
April 29, 2002	Five Emory Health Sciences Faculty Recognized As Most Highly Cited Researchers Worldwide The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) has identified five Emory faculty members within the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center as among the world's most highly cited scientific researchers worldwide. FULL STORY
April 26, 2002	Glutathione Depletion in Chronic Alcohol Abuse Makes Lungs Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Diseases NEW ORLEANS--Chronic alcohol abuse causes a profound deficiency of the antioxidant glutathione in the lungs, generating a marked susceptibility to serious lung diseases, according to research at Emory University School of Medicine and the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center. FULL STORY
April 26, 2002	Understanding Complex Roles of MMP Enzymes in the Arterial Wall Could Lead to Therapies Preventing Heart Attack and Stroke NEW ORLEANS— An Emory University scientist who pioneered the hypothesis that enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in the structural failure that leads to heart attack and stroke will describe recent results of her work at the Experimental Biology '02 meeting in New Orleans. Zorina Galis, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Emory University School of Medicine, will speak on Wednesday, April 24, and chair part of the symposium entitled "New developments in vascular biology and inflammation." FULL STORY
April 26, 2002	Calendar Listing: Seminar Entitled "Cultural Competency for Mental Health Care Providers" Vaddadi R. Rao, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine and medical director for Rehabilitation Therapy Services with the Grady Health System, will be the keynote speaker for the course, "Cultural Competency for Mental Health Care Providers." The educational course is scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Indian Creek Lodge and Recreation Center (ICRA) at Georgia State University, 900 South Indian Creek Dr., in Stone Mountain, GA. FULL STORY
April 26, 2002	Calendar Listing: Lecture on the Issue of Tuberculosis in India at Grady Memorial Hospital Ashok Bajpai, M.D., a tuberculosis and chest expert from Indore, India, will discuss the issue of tuberculosis in India in a lecture at Grady Memorial Hospital, as part of Emory University School of MedicineÕs International Rotation: Global Perspectives in Human Care program. The talk is under the supervision of program founder, Vaddadi R. Rao, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine and medical director for Rehabilitation Therapy Services with the Grady Health System. It is being held in cooperation with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. The lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, from 9:15 to 10 a.m. in the Oppenheimer Room of the Glenn Memorial Building, 69 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive. FULL STORY
April 25, 2002	NIH Redesignates Yerkes as National Primate Research Center The Yerkes Center of Emory University has been renamed the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, in recognition of its involvement with and impact on research programs throughout the U.S. and the world. FULL STORY
April 23, 2002	Oncology Research Ethicist Joins Winship Cancer Institute Atlanta—Rebecca Pentz, Ph.D., has joined the faculty of the Winship Cancer Institute (WCI) at Emory University as a professor of Hematology & Oncology in Research Ethics. FULL STORY
April 23, 2002	Calendar Listing: Free Clinical Screenings for Anxiety Disorders Although anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric condition in the U.S., most people who suffer from them have never received treatment. The sooner symptoms are recognized, the better the chances for successful outcomes. Sponsored by Freedom From Fear, the National Institute for Mental Health and the American Psychiatric Association, this is an opportunity for adults who suspect that they, or a family member, may suffer from an anxiety disorder to have a free clinical screening. FULL STORY
April 23, 2002	Research Findings Could Improve Usefulness of Virus as Effective Vector for Gene Therapy NEW ORLEANS—Scientists from Emory University are studying the specific genetic mechanisms that allow adenoviruses to establish a persistent, latent infection in individuals that lasts for years after the initial illness has cleared. Their findings could prove useful in improving the safety and efficacy of gene therapy using the adenovirus as a vector to deliver genes into the DNA of cells. FULL STORY
April 22, 2002	Rapid HIV Test For At-Risk Pregnant Women To Help Reduce Infection to Newborns Pregnant women who receive little or no prenatal care and who are at risk for contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS will soon be offered a rapid HIV test aimed at reducing the rate of HIV transmission to their newborns, in a study being conducted by Emory University and Morehouse Schools of Medicine obstetricians at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. The study began April 8. FULL STORY
April 19, 2002	Emory University School of Medicine Wins $4.2 Million Grant for General Clinical Research Center at Grady Hospital The National Institutes of Health have awarded a three-year, $4.2 million grant to Emory University School of Medicine to open the first-ever General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) in Grady Memorial Hospital. The grant, which is renewable for additional years, brings with it the promise of innovative treatments for Grady patients, new educational and training opportunities for Emory and Morehouse School of Medicine students and staff, and a large infusion of revenue for Grady's bottom line. FULL STORY
April 19, 2002	Emory's Crawford Long Hospital Receives Million Dollar Plus Grant From Medtronic For Heart Training Programs Medtronic, Inc., a world leader in the development of medical devices, has awarded The Carlyle Fraser Heart Center at Emory's Crawford Long Hospital an educational grant of $400,000 annually for three years to fund educational and training programs focusing on the use of emerging technology in the field of cardiac rhythm management and heart failure therapy. FULL STORY
