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(12/15/94 10:00am)
February was another month of bitter cold weather, but the pace of events at the University was far from frozen. A sexual harassment charge against former Assistant English Professor Malcolm Woodfield became publicized over the course of the month. University graduate Lisa Topol claimed Woodfield had sexual relations with her for three months during the spring semester of 1993 and accused him of sexual harassment. She said he "assigned" her sexual acts as "homework." Woodfield admitted that he had sex with Topol, although he did not confirm allegations of sexual harassment. He resigned in April. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens had begun proceedings to suspend or terminate Woodfield during the preceding summer. The Commission on Strengthening the Community released its preliminary report in the Almanac after six months of information gathering. The 22-member Commission was appointed by former Interim University President Claire Fagin and former University President Sheldon Hackney in the wake of the 'water buffalo' incident and the confiscation of 14,200 copies of The Daily Pennsylvanian. The Commission recommended the immediate elimination of the University speech code and reforms including the University's judicial and academic advising systems, off-campus living, student group funding, University Police and staffing issues. Because of its broad-based and extensive recommendations, the report raised widespread controversy. After being suspended the previous spring on charges of using unnecessary force in detaining a student involved with The Daily Pennsylvanian confiscation, University Police Officer John Washington announced he would appeal the three-day suspension to a federal arbitrator. The University's four undergraduate deans voted unanimously to require that students receive faculty permission before being allowed to obtain copies of old exams. February was also a high crime month. The community was plagued by robberies, thefts, a car jacking, an attempted car jacking and an attempted abduction. Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum announced the Penn Women's Center's relocation to the former Theta Xi fraternity house at 3643 Locust Walk. This was an unwelcome move for some students, who felt the Center "only represents a few radical women on campus." In contrast to previous state budget proposals, Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey recommended that the state legislature appropriate more than $35 million in state funds to the University for the 1994-95 fiscal year. Finally, despite three University closings during one of the worst winters ever, administrators chose not to lengthen the semester.
(12/12/94 10:00am)
Post-baccalaureate student Adam Zion was still listed in critical condition last night after being struck by two cars last Wednesday, according to Hospital of University of Pennsylvania Administrator Kathleen Beer. However, the other three students involved in recent accidents with moving vehicles are rapidly recovering. College freshman Jae Lee -- who was struck by a car on November 6 at the intersection of 34th and Walnut streets -- was transferred from HUP to the Bryn Mawr Hospital for rehabilitation last Friday morning, according to his friend, College freshman Jung Kang. Lee began eating solid foods again last week after a decrease in the swelling. This swelling associated with the respirator that assisted him during the first days following the accident, Kang said. "A couple days before he left he did eat some food," she said. "He's not talking with his normal voice -- he's still whispering." Kang added that because Lee's speech has also been affected by the swelling, he worked with a speech therapist at HUP to regain his normal voice. Wharton sophomore Sang Kim said that Lee is hoping to come back to the University next semester. He said Lee is expected to go to his home in Lansdale after one or two weeks of rehabilitation. He added that Lee's progress is amazing everyone. "Everything is healing faster than they expected," Kim said. "They didn't expect him to do this well this soon. Everything is moving at a fast rate." College senior Thomas Heller -- who fractured his pelvis when he was struck by a taxicab on Sansom Street early on the morning of November 10 -- said he is healing quickly. "I'm hoping I'll be off crutches in about two weeks," he said yesterday. Heller added that he is able to walk extremely short distances without the aid of his crutches. Heller's parents are pursuing the driver of the taxicab involved in the accident, he added. "I was able to get the name of the cab driver from someone who was at the scene of the accident," Heller said. "My parents are looking into it." Heller said that on weekdays he is able to get around fairly easily with the assistance of the Handy Van. However, he said that weekends are difficult without the services of the van. "The Handy Van doesn't run on the weekends," he said. "To get on campus on the weekends I've had to call Campus Police." Heller said he feels the University -- in lieu of the recent increase in accidents involving students -- must look into options for improving traffic problems on campus. "The University has got to figure out some way to regulate the traffic on Walnut Street," he said. "There has to be some way. "I think that it is a big problem," Heller added. "The last month has definitely illustrated that." Wharton senior and men's track team hurdler Mark Pan was struck by a University truck on the sidewalk in front of Bennett Hall on November 21. He said he is also recovering from his injuries. "I got off crutches a few days ago," Pan said late last week. "I've been wearing a knee brace and going to therapy like mad." He said an orthopedic specialist and an athletic trainer are aiding his recovery. Pan said that he is not yet sure as to the extent of the injuries to his knee. "There