The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Scholars will hold a Postdoc Networking Luncheon for all Wayne State University postdoctoral scholars May 14, from 1 to 2 p.m., at 2268 Scott Hall.

The office is in the process of creating a new Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, which will include a postdoctoral association. The primary goal of the association is to offer networking opportunities and to explore ways the office can provide assistance for a productive postdoctoral experience.

The lunch includes free pizza, soft drinks and cookies. RSVP to ddona@med.wayne.edu by May 12. To learn more about the office, call (313) 577-1455.

Wayne State University recently honored five faculty members of the School of Medicine for their outstanding contributions to teaching.

“These faculty members are indicative of the quality educators training the future generations of physicians at the School of Medicine,” said Robert M. Mentzer Jr., dean of the School of Medicine and senior advisor to the President for Medical Affairs. “The students who entrust their medical education to Wayne StateUniversity know they are trained by the best.”

William Crossland, Ph.D., received the prestigious Wayne State University President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Crossland, an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, was recognized for his outstanding contributions to teaching at the School of Medicine with a $2,500 award and a citation from President Irvin D. Reid.

Dr. Crossland joined the department in 1975 and has served as an associate professor since 1980. His research interests focus on the formation and maintenance of neuronal connections in the visual system. Dr. Crossland, who also received the Lamp Award from medical students in 2007, was one of the first faculty members to develop computer-based content for students. School of Medicine administration selected Dr. Crossland to attend the Stanford Program for Basic Science Educators in 2007 in recognition of his excellence in education.

A Board of Governors Distinguished Faculty Fellowship was awarded to Judith Whittum-Hudson, Ph.D., a professor in the Departments of Immunology and Microbiology, Internal Medicine, and Ophthalmology.

Dr. Whittum-Hudson has devoted her career to chlamydial infections and the development of vaccine candidates to counter the infections.

Dr. Whittum-Hudson said she will use the fellowship to support preclinical studies to characterize new protective peptide or DNA vaccine candidates recently derived in her laboratory.

Jack Sobel, M.D., chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, who also was recently named a Distinguished Professor by the university, was honored with the Charles H. Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Fellowship.

Dr. Sobel, who became professor of Medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in 1985, has earned international renown for creating an academic field in the study and treatment of vaginal infections. Each of the six scientifically-oriented vaginitis clinics in the world is led or staffed by at least one doctor trained by Dr. Sobel.

Dr. Sobel said he will use the fellowship to help conduct the first major study directed at a new form of infection, which he has named Desquamative Inflammatory Vaginitis.

Rodney Braun, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, received a Career Development Chair Award. The award is presented to seven recently tenured faculty members to support the teaching and research of faculty in the developmental stages of their careers.

Braun’s research focuses on the development of novel treatments for tumors, including breast cancer and ocular melanoma. He was awarded a Department of Defense high-risk IDEA Award and has secured funding from the National Eye Institute that supported published groundwork research for studies to evaluate new treatments for choroidal melanoma.

Braun said he will use the award to further his research to determine whether two anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat ocular pain can inhibit new vessel growth in choroidal explants.

Jeffrey Loeb, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, received the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. The award goes to graduate faculty recognized by their departments and graduate students as excellent mentors.

Loeb has supervised five completed doctoral dissertations over a nine-year period, something he refers to as one of his greatest accomplishments. He played a significant role in designing the M.D./Ph.D. program, and in fostering translational research.

The Human Investigation Committee (HIC) and the Animal Investigation Committee (AIC) at the School of Medicine have adopted new training programs for investigators.

The two groups have discontinued using the WSU On-Line Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) Training Program and now require that all investigators and study staff take online training modules developed by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). This commercially available program is widely used at research institutions nationwide and is updated automatically to provide the latest regulatory information and guidance.

Completely replacing the former RCR program, CITI will be required by all investigators and personnel. Training is required even if the RCR modules were taken in the past, and must be completed before obtaining approval for new protocol submissions and for continuation approval of ongoing protocols as of June 1, 2008. Training must also be completed by all HIC and AIC members and staff, including new personnel added by amendment. It is the expectation of the committees that all WSU research personnel will complete the CITI training within one year if a new protocol is not submitted before that time.

Please visit the HIC and AIC websites (www.hic.wayne.edu or www.aic.wayne.edu) for more information about completing CITI training.

Detroit Public Schools students in ninth through 12th grades were inspired to overcome challenges to continue their education during the fifth annual Each One Teach One event, sponsored by the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Young Doctors of Detroit student organization.

The guest speaker at the April 26 event was Galen Duncan, senior director of player development for the Detroit Lions. This year’s theme, “Dream, See, Do, Be,” focused on the importance of continuing education and career development and opportunities.

“We want to stress to the students that they can overcome challenges to be successful,” said first-year medical student Cecelia Calhoun, who, with first-year medical student Rebecca Lynch, serves as co-chairwoman of Young Doctors of Detroit. Ms. Calhoun is from Detroit, while Ms. Lynch hails from Terra Haute, Ind.

Eric Ayers, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine/pediatrics and associate program director of internal medicine/pediatrics; and Silas Norman, M.D., assistant dean of Admissions, also spoke to the high school students.

“They are very engaging speakers,” said Ms. Lynch. “We wanted them to speak on the importance of education and advancement. It’s important to provide role models.”

