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October 9 , 2000

Photos by Dana Johnson

Dr. Karen Joos (second from left) uses a microscope and infrared laser probe to cut the sheath surrounding the optic nerve in the first operation of its kind performed on a human patient. She is assisted by Dr. Louise Mawn (left), who performed the conventional portions of the surgery.

Free-electron laser used in human eye surgery for first time

by David F. Salisbury

A successful ophthalmic surgery performed with a special kind of laser is a major step toward giving doctors access to one of the last "invisible spaces" in the body: the area behind the eye.

In the operation performed at the W.M. Keck Foundation Free-Electron Laser Center at Vanderbilt Sept. 29, an infrared beam of laser light was used to cut a two-millimeter flap in the sheath surrounding the optic nerve without damaging the nerve itself. Because it is an experimental procedure, the operation was first performed on a patient with end-stage traumatic glaucoma who was having the eye removed.

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Rabbi to join VU in July

by Lew Harris
Davis

David Davis, rabbi of The Temple and a former associate vice president at the University of San Francisco, will join Vanderbilt University July 1, 2001. His duties will include advising on academic affairs, student affairs, programming and teaching. In the meantime, he will continue to work at The Temple and will serve as an adviser to the Provost's Office.

Davis' appointment at Vanderbilt comes at a time when other Jewish initiatives are going forward. Vanderbilt, its alumni and supporters are raising funds for the Center for Jewish Life that will be located on the corner ofVanderbilt Place and 25th Avenue South. Also, a faculty committee is being appointed to study the establishment of a Jewish Studies Program on campus.

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Survey helps determine student perceptions of alcohol

by Tara S. Donahue

The majority of Vanderbilt students consider alcohol a prominent part of the social scene, according to survey results recently released by the Dean of Students Office. The results parallel the results of similar surveys conducted in recent years.

The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, originally funded by the U.S. Department of Education and housed at the Core Institute at Southern Illinois University and widely used by American universities, has three components: demographic background, students' perceptions and opinions about alcohol use and other drugs, and their own drug and alcohol use and the consequences of that use.

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