are no ligament tears but there was a pretty bad sprain in one of my ligaments and another ligament had been aggravated," he said. "I won't know about cartilage damage until next Tuesday." If there is cartilage damage, Pan said that he will need to undergo surgery to correct the damage. He added that he has been receiving some legal advice but has not made any decisions regarding pursuing the parties involved in the accident. Pan said he recognizes the importance of greater safety awareness for both pedestrians and drivers. "There is a degree of recklessness in the way that some people drive in the city and I think that a lot of pedestrians don't always take that fully into account," he said. "I think that it is definitely a mutual responsibility between motorists and pedestrians." Pan is making progress in his recovery, he said. "Two or three days ago I was able to get on a bike," Pan said. "Biking might be a way for me to keep myself in shape." The all-Ivy hurdler is hoping that he will be able to return to the track soon. "I am itching to get back into competition and so is the team," he said. "I want to get back for myself and I want to get back for the team."
(12/08/94 10:00am)
More than 200 Harvard undergraduates, mostly freshmen, reported getting sick Tuesday night after contracting a mysterious illness. Approximately 50 students spent the night at the university's infirmary, where they received treatment for dehydration associated with the illness. The symptoms -- vomiting, diarrhea and fever -- were originally attributed to a suspected food poisoning in the Freshman Union, but further investigation has raised questions about the source of the illness. "The most recent thing that I've heard is that they think that it is some sort of bacteria," said Harvard freshman Wayne Marshall, who suffered from the illness yesterday. More students reported symptoms associated with the illness yesterday after the original rush to the infirmary the night before. "I didn't get sick until this morning but the outbreak was really last night," Harvard freshman Kelsey McNiss said yesterday. "A lot of people were at [University Health Services] on IV -- it was a really bad scene." Many students doubt that the statistics for the number of students affected by the outbreak are accurate. "Out of the nine people on my floor, eight of them are sick, but only three of us have gone to UHS," Marshall said. "I think the figure is at least twice as high because a good percentage of the people had less severe cases." Some students speculated that the water in the Union could have been contaminated because of construction taking place outside. "They are definitely considering the water contamination theory as a possibility," Marshall said. "Today the Union switched to paper and plastic plates and utensils. "None of the food was prepared there because they didn't want to prepare anything with the water at the Union," he added. Students are waiting for further information regarding the source of the mysterious illness. "Right now it just sounds like they are trying to trace it back to the source," McNiss said. "There have been a lot of health officials coming around." UHS officials refused to comment about the illness last night. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
(12/07/94 10:00am)
The University has been awarded a $1.2 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to support an international training program in biomedical research for underrepresented minorities. The three-year program -- called the Minority International Research Training Program -- is the result of a collaborative effort between the University and two of the country's leading black universities, Lincoln and Howard, according to Saul Winegrad, professor of physiology and chief architect of the MIRT program at the University. The program, which will begin next May, will match 18 students with internships established by the University in laboratories around the world, including sites in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. "It's going to be a highly individualized program where any student in that program will get a great deal of individualized attention," Winegrad said. "A heavy investment of time and energy and resources will go into that individual so that the success rate will be very high." The program was designed to send nine undergraduate students, nine graduate students and one or two faculty members overseas. The undergraduates will stay abroad for three months, the graduates will remain for up to nine months and the faculty members will be able to stay for a full year. Applicants will be selected based on a two-tiered process -- one at the individual institutional level and the other consisting of an advisory board of representatives from each university -- Winegrad said. "We are interested in judging several things, not only the academic qualifications and not only the commitment and the interest in the program, but the social maturity to be able to handle going to a foreign country for the first time, going into a laboratory where you basically know no one and not only surviving but having a constructive experience," he said. "Studying abroad has the potential to profoundly change the lives of minority students," said Joy Gleason Carew, director of the Center for the Study of Critical Languages and Cultures at Lincoln University and a member of MIRT's local advisory committee in a statement issued by the University Medical Center. "These students, when removed from the social and political context of the United States, are able to revise their views of themselves and reach beyond other people's perceptions of their abilities," Carew added. Winegrad said he hopes the program will provide all those involved with a worldly experience. "Research is truly international," Winegrad said. "Not only is the content of it international and the application of it international, but the community is truly international."