April 19, 2002	Long-Term Benefits Found in Two Drugs Used to Treat Hallucinations in Parkinson's Disease Patients Two drugs used to treat hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) can not only reduce hallucinations, but may also lead to long-term benefits in these patients, according to a group of Emory University researchers. The long-term benefits may include reduced mortality and a reduced risk of nursing home placement. The drugs studied were the atypical antipsychotics quetiapine (trade name Seroquel®) and clozapine (trade name Clozaril®). FULL STORY
April 18, 2002	Emory University Vaccine Research Center Dedicates New Hope Clinic in Decatur Emory University dedicates The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Research Center on Wednesday, April 24 in downtown Decatur. The Hope Clinic is a newly created Emory clinical research facility devoted to clinical trials of promising new vaccines and therapeutic interventions. Investigators at the Clinic, located at 603 Church St. in Decatur, will use the new facility to translate basic research findings into useful clinical advances in preventing and treating some of the world's most challenging infectious diseases, including AIDS and malaria. FULL STORY
April 18, 2002	EPIC 2002: Emory Presents Comprehensive Update on Cutting Edge Interventional Cardiology Medicine Breakthroughs in interventional cardiology have resulted in rapidly evolving new technologies and therapies for fighting heart disease and repairing damaged hearts. But how do cardiologists, and other cardiac care health professionals learn first hand about these advances --from coated stents used to keep arteries opened after angioplasty to innovative drug therapies and a new procedure that can close holes in the heart without surgery? FULL STORY
April 18, 2002	Low Testosterone and Parkinson's Disease in Males – Emory Researchers Study the Possibilities of a Common, Unrecognized Comorbidity Emory University researchers may have found a common but heretofore unrecognized link between low testosterone levels and certain non-motor symptoms (fatigue, depression, anxiety or sexual dysfunction) in male Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. When given testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the researchers report that patients with low levels of testosterone experienced significant improvement in these symptoms, which had not responded to other medications. But investigators caution they only looked at a small group of five patients and they did not compare those people to a placebo or control group. FULL STORY
April 18, 2002	Retinal Cell Implantation Shows Promise and Improvement in Advanced Parkinson's Disease Patients – A One Year Follow-Up An innovative procedure, in which retinal cells are implanted in the brains of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), is showing promise, according to a group of Emory University researchers. In a one-year follow-up report to be given at the American Academy of Neurology 54th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colo., on April 17, Ray Watts, M.D., professor of neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, says patients involved in this study have improved 30 to 50 percent following treatment. Dr. Watts will lead the discussion on the safety and efficacy of this pilot study at the meeting. FULL STORY
April 17, 2002	New Study Using PET Brain Imaging Shows Ropinirole Slows the Loss of Dopamine Function in Parkinson's Disease, According to Emory Researchers Researchers at Emory University and a group of international collaborators, using positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging, have determined that a relatively new drug slows the loss of dopamine function in early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) compared with an older, more commonly used drug. Investigators say the drug ropinirole (brand name ReQuip® ) slows the loss of dopamine, a neurotransmitter produced by neurons in the brain that is found in steadily decreasing amounts as the disease progresses, in a more effective manner than levodopa (brand name Sinemet ®). FULL STORY
April 16, 2002	Scientist Who Developed First Transgenic Monkey Joins Emory and Yerkes Anthony W. S. Chan, Ph.D., one of the first scientists to produce a genetically modified monkey, has been appointed Assistant Research Professor in the Division of Neuroscience at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Genetics at the Emory University School of Medicine. FULL STORY
April 16, 2002	Emory HeartWise Program Offers May Heart Health Lectures This series of free lectures is presented by The Emory HeartWise Risk Reduction Program. HeartWise is designed for anyone who has experienced a heart or circulatory event or for anyone who is considered " at risk" for heart disease. Emory Heart Center physicians and other health professionals offer individualized risk assessments followed by a carefully monitored program of exercise, nutrition and education to help lower heart disease risk. To find out more about the HeartWise program, call 404-778-2850. FULL STORY
April 16, 2002	Oprah's Personal Trainer Visits Emory May 1st And Joins Emory Cardiologists for Fitness Lecture, Book Give-Away and Health Screenings Bob Greene, Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer and fitness author, is coming to Emory University Hospital and Emory's Crawford Long Hospital on May 1st for a free healthy lifestyle event sponsored by Emory's HeartWise Risk Reduction Program. Greene, who is committed to helping Americans lower their health risks, will discuss the importance of regular cholesterol screenings, healthy eating and exercise. Bob will also give away 300 autographed copies of his new book, Get With The Program! FULL STORY
April 15, 2002	MEDIA ADVISORY: Future Makers lecture: "Rx for an Ailing Health System: A 2020 Vision for Health Care" A nationally recognized economist and health policy expert, Dr. Karen Davis believes that an Rx for America's ailing health system would provide coverage for the 39 million uninsured Americans by building on programs already proven to work. This, plus other measures to assure high-quality, information-driven, patient-responsive, accessible health care, could transform the health system to make miracles of modern medicine available to all. FULL STORY
