U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala has named Kim Bottomly, Ph.D., professor of immunobiology and dermatology, as one of five appointees to the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council, the principal advisory body of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Bottomly’s research focuses on the factors that regulate CD4 T-cell differentiation and function, especially as regards the pathogenesis of asthma. Bottomly has served on the NIH Immunobiology Study Section and on several committees of the American Association of Immunologists. Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, was the keynote speaker in February for the National Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. Brown also presented the Department of Psychiatry grand rounds at the Goethe University Medical School in Frankfurt. His topic was “Working Memory and Executive Function Impairments in ADHD.” The following Yale faculty have been elected to membership in the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering: Yung-Chi Cheng, Ph.D., Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology and director of the developmental therapeutics program at the Cancer Center; David A. Kessler, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and professor of pediatrics, medicine and public health; Michael H. Merson, M.D., dean and professor of epidemiology and public health; Dieter G. Söll, Ph.D., professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry; and Peter B. Moore, Ph.D., the Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemisty and professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Myron Genel, M.D., professor of pediatrics, received the Abraham Jacobi Memorial Award in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The award is presented by the Academy and the American Medical Association to “a pediatrician who has made notable contributions to pediatrics on a national level.” Genel received the award in part for his efforts to bridge the gap between the pediatric specialty and the general medical community. The School of Medicine has received a $500,000 unrestricted cardiovascular/ metabolic research grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb, to be supervised by Richard Lifton, M.D., Ph.D., chair of genetics, professor of genetics and medicine (nephrology) and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Lifton’s research in hypertension has led to the identification of more than a dozen genes that regulate blood pressure. The grant was announced on March 31 at a reception for Lifton, who leads a team of researchers who have found mutations in genes that alter blood pressure by changing salt and water reabsorption in the kidney. Lawrence C. Kaplan, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Disabled Child Care Program and the Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs, was chosen one of 30 fellows for Zero to Three’s Leaders for the 21st Century program. Zero to Three is a national nonprofit organization of pediatricians and child development specialists. Paula Kavathas, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics and immunobiology, and William B. Stewart, Ph.D., associate professor of surgery and chief of the section of anatomy and experimental surgery, were honored with Ivy Awards in May. The Elm and Ivy Awards are given in recognition of efforts to strengthen the relationship between Yale and the city of New Haven. Kavathas created the Science Education Outreach Program to strengthen science education in New Haven. Stewart helped to establish a program of bringing students from Career High School to anatomy laboratories at the medical school, where they are taught by medical student volunteers. The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) has announced the recipients of its 1999 Distinguished and Young Investigator Awards. From Yale, Kenneth K. Kidd, Ph.D., professor of genetics and psychiatry, received the Distinguished Investigator Award. The recipients of the Young Investigator Awards were: assistant professors of psychiatry Walid M. Abi-Saab, M.D., J.D.; Aysenil Belger, Ph.D.; Robert Berman, M.D.; Jingshan Chen, M.D., Ph.D.; Cheryl M. Corcoran, M.D.; Benjamin Druss, M.D., M.P.H.; Masahiro Fujita, M.D., Ph.D.; and Gerard Marek, M.D., Ph.D.; instructor in psychiatry C. Bruce Baker, M.D.; postdoctoral fellows in psychiatry Gerard Sanacora, M.D., Ph.D.; Kelly A. Stein, Ph.D.; Nicholaas P.L.G. Verhoeff, M.D., Ph.D.; and Erica Weiss, M.D.; postdoctoral fellow in genetics Naoya Murakami, M.D., Ph.D.; and assistant professor of neurology David S. Russell, M.D., Ph.D. Richard W. Kim, M.D., surgical resident in cardiothoracic surgery, was named a Baxter Research Fellow for 1999-2000 by the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education for his research investigating new techniques in gene therapy and cardiac transplantation. Sunita Maheshwari, M.D. (M.B.B.S.), clinical instructor in pediatrics (cardiology), was awarded the Laennec Society Young Clinician Award by the American Heart Association in November at its 71st annual meeting in Dallas. The award was given for the best clinical presentation in a special session of the Laennec Society for Clinical Cardiology that was conducted at the meeting. Richard A. Marottoli, M.D., associate professor of medicine (geriatrics), received an Outstanding Research Award in the field of aging and health care for seniors and long-term care in May for his research identifying risk factors associated with driving safety and interventions for the older driver and their families. The award was presented as part of a celebration of Older American’s Month hosted by Connecticut Community Care Inc. W. Ian McDonald, Ph.D., professor adjunct of neurology, presented the Helen Wilshire Walsh Lecture titled “The Dynamics of Multiple Sclerosis” in June at Yale. Ms. Walsh was a supporter of neurology research and had a long-standing interest in improving the lives of people with disabilities. McDonald has made many contributions to the diagnosis and understanding of multiple sclerosis and has used magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy to probe its evolution in humans. Lynne J. Regan, Ph.D., professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry, was awarded the fourth annual Herbert W. Dickerman Award from the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center. She was selected for the award in recognition of her achievements in elucidating rules underlying protein folding, as well as for her contributions in the areas of protein design and prediction. Regan visited the center this spring, presented a lecture and met with staff scientists. The Wadsworth Center is devoted to the biomedical and environmental sciences. Stephen G. Waxman, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of neurology and professor of pharmacology and neurobiology, was given the Wartenberg Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Academy of Neurology. The award was presented in April at the annual meeting in Toronto. Waxman is founding director of the PVA/EPVA Neuroscience Research Center at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System’s West Haven campus. Robert M. Weiss, M.D., professor of surgery (urology) and in the Cancer Center, has been appointed interim chair and chief of the Department of Surgery. Weiss has served on the faculty for more than 30 years, most recently as chief of the section of urology. He is the recipient of an NIH Merit Award, a trustee of the American Board of Urology and a member of the American Association of Genito-Urinary Surgeons. Weiss succeeds Ronald Merrell, M.D., who will chair the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. < top of page >   Originally published in Yale Medicine, Summer 1999. Copyright © 1999 Yale University School of Medicine. All rights reserved.