in February. The medal recognizes scientists who have had a profound impact on the scientific community in Catalonia. Costa, who is the principal investigator of the Marcia Israel Laboratory for the Earlier Detection of Breast Cancer at Yale, focuses his research on carcinogenesis and tumor progression.

Michael H. Ebert, M.D., former chair of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, was appointed professor of psychiatry at Yale, chief of staff of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and associate dean for veterans affairs at the School of Medicine last fall. Ebert’s focus has been in clinical pharmacology. He directed a clinical research program in the section of experimental therapeutics, part of the intramural program of the National Institute of Mental Health. Ebert serves as director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and is director of the Psychiatry Council and vice president of the ABPN. He also serves on the residency review committee for psychiatry of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education and occupies a seat on the American Board of Medical Specialties. Ebert was recently elected to the executive council of the Association of American Medical Colleges and is a representative to the Council of Academic Societies.

Jack A. Elias, M.D., the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine, received the Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment from the American Thoracic Society in May. The award is given to individuals for distinguished scientific contributions to the understanding, prevention and treatment of lung disease.

Charles A. Greer, Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery and neurobiology and co-director of the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, has received the 2002 Frank Allison Linville’s R.H. Wright Award in Olfactory Research. Greer visited Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and the University of British Columbia in the spring to receive the $30,000 annual award and deliver lectures and research seminars. He was honored for his studies of the fine structure and function of the developing olfactory system, especially local synaptic circuit organization in the olfactory bulb. These studies use the olfactory system as a model for identifying mechanisms and general principles that underlie the specificity of axon targeting and synapse formation in the nervous system.

Sharon K. Inouye, M.D., M.P.H. ’89, professor of medicine (geriatrics) and associate clinical professor of nursing, received the 2003 Ewald W. Busse Research Award in the Biomedical Sciences during the 3rd Pan-American Congress of Gerontology in April in Buenos Aires. The award recognizes achievements of promising junior or midcareer scientists and is intended to encourage their continued contributions to aging research.

David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H. ’93, associate clinical professor of health policy and administration in epidemiology and public health and director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, began writing a column on preventive medicine for Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, O, in March after the magazine’s editor heard him speak at an American College of Preventive Medicine meeting. Katz also writes a weekly column for the New Haven Register.

Donald R. Lannin, M.D., former director of the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center at North Carolina’s East Carolina University (ECU), has joined the Yale faculty as professor of surgery (oncology) and executive director and co-medical director of the Yale Comprehensive Breast Center. While at ecu, Lannin developed a comprehensive breast center program. He arrived at Yale last summer.

Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D. ’55, HS ’61, clinical professor of surgery (gastroenterology), received the John P. McGovern Medal from the American Medical Writers Association for pre-eminence in medical writing. The award was presented at the group’s annual conference in San Diego in October. Nuland also received the McGovern Medal in 2001 from the University of Texas in Galveston and in 1995 from the American Osler Society.

M. Bruce Shields, M.D., Marvin Sears Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and chair of ophthalmology and visual science, was named chair of the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) in January for a one-year term. Shields, certified by the ABO in 1975, served as an associate examiner from 1987 through 1995 and also on the board. In the capacity of an associate examiner he interviewed prospective diplomates in the oral examination process.

An item in the Faculty Notes section of our spring issue incorrectly referred to Nancy H. Ruddle, Ph.D. ’68, as an associate professor before her appointment as the John Rodman Paul Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health. Her previous appointment was professor. We regret the error.