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 From
the Dean
Happy New Year! I hope that
your holiday break was joyous and
that you will return refreshed
and excited about the coming semester.
As we ring out the old and ring
in the new, our annual January
cleanup (January 10-14) provides
an opportunity to do that concretely.
Every year for the past four years,
we've discarded or recycled roughly
40 tons of items that have outlived
their usefulness. I encourage you
to try to break that record this
year! Help is available in the
departments, and prizes will be
available for the most improved
area of each department.
I am sorry to
announce that Dr. David Lineback
will be retiring as Director of
JIFSAN on September 30, 2005. Dave
brought a unique background and
perspective in food safety and
nutrition to Maryland. He and former
Dean Paul Mazzocchi built a most
impressive Center and program in
partnership with the FDA. On behalf
of the College, I want to thank
Dave for his dedication and untiring
efforts.
I am very pleased
to announce that Dr. Larry Sita
from the Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry has accepted the
position of Associate Dean for
Faculty, Research, and Diversity
in the College. Dr. Sita, who received
his PhD from MIT, has held research
positions at CalTech and Stanford
University, and faculty positions
at Carnegie Mellon University and
the University of Chicago. I know
that the College will benefit in
many ways from the breadth of his
experience and vision.
I look forward
to welcoming Sharon Hodgson, who
will begin as Director of Administrative
Services and Development Operations
of the College January 18. Sharon
comes to us from the University
of Maryland School of Social Work,
where she was Assistant Dean for
Strategic Planning and Special
Projects. She holds a BA from Towson
State University, a graduate letter
of certification in instructional
systems development from UMBC,
and an MA in legal and ethical
studies from the University of
Baltimore. Her primary responsibilities
will be managing the strategic
workflow of the Dean's Office,
serving as the initial contact
and providing oversight for human
resource issues involving the Dean's
Office, and developing an administrative
infrastructure for the College's
fundraising activities.
 The Bioscience Research Building
is now visibly underway. The large
lecture hall was demolished in
early December, and work on the
foundation will soon begin. Exciting
times lie ahead!
Under the leadership
of Dr. Janice Reutt-Robey, the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
has produced an exciting brochure
that captures the accomplishments
and vision of the department. It
can be viewed here.
Again, my best wishes for the
New Year!
Norma
Allewell
Dean
 Academic
Calendar and Upcoming Events
January
4: Winterterm Begins
January
10-14: LFSC Cleanup. LFSC
contact: David Dalo (ddalo@umd.edu)
January
17: Dr. Martin
Luther King holiday
January
24: Winterterm Ends
January
26: First Day of Classes
for Spring 2005
February
8: Last Day of Schedule
Adjustment (Drop/Add)
February
17: HHMI Undergraduate Research
Symposium. LFSC contact: Kaci Thompson
(hhmi@umd.edu)
March
4 and 11: Spring
Open House, Undergraduate
Admissions. LFSC contact:
Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
March
21-25: Spring
Break
April
1: Spring
Open House, Undergraduate Admissions.
LFSC contact: Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
April
12: Last
Day to Drop with a "W"
April
15: Spring
Open House, Undergraduate Admissions.
LFSC contact: Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
April
30: Maryland
Day. More information:
www.marylandday.umd.edu.
LFSC contact: LFSC contact: Gene
Ferrick
(gene@umd.edu)
May 12: Last
Day of Classes
May
13: Exam
Study Day
May
14-20: Final
Exams
May
21: Campus
Commencement. Details
to come.
May
22: College
Commencement. Details
to come.
November
17: Bioscience
Technology and Review Day. More
information: www.bioscienceday.umd.edu.
LFSC contact: Gene Ferrick (gene@umd.edu)
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Faculty
Recognition and In
the News
 Dr.
Avis Cohen,
Biology, and Dr. Ralph Etienne-Cummings,
who is in the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department at Johns
Hopkins and who is an adjunct
in UM's Institute for Systems Research,
are featured in four articles (Science
Letter and Life
Sciences Weekly (same article) January
4; PC
Magazine, December
13; Wired
magazine, December
14) and one
news brief (Bio-IT Bulletin, December
6) about their work to help
spinal cord injury victims walk
again. They have combined Cohen's work
on spinal regeneration of the lowly
lamprey and Etienne-Cummings' engineering
prowess to create a computer chip
that might offer hope for victims
of spinal cord injuries.
Dr.