(12/06/94 10:00am)
In celebration of the William Pepper Laboratory's 100th anniversary, an all-day symposium entitled "The Clinical Laboratory in the Future of Medicine" was held at 9 a.m. Friday in Dunlop Auditorium in Stemmler Hall. The laboratory, established in 1895 as the nation's first study of clinical pathology, is a central component of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University. "The Pepper Laboratory was established to excel in investigation, training of advanced students and patient care," Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department Chairperson Leonard Jarett said. "We feel that today's Pepper Laboratory and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine fulfill that expectation and place us in an excellent position to start the next 100 years." Division of Laboratory Medicine Director Donald Young, who heads the William Pepper Laboratory, emphasized the importance of this area of study. "At a time when many institutions are cutting back on their educational programs, we are maintaining Penn's level of academic excellence by increasing the funds and opportunities for study," he said in a statement. "Our goal is to recruit and train young scientists to ensure that needed research and clinical advances continue." National experts will speak on subjects such as economics and society, aging, infectious diseases, malignant diseases, the human genome, biotechnology and instrumentation and information management. The speakers represent medical schools from across the country including those at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and Princeton universities and the University of Washington. Director of the Institute for Clinical Science at Pennsylvania Hospital William Sunderman concluded the symposium at 4 p.m. with an introduction to the Centennial Exhibit. As part of the centennial celebration, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is also inaugurating a fellowship fund. The program will offer fellowships to medical students who are interested in investigating the field. Residents who want an extra year of training and post-doctoral and post-residency individuals who would like to pursue more in-depth training will also be candidates for the fund.
(12/05/94 10:00am)
After receiving a threat from the National Institutes of Health regarding financial report submissions last month, Vice Provost for Research Barry Cooperman sent a letter to principal investigators at the University asking for their cooperation. "Several weeks ago the National Institutes of Health expressed to us their concern about the tardiness of our financial report submissions to them, and raised the prospect that our grant administration tasks could become more onerous if the situation did not improve," Cooperman stated in the letter, which was dated November 17. "Specifically, they threatened to lift what are called 'expanded authorities' that have been granted to the University in its administration of NIH funds." According to Cooperman, these "expanded authorities" are essential to the effective utilization of NIH funds. "The administration would be more difficult and people would have more difficulty in switching funds," Cooperman said this week. He explained that scientists often find that they need to transfer funds after the discovery of new information during their research. "It's very frequent that people will deviate from their original plan, especially during a four or five year plan," Cooperman said. "It's an important flexibility to have." Cooperman's letter also explained the role of financial reports in the administration of funds. "The NIH, in common with all federal agencies, and virtually every other research sponsor, require a financial report at the completion of each year of a project," he wrote. "This report must be submitted within 90 days of the end of the budget year." Cooperman added that this issue with the NIH is several years old. "A couple of years ago they began to be more [demanding]," he said. "We as the University have been a little slow to respond." The conflict arose after a combination of a change of policy by the NIH and a failure to respond quickly enough by the University, Cooperman said. "What they are asking for is not unreasonable," he said. "They certainly are within their rights. We are on the case now." Cooperman wrote to the principal investigators, recognizing their importance in the process of submitting financial reports. "I am requesting that you make it a priority to work with your department's business administrator to provide the requested information in an expeditious manner," he wrote. "Reports that have to be filed without your input, in order to meet the deadline, may omit allowable cost items, thus depriving your program and the University of needed resources." Cooperman explained that the NIH request did not represent the general nature of the University's relationship with the organization and that the University was not alone in its failure to comply with NIH requests. "They had no other complaints," he said. "There are several other universities that were in the same situation.