April 12, 2002	Emory University Public Health Professor Assists CDC With Designing Software to Calculate Costs Related to Smoking A Web-based software, Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs (SAMMEC), developed by researchers at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will allow users to calculate the direct and indirect costs of cigarette smoking for adults and newborn children, in and across the states. FULL STORY
April 12, 2002	Emory Eye Center Receives $3 Million Bequest From Stanley Whitaker, Late Newspaper Executive (ATLANTA) The Emory Eye Center recently received a bequest of more than $3 million from the estate of Stanley Whitaker and his wife, Myrna Newell Whitaker. A longtime newspaper man and former resident of Atlanta (Cobb County), Mr. Whitaker made the gift through a living trust to foster research and treatment of eye disease. To honor Mr. and his wife, the Eye Center has created the Louis Stanley and Myrna Newell Whitaker Endowment Fund. FULL STORY
April 11, 2002	Emory Nursing Student Receives Prestigious $100,000 Grant Nursing student Laura M. Wagner, RN, MSN has received a $100,000 grant to support her doctoral studies in the field of geriatric nursing at Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Wagner is one of 20 nurse scholars nationwide named for the honor from the John A. Hartford Foundation's Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Scholar Program. FULL STORY
April 10, 2002	Emory Physician One of Few Gynecologists In Atlanta Specializing In Reproductive Health Care of Teens Lesley L. Breech, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology with the Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital, is among a growing number of adolescent gynecologists in the country who specialize in providing reproductive health care services to young adults. While Dr. Breech is one of the few adolescent gynecologists in Atlanta, the specialty itself is gaining more attention, due largely to the fact that more adolescents are developing earlier and experiencing sex younger, and because sexually transmitted diseases are highly prevalent among young people. FULL STORY
April 10, 2002	National Leaders in HIV Vaccine Research Present Scientific Symposium at Emory University A group of the nation's most respected scientific leaders in the search for an AIDS vaccine will gather at Emory University on Monday, April 22 to present a scientific symposium. "AIDS Vaccine Science in 2002: Enduring Challenges and Promising New Directions" is sponsored by the Emory Vaccine Research Center and the Emory Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and will address the latest findings in basic, pre-clinical and clinical AIDS vaccine studies. The symposium is free and open to physicians, medical researchers, health professionals, academics, and members of the public health community. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the auditorium of Emory University's Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building at 1440 Clifton Rd. on the Emory campus. FULL STORY
April 10, 2002	Emory University Lecture on Pursuit of AIDS Vaccine Celebrates Opening of Hope Clinic To celebrate the dedication of The Hope Clinic — a newly created Emory clinical research facility devoted to clinical trials of promising new vaccines and therapeutic interventions — the Emory Vaccine Research Center will sponsor a public lecture on "Opportunities and Challenges in the Pursuit of an AIDS Vaccine." FULL STORY
April 10, 2002	Report in JAMA Says Evidence Sketchy for St. John's Wort In an article coming out in the April 11 Journal of the American Medical Association, a group of researchers, including faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, have concluded that St. John's wort (hypericum) should not be used as a treatment for major depression until further testing shows that it is effective. St. John's wort, an herbal supplement, is widely used by the public as an over-the-counter medication for depression, but it is not labeled as a drug and has never been evaluated or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FULL STORY
April 10, 2002	EMORY UNIVERSITY'S GREAT TEACHER LECTURE SERIES "The Predictive Value of Epidemiological Thinking: Thinking About Thinking" A four time winner of teacher-of-the-year by Emory University School of Medicine students and one of the most popular teachers in the Rollins School of Public Health will give the next Emory University Great Teachers Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18. Held in Emory's Miller Ward Alumni House at 815 Houston Mill Road, the lecture is free and open to the public. FULL STORY
April 8, 2002	The 6th Annual Health Disparities Community Conference Series: Emory Conference Aimed at Disparities in Cancer Rates in Georgia's African American Communities Governor Roy Barnes, Commissioner Russ Toal, DeKalb County Health Director Dr. Paul Wiesner and Fulton County Health Director Dr. Adewalé Troutman are among the dignitaries scheduled to address participants at Emory Healthcare's 6th Annual Health Disparities Community Conference. This year's topic, "Cancer ... It Can Happen to You," will examine the disparities in cancer rates in Georgia's African-American communities and discuss strategies with provider and community-based partners with the intent to close the disparity gap. FULL STORY
April 5, 2002	U.S. News Ranks Emory's Graduate and Professional Schools Emory University's medical, law and business schools are among the Top 25 schools in America, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2003 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools" guide. These rankings will be reported in the issue of U.S. News due on the newsstands April 8. FULL STORY
April 4, 2002	Former Emory Professor Is Back as Chief of Emory's Division of Plastic Surgery T. Rod Hester, M.D., founder of Paces Plastic Surgery and Recovery Center in Atlanta, has recently accepted the position of chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Hester succeeds Dr. John Bostwick as head of the division. FULL STORY
April 1, 2002	University Physicians At Grady On Cutting Edge of Infection Control and Research for Tuberculosis Physicians at Grady Health System have developed a cutting-edge tuberculosis control and research program to fight the disease burden of TB in Atlanta, which in some areas rivals the rate of incidence found in developing countries. FULL STORY

For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences
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WHSC News Releases for April

`WHSC News Releases for April`