Jocelyne DiRuggiero,
Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics,
received a 1-year, $77,000 grant
from Institute
for Systems Biology for “Modeling
Predictive Biological Networks.”
Dr.
Michael Doyle,
Chemistry and Biochemistry, is
quoted in a December 17 Baltimore
Sun article.
He and other experts refute the
claims of manufacturers of household
and beauty products that say that
negative ions will help remedy
bad hair, asthma and more. In
the article, he says, “This is
all simplified to the point where
it's nonsense…. Unfortunately,
you can't have a positive ion without
a negative ion or else you violate
one of the fundamental laws of
nature. They balance each other
out.”
Dr.
Catherine Fenselau, Chemistry
and Biochemistry, has been named
the recipient of the Hillebrand
Prize. Since 1925, this honor has
been bestowed annually to a member
or members of the Chemical Society
of Washington for original contributions
to the science of chemistry. The
award is named for William F. Hillebrand
(1853-1925), one of Washington
's most distinguished chemists,
who had a career with the Geological
Survey and then with the Bureau
of Standards.
HHMI
Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Program Announces Fall 2004 Awardees
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Program is pleased to announce
the recipients of the Fall 2004
awards. The fellowships provide
a stipend of up to $5,000 per year,
research supply funds and support
for travel to professional meetings
to present research results. This
semester the program received 29
applications for funding and awarded
11 fellowships. The new fellows
and their mentors are:
 Bryan Dickinson,
a Biochemistry major, will study “Cyclization
of Diubiquitin - A Structural and
Functional Study of Chemically
Altered Ubiquitin Dimmers” with Dr.
David Fushman, Chemistry
and Biochemistry. - Negar
Naderi-Hashtroudi,
a Physiology and Neurobiology (and
English Literature) major, will
study “The Role of cAMP on T Cell
Anergy” with Dr. Kenneth
Frauwirth, Cell Biology
and Molecular Genetics.
- Eric
Ian Newman,
a Biochemistry major, will study “Use
of Solid Phase and Siloxane Cross-Coupling
Chemistry to Produce Unsymmetrical
Biaryls” with Dr. Philip
DeShong, Chemistry and
Biochemistry.
- Chika
Chizoba Obele,
a Physiology and Neurobiology major,
will study “Effects of Unknown
Phenolic Compound and Anthocyanin
on Colonic Cell Proliferation” with Dr.
William Higgins, Biology,
and Dr. Bernadene Magnuson, Food
and Nutritional Science.
- Sara
Chaya Roshwalb,
a General Biology major, will study “Genetic
Analysis of Ribosomal Protein L10
in the Yeast Saccharomyces
cerevisae ” with Dr.
Jonathan D. Dinman, Cell
Biology and Molecular Genetics.
- Kevan
J. Salimian,
a Biochemistry major, will study “Synthesis
and Development of a Synthetic
Chloride Transporter” with Dr.
Jeffrey T. Davis, Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
- Mattan
Schuchman,
a Chemistry major, will study “Magnetically
Enhanced Drug Delivery System” with Dr.
Sang Bok Lee, Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
- Sean
Sheffler-Collins, a
Physiology and Neurobiology major,
will study “The Effects of the
mTOR Signalling Pathway on mRNA
Translation Required for Immediate
Term Memory” with Dr. Elizabeth
Quinlan, Biology.
- Susan
Shyu,
a Biochemistry major, will study “Correlation
between Fyn Activation and T Cell
Anergy” with Dr. Kenneth
Frauwirth, Cell Biology
and Molecular Genetics.
- Linda
Xu,
a Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics
major, will study “Molecular Changes
in the Visual Cortex After Deprivation
of Vision” with Dr. Hey-Kyoung
Lee, Biology.
Ten current HHMI fellows received
renewals of their fellowships:
- Philip Brazio,
a Physiology and Neurobiology (and
German) major, will study “Role
of the Milk Protein Butyrophilin
in Modulating Experimental Autoimmune
Encephalomyelitis” with Dr. Ian
Mather, Animal and Avian Sciences.
- Daniel
Burden,
a Chemistry major, will study “Isomer
Partitioning Across Aqeous/Organic
Interfaces” with Dr. Robert
Walker, Chemistry and
Biochemistry.
- Ling-Xin Chen,
a Biochemistry major, will study “Characterization
of the Iodotyrosine Deiodinase
Active Site Through Site-Directed
Mutagenesis” with Dr. Steve
Rokita, Chemistry and
Biochemistry.