(11/22/94 10:00am)
The third University student in as many weeks was hit by a vehicle at approximately 1:30 p.m. yesterday. A student riding a bike was on the sidewalk in front of Bennett Hall at the intersection of 34th and Walnut streets, when a University truck travelled onto the sidewalk and struck the student, several witnesses said. The student was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to University Police Sergeant Mike Fink. The student was listed in good condition as of 3:30 p.m. yesterday, a Medical Center spokesperson said. Engineering sophomore Jim Nicholson -- who was on the corner of 34th Street near the Locust Walk entrance when he saw the accident occur -- said the student did not appear to be seriously injured. "I think he seemed more in shock than anything else," he said. "There were no visible injuries on him." Nicholson said he thought the vehicle involved was a "Physical Plant pick-up truck." Representatives from both the Physical Plant and the School of Arts and Sciences said it was a SAS truck that struck the student. "A car had cut him off -- he swerved and went up on the sidewalk," said Nicholson, who said he overheard the truck driver describing the incident at the scene of the accident. "I ran over to see if the kid was okay. There were a number of people helping him." A pedestrian called University Police using the emergency phone located at the intersection, Nicholson said. The police arrived "almost immediately." Director of Intervention Services Barbara Cassel said yesterday that she does not feel the recent influx in traffic accidents involving students is representative of the University's overall record. "When you consider the high traffic and the number of people on campus, I think our statistics are probably pretty good in terms of the number of accidents," she said. Fire and Occupational Safety Director James Miller said he also feels there have been very few accidents involving students on campus. He said he can only remember one other accident involving a student in the past 15 years -- besides the three this month. Miller said he feels the recent accidents have either resulted from negligence or were "freak accidents." Because the streets are under Philadelphia jurisdiction, the University is therefore unable to make decisions regarding their management, he added. "I can have all my own ideas but you have to deal with all of the professionals in this," he said. "The best thing we can do is talk to the traffic control people." College freshman Jae Lee and College senior Thomas Heller are currently recovering from injuries sustained in separate accidents involving vehicles earlier this month.
(11/21/94 10:00am)
College senior Thomas Heller is recovering from injuries sustained when he was hit by a taxicab while riding his bicycle on Sansom Street earlier this month. Heller fractured his pelvis and will be on crutches for six weeks. Heller was on his way home, between 39th and 40th streets, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 10, when he saw a taxi approaching him. "I tried to stop, but my brakes weren't working very well because the road was wet," Heller said Friday. "I think I hit the side of the car and was basically thrown off of my bike." According to Heller, there were two witnesses at the scene who may have caused the cab driver to stop after the accident. "He gave me his name but at that point I was on the ground and it was raining and I was waiting for the ambulance to come," he said. "I assumed that the witnesses and the police would take responsibility for getting his name." Heller was brought to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. "I was brought in and didn't know exactly what had happened and where my injuries were," he said. "I waited for more than a hour. The nurses couldn't do anything because the doctor had to see me first." Heller was told that he had a fractured pelvis and that it would have to heal by itself. He received physical therapy to learn how to get around using crutches. Heller has been at home in New Jersey since the accident. He returned to the University last Thursday to take a midterm but does not plan to attend classes until after Thanksgiving. Heller says his absence from classes will inevitably affect his grades. "I'm hoping my teachers are going to be pretty understanding," he said. "I know that I'm probably not going to do as well this semester because of the injury." Heller plans to utilize services provided by the University to get to classes while he is recovering from his injuries. However, Heller has not had any contact with representatives of the University since his visit to the Emergency Room. "The head of Student Health Services said she would check up on me," Heller said. "But I haven't heard from her yet." Heller plans to look at the police report, which will be available this week. He hopes to locate the taxi driver and receive compensation to help pay for his medical bills. Heller recognizes that his injuries from the accident could have been a lot worse. "I was really lucky because I wasn't wearing a bike helmet," he said. "I definitely plan to wear a helmet after this. I don't see too many Penn students wearing helmets." Earlier this month, College freshman Jae Lee was hit by a car at the intersection of 34th and Walnut streets. After undergoing brain surgery, he is recovering at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
(11/18/94 10:00am)