The 75 students also had the opportunity to break into smaller groups with volunteer professionals in a variety of careers to hear about what it takes to excel in those fields. The professionals spoke about the challenges they met while working toward their chosen careers.

Young Doctors of Detroit provided a pizza lunch for the 75 students and their parents.

Three Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty members have been selected for Distinguished Professor honors by Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid for their outstanding accomplishments and service to the university.

The designation is the highest honor the university can bestow on a faculty member. The university has appointed only 31 faculty members as distinguished professors since it began the program in 1959. Important criterion for the honor is a reputation on the national and international level, and long-time standing on the university faculty. The distinguished professor receives an annual grant.

Barry P. Rosen, Ph.D., professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Jack Sobel, M.D., chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases; and Linda Hazlett, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, are among nine university faculty to be given the title of 2007 Distinguished Professor.

Dr. Sobel graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1965. He served as a research fellow in Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases, with the National Institutes of Health, and as a fellow in Infectious Diseases at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He joined the School of Medicine as a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in 1985, the same year he was named chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

“The award is particularly pertinent since it has been a rare event to recognize a clinician as opposed to a basic science scientist,” said Dr. Sobel. “… Wayne State University Medical School has a national reputation for clinical and translational research, and we need to acknowledge and celebrate our excellence.”

He served as president of the Michigan Infectious Diseases Society from 1997 to 1999, and is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, National State President’s Committee, as well as the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Practice Guidelines Committee.

Dr. Sobel received the Distinguished Faculty Award, Department of Internal Medicine, from WSU in 1986. Named a “Best Doctor in America” 10 years, he was also presented with the School of Medicine’s Teaching Award in 2004. He has served as a consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s special committee for recommending guidelines for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Dr. Hazlett has published innumerable papers, chapters and books. Her major research interests are ocular infection and pathogenesis; inflammation; cytokines and chemokines; innate immunity; immunopathogenesis; and aging and infectious disease.

She is a member of the American Association of Anatomists, the American Society for Cell Biology, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the International Society for Eye Research, the American Society for Microbiology and the American Association of Immunologists.

“It is an honor that I did not anticipate, but for which I am most pleased,” said Dr. Hazlett, who graduated with a doctorate degree in anatomy from Ohio State University in 1971. She joined the Wayne State University School of Medicine that same year as an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy.

In 1989, Dr. Hazlett was awarded the Charles Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Fellowship by the university. She was the recipient of the university’s first Interdisciplinary Program Development Award in 1991, and in 2002 she was named to the WSU Academy of Scholars.

Dr. Rosen is a world-renowned scientist at the School of Medicine whose research has been continuously funded for 35 years. He holds three major grants from the National Institutes of Health, with nearly $1 million per year in funding. His research in the area of arsenic detoxification is at the forefront of his field, and he is one of the leading experts in this subject.

Dr. Rosen was recently elected president of the Association of Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry, the national organization of biochemistry departments. The association represents medical school and graduate departments in addressing key issues related to biomedical science, health research and education. As AMGDB president, Dr. Rosen will speak on topics regarding biomedical science and education with key members of the House and Senate at the National Caucus of Basic Biomedical Science Chairs’ visit to Congress. The caucus emphasizes the need to maintain the nation's leadership in scientific discovery and improvements in the quality of life.

Dr. Rosen was named a Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Fellow by the university in 1997. He received the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award in 1999. In 2005, he received the National Institutes of Health’s Method to Extend Research in Time Award. He has served on the advisory board of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics since 2004, and is president of the Wayne State University Academy of Scholars.

“I am very pleased to be recognized by Wayne State University as a Distinguished Professor,” said Dr. Rosen. “This is the highest honor that the university can bestow on a faculty member. It is the culmination of a 21-year career in the School of Medicine, but not the end. I expect that I will continue to make substantial contributions to the university and to science.”

More than 200 physicians, researchers and students filled the blue auditorium in Scott Hall on April 17 for the National Symposium on Inflammation and Disease progression, hosted by the School of Medicine. The event featured the leading experts from the nation’s top research institutions and the latest findings regarding inflammation and its effects on the body.

The symposium brought together investigators and researchers from around the country to examine the latest discoveries on the subject and to discuss new possible treatments for patients and applications of anti-inflammatory drugs.

“This is an exciting time for research,” said symposium speaker Charles N. Serhan, Ph.D., of Harvard University. “I hope people apply these new theories from this symposium and consider the effects of uncontrolled inflammation when studying disease.”

Inflammation is the body’s normal physiological response to injury. However, if prolonged, it can lead to various diseases or aggravate existing problems.

“Inflammation is the most important mechanism associated with disease at this moment in medicine,” said Roberto Romero, M.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “Although recognized for centuries, its importance in the control of physical processes, as well as disease, has now matured.”

The symposium presented new theories, including discoveries linking the anti-inflammatory properties of fish oils and omega-3 fatty acids to the existence of beneficial lipid mediators found in the oil.

“Today we expose scientists to areas of research they may not have been exposed to in the past,” said Kenneth Honn, Ph.D., distinguished professor of pathology at the School of Medicine and symposium organizer. “I am confident that new inflammation discoveries learned here, today, can be applied to research in many fields.”