- Yun Choi,
a Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics
(and French Literature) major,
will study “Mutational Analysis
of an Exonic Splicing Enhancer
in Arabidopsis thaliana ” with Dr.
Stephen M. Mount, Cell
Biology and Molecular Genetics.
- Milton Liu,
a Biochemistry major, will
study “Role of Salts in p-Nitrophenol
Adsorption at a Liquid-liquid Interface” with Dr.
Robert Walker, Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
- Brittney A. Manvilla,
a Biochemistry major, will study “Fractionation
of a Protein Between Liquid Phases” with Dr.
Sandra Greer, Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
- Alya Raphael,
Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics,
will study “Identification and
Characterization of a New Cell
Death Gene” with Dr. Eric
Baehrecke, Cell Biology
and Molecular Genetics/Center for
Biosystems Research.
- Lauren Roth,
a Chemistry major, will study “Studying
the Structure and Function of XcNAGS
to Better Understand the Structure
and Function of Human NAGS” with Dr.
Norma Allewell, Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
- Nabia Shirin Ikram,
a Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics
major, will study “Identification
of Functional Domains of a Fungal
Cytochrome p450 Regulator” with Dr.
David C. Straney, Cell
Biology and Molecular Genetics.
- Eugene Yuriditsky,
Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics,
will study “Mutational Analysis
of the Functional Role of Loop
2 in the Signal Transduction Adapter
Protein CheW in the Chemotaxis
System of Escherichia coli ” with Dr.
Richard Stewart, Cell
Biology and Molecular Genetics.
For more information about the
HHMI Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Program, visit the program's Web
site at www.life.umd.edu/hhmi or
contact Dr. Kaci Thompson (email:
hhmi@umd.edu, phone: 301-405-3353).
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 Postdoc
Recognition
Dr.
Joanna Grand, a postdoc
in the lab of Dr. Maile
Neel, Entomology and
Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape
Architecture, received a 2-year,
$120,000 NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship
in Bioinformatics for "Predicting
the Consequences of Selecting Nature
Reserves Based on Poor Biological
Data."
Alumni
News
For more
alumni notes, check out the Alumni
Notes web page.
Dr. Shannon A. Carroll (PhD'01, Microbiology),
who has a JD from George Mason
University, has joined the Sterne,
Kessler, Goldstein & Fox law
firm as an associate in the Biotechnology/Chemical
Group. Dr. Carroll assists in the
preparation of patent applications
and in the preparation of validity,
infringement, freedom to operate
and patentability opinions. Her
areas of technical expertise include
microbiology, molecular biology
and genetics.
Dr. Tim Mulligan (PhD'87,
Marine-Estuarine-Environmental
Sciences (MEES)), a professor in
the Fisheries Biology Department
at Humboldt State University in
Arcata, California, has been named
Humboldt State University's Outstanding
Professor of 2004-05. This is the
university's highest honor for
dedication and excellence in teaching.
Mulligan has taught at HSU since
1989, and his students laud him
for his energy, enthusiasm, personal
attention, and grasp of detail.
His faculty colleagues agree, noting
that Mulligan personifies the university's
long-standing commitment to practical
learning through research, combined
with rigorous classroom instruction.
 “Tim's
most effective classroom—and, I
suspect, his favorite classroom—is
in the field,” comments Dave Hankin,
chair of HSU's Department of Fisheries
Biology. “Depending on the class
and the time of year, Tim's students
may be working a beach seine [fishing
net] in Trinidad Harbor or the
Mad River estuary, pulling a small
trawl through eel grass beds in
Humboldt Bay, deploying small plankton
nets in Stone Lagoon, or towing
a bottom trawl off the [university
research vessel] Coral Sea, several
miles off shore from Eureka.”
Growing up 30 miles north of Boston
and 30 minutes from the ocean,
Mulligan spent a summer doing research
on the Isle of Shoals that adjoins
the Maine/New Hampshire coast while
pursuing undergraduate studies
at the University of Vermont .
The experience fed a growing interest
in various species of fish that
cemented his fascination. He continued
his education with graduate studies
at the University of Central Florida
and earned his doctorate from the
University of Maryland, studying
striped bass in the Chesapeake
Bay. A postdoctoral fellowship
took him west to the Bering Sea
and the Gulf of Alaska to focus
on walleye pollock, before he moved
to HSU.