College freshman Jae Lee, who was hit by a car earlier this month, is recovering quickly, according to his friends. Lee, who underwent emergency brain surgery several hours after the accident, was in a coma until this past Saturday morning. Since then, his condition has improved daily. "He is recovering at an unbelievable rate," Wharton sophomore Sang Kim said last night. "He is out of Intensive Care and in a regular patient room." According to Kim, Lee began talking on Sunday and is now going through speech therapy. While Lee does not remember everything, "he remembers a lot of things from when he was a child" and "seems to remember most of the things that have happened since he woke up from the coma," Kim said. "He knows who he is and who all of his friends are," Kim said. "He knows that he is hurt from the accident but only because people have told him that." While Lee appears to be progressing rapidly, Kim explained that no long-term prognoses have been made. "They haven't been able to do any specific evaluation right now," Kim said. "They need a little more time before they can do any more tests." Lee's family and friends have been spending a lot of time at the hospital, according to Kim. "Many of his friends are visiting him frequently," Kim said. "His brother and his parents are always here." Lee's roommate, College freshman Richard Kim, said last night that Lee's recovery "is a miracle." "I was able to talk with him," he said. "They say he can read and write." "I think people expected the worst," he said. "He really pulled through. His parents are really excited." Director of the University's Head Injury Research Center Thomas Gennarelli performed Lee's emergency surgery after the accident. According to one of Gennarelli's residents, Lee has been recovering since the surgery, which stabilized the swelling of his brain following the accident.
(11/18/94 10:00am)
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine John Trojanowski and his research team recently published the results of a ground-breaking study on the role of aluminum in Alzheimer's disease in the November issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers, utilizing grants from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, demonstrated the interaction between aluminum and a protein found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Aluminum was shown to prevent the degradation of the protein, known as PHF-tau. The protein, when in its abnormal form as in Alzheimer's patients, is thought to be linked to the death of brain cells and to the resulting loss of brain function. The results of the study indicate that aluminum, although not a sole cause of the disease, may be a factor in the ailment's development. In a statement released by the University Medical Center, the professor explained the possible extent of aluminum's effects on the disease. "Aluminum is a highly abundant metal in the earth's crust, yet despite its ubiquitous presence in dust and soil, not everyone develops Alzheimer's disease," he said. "We've demonstrated that aluminum could be a co-factor by interacting with PHF-tau, but that doesn't necessarily mean that aluminum is the cause." The professor went on to explain that multiple genetic predispositions and environmental factors may contribute to the disease. Based on primarily circumstantial evidence, findings regarding the role of aluminum in Alzheimer's disease have several interpretations and remain controversial. According to the professor, the results of this recent study, along with previous work that demonstrated aluminum's presence in manifestations of the disease in the brain, support the concept that aluminum plays some role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
(11/16/94 10:00am)
The University Medical Center is leading the way in the extension of health care benefits to same sex domestic partners and their legal dependents. The new policy, which will be implemented on Jan. 1, 1995, will extend eligibility for medical, prescription, dental, vision, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance to the previously excluded employees and their families. Legal dependents of same sex domestic partners will also be eligible for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's dependent tuition assistance program. This extension of eligibility for benefits was announced in September during the Medical Center's open enrollment period, during which changes in policy may be made. The Medical Center's change in eligibility requirements followed a similar move by the University last spring during its open enrollment period. Coordinator of the Program for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community at Penn Robert Schoenberg has been a leading lobbyist for the extension of benefits to same sex domestic partners at the University. "We lobbied for three years," he said. "It was on the table for probably 15 years." HUP Medical Technologist David Acker, working with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Lambda Alliance (HUPLA), a group of gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees of the hospital, lobbied consistently for the extension of benefits for more than two years. Acker came back from the March on Washington in the fall of 1992 and began to lobby for the benefits. "I was really fed up that I was basically being compensated less than a heterosexual co-worker," Acker said. "In terms of benefits, my married hospital co-worker gets