Research Enterprise Newsletter - November 2008: Faculty News
Manning promoted to VP for Academic Enterprise Operations
John Manning, Ph.D., M.B.A., has been promoted to the position of Vice President for Academic Enterprise Operations in the School of Medicine. Between 2000 and February 2008, Manning served as executive director for Research Operations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, managing research infrastructure, including core facilities and animal care programs. In his most recent role as Vice President for Research Operations, Manning oversaw the expansion and modernization of the Office of Research business and administrative capabilities.
Eavy to lead Otolaryngology, Wilkerson Center
Harvard's Roland "Ron" Eavey, M.D., will become the new chair of Vanderbilt's Department of Otolaryngology and director of the Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Hearing and Speech Sciences, effective February 2009. Eavey, director of ENT Pediatric Services at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard since 1981, succeeds founding chair Robert Ossoff, M.D., who announced last year that he would transition into a new role at Vanderbilt in December. The nationwide search also yielded a strong addition to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hosptial at Vanderbilt, as Eavey's wife, Sheila Desmond, M.D., also a faculty member and pediatrician at Harvard, will join the Vanderbilt faculty.
New Leadership for Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Director Pat Levitt, Ph.D., is stepping down after six years at Vanderbilt to pursue other opportunities, effective Nov. 1. Levitt, the Annette Schaffer Eskind Chair, has accepted a position at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. He will be director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, chair of the Department of Cell and Neurobiology, and Provost Professor of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Pharmacy. Associate Director Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., will serve as VKC interim director while a nationwide search is conducted for Levitt's successor.
National Research Council honors Moses
Harold (Hal) Moses, M.D., professor of Cancer Biology and Director Emeritus of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, has been designated a National Associate, an honorary title given in recognition of extraordinary service to the National Research Council in its role as adviser to the nation in matters of science, engineering and health, by the authority of the Council of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.
Chalkley to lead research needs taskforce
Roger Chalkley, Ph.D., has been elected by the National Academies of Science as chair of the Committee to Study the National Needs for Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Personnel. Over the course of two years, this task force will conduct a review and prepare a report to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Quality Research (AHRQ) on issues regarding research personnel needs.
Structural Biology investigators publish paper in Science
Three Vanderbilt investigators-Phoebe Stewart, assistant professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics; Martin Egli, professor of Biochemistry; and Carl Johnson, professor of Biological Sciences-had their article "Structural Insights into a Circadian Oscillator" published in the October 31 issue of the journal Science. Stewart and Egli are investigators in the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology.
Marnett contributions to chemical toxicology honored
Lawrence Marnett, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacology, has received the first Founders' Award from the American Chemical Society's Division of Chemical Toxicology.
The award recognizes Marnett's contributions to the field of chemical toxicology, "in which he has been a pioneer and unifying force," the division said in a statement. Marnett received the award during the fall ACS meeting.
Stubbs lab research could lead to new ways to improve crop yields
A recent interdisciplinary study directed by Gerald Stubbs, D.Phil, professor of Biological Sciences in the Center for Structural Biology has yielded the first detailed information about the structure of the most destructive group of plant viruses known: flexible filamentous viruses. The cost of worldwide crop losses due to plant diseases is estimated at $60 billion annually. Although there are no good estimates of the cost of plant viruses alone, the viruses are generally considered to be the second greatest contributor to those losses (after fungi). The 300-plus species of flexible filamentous viruses are responsible for more than half of all virus damage. The findings are published in the October 1 issue of the Journal of Virology and could lead to new ways to protect crop plants from these viruses.
Rode named Stahlman Scholar
John Paul Rohde, M.D., assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, has been named as a 2009 Stahlman Scholar. He will study stresses within the Emergency Department. The Stahlman Scholar program promotes and expands ethics in research, teaching and patient care. Scholars interact with the Center's faculty and present their research findings at local and national meetings. Each scholar receives some salary support and research funds during the six-month scholarship period, which begins Jan. 1, 2009.
Storrow publishes ED research
Alan Storrow, M.D., associate professor of Emergency Medicine, recently has his article "Decreasing Lab Turnaround Time Improves Emergency Department Throughput and Decreases Emergency Medical Services" published in Academic Emergency Medicine. Storrow also was invited to give an oral presentation of his findings at the European Congress on Emergency Medicine in September 2008, in Munich, Germany.