“I've had to teach myself about
Southern California fishes, just
to keep up with my students,” Mulligan
says. “The really, really top students
keep you on your toes. But most
professors actually get more satisfaction
from reaching the students who
aren't as well prepared. If you
can get them turned on, now that's
something!”
 Mr.
Jeffrey A. Rivest (BS'75, Zoology),
who has a master's degree in financial
management and health care administration
from George Washington University,
has been appointed President and
Chief Executive Officer of the
University of Maryland Medical
Center. Most recently, Mr. Rivest
was Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia and the
newly formed Pediatric Healthcare
Network, a comprehensive network
of health care services for children.
Mr. Rivest also has worked at Johns
Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine.
See this press
release for
more information.
In
Memoriam
Dr. Kent
Hirsch, DDS (BS'74
, Zoology), 53, died in an underwater
cave diving accident south of Cancun,
Mexico, on December 9, 2004. After
graduating from the University
of Maryland in 1974, he obtained
his Dental Degree from the University
of Maryland at Baltimore in 1981.
The Public Health Service Corps
placed Dr. Hirsch as a dentist
in the Huntington County, PA, region
from 1981 until 1983. He relocated
with his family to Manheim in 1983
and founded his solo practice in
1985. He obtained his title of
Master in the Academy of General
Dentistry in the spring of 1998.
Dr. Hirsch was fluent in American
Sign Language and served one term
as president of the board of directors
of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Society in the early 1990s. He
was a member of the Lancaster Bicycle
Club, the Conewago Canoe Club,
and had 45 specialty certifications
in SCUBA and cave diving, including
SCUBA instructor. He participated
in a triathlon in the early 1990s.
One of his newer adventures was
tandem skydiving. He loved to travel.
Dr. Hirsch is survived by his wife
Wendy, and three children, Matthew,
Robin, and Madison.
Dr. William F. Martin Jr. ,
DDS (BS'53), a longtime dentist
in the Baltimore area, died December
8, 2004, of heart failure at his
Annapolis home. He was 75. A third-generation
dentist, Dr. Martin began practicing
in Baltimore in 1958, when he joined
his father, William F. Martin Sr.,
in a dental practice that had been
started in 1895 by his grandfather,
Howard Thomas Martin. In 1990,
Dr. Martin was joined in practice
by his son, William F.
Martin III , DDS (BS'86,
Microbiology) of Annapolis. They
moved the practice to Towson in
1996. He retired in 2002.
In 1955, he received his dental
degree from the University of Maryland
Dental School. He went into the
Army Dental Corps and served in
Fairbanks, Alaska . He was honorably
discharged as a captain in 1958.
He served as president of the Baltimore
City Dental Society in 1984. He
enjoyed boating, especially in
the Severn River, and fishing.
He taught boating safety for 25
years with the Patapsco River Power
Squadron organization. In addition
to Helen Jean (Timanus) Martin,
his wife of 49 years, and his son,
survivors include a daughter, Susan
J. McEvoy (BS'80, Microbiology)
of Leonardtown; a sister, Ellen
Walters of Whiteville, N.C.;
and two granddaughters.
Dr. Beth Williams (BS'72,
Zoology), recognized as one of
the prominent researchers in chronic
wasting disease in animals, perished
along with her husband December
29, 2004, in a Wyoming accident.
On a snow-packed road, their pickup
truck hit a jackknifed trailer.
Dr. Williams had taught at the
University of Wyoming since 1982.
Besides being a respected expert
worldwide on chronic wasting disease,
Dr. Williams researched other wildlife
diseases. Her work to combat distemper
in black footed ferrets was instrumental
in saving that endangered population.
Her husband was Dr. Tom Thorne,
a prominent researcher of chronic
wasting disease in deer and elk,
as well as of brucellosis in bison
and elk.
Dr. Williams earned a doctorate
of veterinary medicine from Purdue
in 1977 and a doctorate in veterinary
pathology from Colorado State University
in 1981. In her 22 years at the
University of Wyoming, she received
several honors, including the 1996
Wildlife Disease Association's
Distinguished Service Award and
the 1999 Wyoming Game Warden Association's
award for outstanding assistance
to wildlife law enforcement.
For more information, see the December
30 Associated Press (Summit
Daily News) article.
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Annual
Fund Gifts
Support of the annual fund of
the College of Life Sciences is
essential to the progress of the
College, and we thank those who
have stepped forward in this important
effort. Gifts are to the Dean's
Fund except as noted.