benefits for his spouse and I don't get benefits for my spouse." Acker claims that three reasons account for the success of attempts to reform health care benefits for Medical Center employees. "One, I formed [HUPLA] and we pressured for it," he said. "It took somebody to complain. "Two, without the commitment at the University level, I'm not sure that all of the complaining in the world would have helped," he added. Thirdly, Acker attributes much of the impetus of the movement to Dennis Colling, associate vice president of organizational effectiveness and human resources for the University Health Services. "Fortunately, [Colling] really believed in this," Acker said. HUP is one of the first hospitals in the country to extend benefits to same sex domestic partners and their dependents, he added. Other hospitals are quickly following suit. Locally, Thomas Jefferson University will also be extending benefits to same sex domestic partners starting Jan. 1. Acker said two factors are pressuring other institutions to adopt more inclusive policies. "One is the market to get talent that happens to be gay," he said. "They are going to have to be competitive with other hospitals." The second is coming from employee groups, he said. Acker said he is looking forward to the enactment of the new policy next year. "I'm very pleased with the hospital," he said. "I think that they are putting their money where their words are."
(11/15/94 10:00am)
Three additional University physicians will join the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences next fall for the group's annual meeting. Dr. Jerome Strauss, III, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of the Center for Research on Women's Health and Reproduction, and Anesthesia Department Chairperson David Longnecker will be the two new members representing the Medical Center. Professor of Nursing Ann Burgess will be the third University representative. Twenty-nine members of the University community have been elected by the Institute since 1983, University spokeswoman Barbara Beck said. Fifty new members from around the country will attend their first meeting next October, bringing the total active membership of the group to 493. The Institute, which was established in 1970, prepares statements and reports regarding issues related to human health. The group also responds to requests from the federal government and other agencies for studies and advice on issues related to medicine and health. In addition to these duties, the Institute promotes public awareness regarding its work and promotes communication with major scientific and professional societies concerned with similar issues. Dr. Strauss said the group is "broadly based." "At least a quarter of the members have to be drawn from other than the health professions," he said last week. The new members of the Institute from the University will bring their own specialties and perspectives to the group. Dr. Strauss has made contributions to women's health issues and has advocated for more research funding. Dr. Longnecker is the president of the American Board of Anesthesiology and has made major research contributions to the understanding of blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues during shock, trauma and surgery. Burgess specializes in issues of victimization. "It hits every area of nursing," she explained last week. "Nursing has had to deal with this on a more front-line basis." Dr. Longnecker said he is pleased to be named a member of the Institute. "It's a wonderful recognition," he said. "It's such a prestigious organization."
(11/08/94 10:00am)
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine David Weiner and his University research team are being credited with discovering the function of a gene that regulates the reproduction of the HIV virus. Weiner and research team members David Levy and Yosef Refaeli disclosed their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The gene, which is found in the HIV virus, was originally discovered in 1987, but its function was not previously known. Weiner conducted experiments using a protein produced by the gene. The protein regulates the reproduction of the HIV virus. Weiner and his team used blood samples containing dormant HIV cells. After adding the isolated protein to these samples, they discovered that the virus replicated and left its latent state. The protein was also shown to produce antibodies to combat its presence. When these antibodies maintained a favorable balance with the protein, the virus remained dormant. In HIV positive people, the protein eventually overpowers the antibody defense, which pushes the virus out of latency. "The protein is unusual from others," Medical Center spokesperson Lisa Bain said. "It acts on cells, not the virus. It could be responsible for a lot of the problems associated with AIDS." The study acknowledged this potential by suggesting that the protein may play a role in the virus's attacks on the immune and neurological systems. Weiner's laboratory is also investigating potential substances that could inhibit the protein. It is expected that many other researchers will participate in this search. Weiner's findings have opened the field of research for drugs to combat the virus. Because this protein is not prone to mutations, future drugs targeting it will not face the same barriers faced by current anti-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome drugs such as AZT.
(11/08/94 10:00am)
Paul Lanken, director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the Medical Center, has been selected to participate in a $10 million nationwide study focusing on the treatment and prevention of Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Although many people have never heard of ARDS, it kills more than 100,000 Americans annually and is estimated to affect more than five million people worldwide each year. The disorder is usually a secondary effect of some other physiological disturbance, such as major trauma. ARDS attacks the air spaces in the lungs and leads to impaired breathing function and eventual collapse of the lungs. The disorder has a mortality rate of more than 50 percent. "We see about 100 cases a year at HUP," Lanken said last week. "It affects a lot of people." Documentation of the disorder is scarce and contradictory. "It's not a reportable disease," Larken said. "It wasn't until last year that the ARDS Consensus Conference agreed upon a definition. It was only discovered in 1967. There really hasn't been much progress in 25 years." The seven-year grant by the Lung Division of the National Institute of Health's Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will fund a collaborative effort among 10 selected critical care treatment groups, including the Medical Center. The Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Graduate Hospital will participate as additional sites for the recruitment of patients into the study. This is the first time that the NIH has funded ARDS research since 1976, Lanken said. "Physicians, especially those in intensive care, are very aware of [ARDS]," he said. "The public is very unaware."
(10/31/94 10:00am)
Dressed as the ghosts of pigs and baboons used in Neurosurgery Professor Thomas Gennarelli's laboratory for head injury research, animal rights activists marched from the Van Pelt Library to the Goddard Research Laboratories on Hamilton Walk last night. Approximately 40 activists, representing seven animal rights organizations, walked through campus carrying signs and chanting slogans criticizing Gennarelli's work. "Your experiments are a crime," they shouted. "You're sicker than Doctor Frankenstein." "Gennarelli: Run and hide. We see what goes on inside," others yelled. Representatives of the Open Expression Committee accompanied the protesters to ensure that they did not break University policies and that their rights to protest would not be infringed on by others. Several spectators on the route to the laboratories appeared confused. Others expressed hostility. One student yelled, "Halloween is tomorrow." "We thought tonight was really fitting to start this series of protests on the eve of Halloween because Tom Gennarelli is probably one of the biggest monsters there is when it comes to animal experiments and he is pulling one of the biggest tricks on the American public that has been perpetrated in terms of animal experimentation," said Dean Smith, outreach director for the American Anti-Vivisection Society. Society member Andy Breslin posed as Gennarelli, who is director of the University's Head Injury Research Center, and read a poem entitled "The Piggy," written "in honor of Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven.' " College sophomore Carrie Kramer, president of Penn Society for Animal Rights, explained that this is the first of several protests planned for this year targeting Gennarelli's research. The protesters also represented city, state and national organizations including The New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, The American Anti-Vivisection Society and the Lehigh Valley Animal Rights Coalition. Last night's protest was not the first series of protests against Gennarelli. On Memorial Day, 1984, members of a group calling itself the Animal Liberation Front broke into and vandalized Gennarelli's laboratory. They stole more than 60 hours of videotapes documenting head injury experiments using baboons. Gennarelli's funding was revoked and his laboratory was shut down in 1985, according to a PETA statement. In April 1991, after external evaluation of a new project using swine, the National Institutes of Health awarded Gennarelli a new grant. Gennarelli has received several awards for his research including the Caveness award from the National Head Injury Foundation for "outstanding contribution to head injury," and the Award of Merit from the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. University spokeswoman Barbara Beck said the protesters had a right to express themselves last night. "The University respects the opinions of the group concerning the use of animals for experiments in medical research," Beck said. "However, our society also places strong emphasis on improving health care and finding cures for diseases that affect both people and animals including pets and wildlife." While the protesters were standing outside of the laboratories, students yelled from the Quadrangle. "Why don't you shut up?" one student yelled. "I'm trying to do work." Several protesters responded with comments, such as "close your window," "try to learn something," and "It's past your bedtime."