Colonnade
Society*: Dr.
Steven L. Rattner,
DDS (BS'77, Chemistry) Rattner
Family Scholarship Fund, $5,000; Anonymous, Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate
Award Fund, $2,000; Dr.
Henry C. Barry, MD (BS'78, Biochemistry),
Chemistry and Biochemistry, $1,000; Prof.
and Mrs. Michael P. Doyle,
Chemistry and Biochemistry, $1,000; Dennis
Dougherty, Cell Biology
and Molecular Genetics, $1,000; Dr.
Robert E. Menzer (MS'62,
Entomology), MEES Graduate Student
Fund, $1,000; David S.
Youngs (PhD'79, Chemistry),
$1,000.
Additional
gifts: Mrs.
Allie M. Brown, Department
of Zoology Fund; Ms. Therese
I. Creel (BS'75,
Chemistry), Chemistry and Biochemistry; Prof.
William O. Lamp (parent),
Gahan Scholarship Fund; Dr.
Immanuel I. Tung (PhD'77,
MS'73, Computer Science); gifts
from organizations: Global
Impact and JustGive .
Corporate
support for
Joint Institute for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN): Campbell
Soup Company ,
$5,000; Coca-Cola
Enterprises, Inc., $40,000; Masterfoods
USA, $5,000; McCormick & Company,
Inc., $5,000; Monsanto
Company, $5,000.
New
pledges: Kevin
Cannan; Dr. Donald
S. Cohen ; Michael
Depue (parent); Anthony
R. Kalica (PhD'74); Dr.
Herman F. Kraybill (MS'38,
Chemistry), Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry Graduate Award
Fund; Katie Lukowski (BS'87); N.
Murthy (parent); Veronica
C. Newnam (parent), Department
of Biology Gift Fund; Norman
R. Runk, Jr. (parent); Lawrence
T. Smedley (parent); Valerie
A. Stratton (parent); Roy
D. Welker, MD (BS'79).
*
gifts of $1,000 or more from individuals
If
you are interested in learning
more about supporting the College
of Life Sciences, please contact
Bruce Shatswell, Assistant Dean
for Development and Corporate Relations, bashatswell@umd.edu,
301-405-0295.
 JIFSAN
Hosts Meeting on World Hunger
The
Joint Institute for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN)
hosted a meeting December 2 on
campus on the topic of combating
world hunger. The meeting
featured officials from the White
House Office of Science and Technology
Policy, the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the FDA,
and representatives of U.S. universities
and nongovernmental organizations.
A representative of USAID said
that more developing countries
need to adopt self-sustaining agricultural
policies. Right now, 38 percent
of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa
experience chronic hunger, and
50 percent could be hungry by 2011
without an increased focus on agricultural
development. For more information,
see the allafrica.com article and
the AgWeb.com story.
Dean
Travels to Taiwan
 Dean Norma Allewell was part
of a review team of American and
European scientists that participated
in the annual retreat at the Institute
of Molecular Biology (IMB), Academia
Sinica, in Taiwan in December.
The retreat was designed to allow
invitees to review the current
research activities of the institute's
29 principal investigators, who
study gene regulation, development,
immunology, plant molecular biology
and structural biology. The retreat
featured poster sessions, presentations
by the principal investigators,
group discussions and talks by
the invited guests. Dr. Allewell
spoke about her research on the
biochemical basis of diseases of
nitrogen metabolism, which she
conducted with collaborators from
Children's National Medical Center,
the University of Maryland and
Tufts University.
While in Taiwan, Dr. Allewell
met with the University of Maryland
Taiwan Alumni Chapter and also
visited Shih Chien University and
Northern Central University, where
Shuan Liu, a former UM Vice President
for Research and member of the
Physics Department, is President.
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Teddy
Bear Drive
For the 13th year, the College
of Life Sciences joined the campuswide
effort to collect new teddy bears
to donate to the Bonnie Johns Children's
Fund. Throughout the year, the
bears are given to children entering
homeless shelters and foster care
or who are at risk. In 2003, more
than 1,500 bears were collected
campuswide. In 2004, the College
collected more than 20 bears.
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How
to Post Your News
If
you would like to share your accomplishments
or other news, please send a note (and
any accompanying photos)
to Meredith Brittain at
brittain@umd.edu. Issues are usually sent at the beginning
of each month.
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