(09/21/94 9:00am)
Dying to know if Judith Rodin prefers carrots to broccoli? Muffins to biscuits? Hamburgers to hot dogs? Several students will find out the answers to these questions and many more in a series of dinners the new University president plans to hold with students in various dining halls across campus. In an attempt to meet the University community, Rodin dined out with students from the W.E.B. DuBois College House and Van Pelt College House at the Anvil Club in the Class of 1920 Commons last night. This meal was the second of six such events scheduled during the next three weeks. "I really want to get out," Rodin said. "I want to meet students. I want to find out what's on peoples' minds." After arriving at 6:20 p.m., Rodin pushed her tray down the line, chose her food and joined students at their table for a half hour dinner conversation. "We've talked about the quality of courses and the quality of teaching, randomized housing, what the choice of a college house means and what that experience really provides, whether Penn serves the student's needs in terms of the continuity between the classroom and the rest of the student's activity," she said. Rodin said she believes the meals are a good start in learning about the University. "I think Penn students are extraordinarily diverse in their attitudes [and] in their feelings about what they came here to get and how well they are being served in terms of what their needs and aspirations are," she said. Last Friday, Rodin met with students from Kings Court and English House in her first meal with students. College freshman Nicholas Zinn, a Kings Court resident, attended the dinner held in the private dining room in English House. "She basically had no planned agenda," Zinn said. "She just answered students' questions as they came. She discussed everything from medical research funding to the University's policy regarding free speech." These two dinners were just the beginning for Rodin. The president will be eating lunch with Hill House residents on September 21, students from the Modern Language College House and the five Living Learning programs on October 4 and students who live in the Quadrangle on October 11. Students living in Stouffer College House and Ware College House will have dinner with Rodin on September 27. Each residence will pre-select students from the dormitory to attend these meals. The president is also planning to meet with students who live off campus, she said. "Obviously they'll have some very different experiences and some common ones," Rodin said. "And I want to understand that." Rodin said so far she has enjoyed meeting students in the dining halls. "I am very impressed by the Penn undergraduate," Rodin said. "I'm having a wonderful time doing this. It's just a great treat to get to know students." The president said she wants her contact with students to extend to the rest of campus. "I really want people to feel that they can come up to me and talk to me," Rodin explained. "I won't be a very good president if all I do is sit in College Hall."
(09/14/94 9:00am)
Jeremy Brosowsky held his own cocktail party on Locust Walk last night. Although he was missing the drinks, he had plenty of hors d'oeuvres. Claiming that "nobody smiles anymore," the College senior distributed vegetables with dip from a platter as he traveled up Locust Walk to Superblock. He hoped his simple gift would make others laugh and grin. "Everyone thinks there has to be some sort of ulterior motive," he said. "People just need to remember to have fun sometimes just for the sake of fun." Students, faculty, homeless people and police officers were all part of his clientele last night. Occasionally Brosowsky "guests" created a circle of vegetable dippers engaged in conversation. College sophomore Stuart Evans passed through Superblock when Brosowsky was surrounded by hungry takers picking at carrot sticks, zucchini slices, green beans, cherry tomatoes and vegetable dip. "I saw [Brosowsky] standing there with a a plate of vegetables," Evans said. "So I asked for one and he said 'sure.'" Brosowsky and his plate of appetizers received mixed reactions from passersby. Most people smiled -- which was Brosowsky's goal -- but many turned him down and kept walking. One person called him a "freak," to which Brosowsky quickly retorted, "If it takes a freak to make people smile, I'll do it." Some even stopped to question Brosowsky -- asking if the vegetables were poisoned or laced. Finally, the platter, which Brosowsky had originally intended to bring home to share with his roommates, was empty by 6:45 p.m. He took the platter from a reception held by the Office of International Programs welcoming him and fellow students back from studying abroad. Brosowsky, who had just returned from England, said he had received enough smiles to last him awhile and wanted to share them with others.
