June 24, 2004
Health Sciences News Briefs
A regional National Institutes of Health (NIH) seminar on program funding and grants, the first of these seminars to be presented in Seattle, has drawn more that 600 registered participants. The event is today and tomorrow at the downtown Seattle Sheraton Hotel. The UW School of Medicine’s Research Funding Service is hosting the gathering, which has faculty and program material from the NIH Office of Extramural Research. Because demand for the program was so high, registration has been closed since April.
UWTV has begun broadcasting programs from this spring’s series of Mini-Med School sessions. From now through July 3, viewers will be able to see programs on Alzheimer’s disease. From July 5 through 17, liver transplantation will be the topic. From July 26 through 31, the topic will be “Living with Chronic Illness.” For a schedule, see http://www.uwtv.org
Dr. Jennifer Devine, who graduated from the UW School of Medicine last year, will be competing as a rower in the 2004 Olympic Games this summer in Athens, Greece. On Wednesday, June 16, Devine won the women’s single sculls rowing final at the Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. She was the U.S. Olympic Trials champion in women’s single sculls. Devine, a Portland native, trains at Seattle’s Pocock Rowing Center. She graduated from the School of Medicine in 2003. Devine also competed in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta in the women’s double sculls event. The 2004 Olympic Games will be held from Aug. 13 to 29. The rowing competition will take place between Aug. 14 and 22 at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre near Marathon, Greece, northeast of Athens.
Dr. Stephan Fihn, head of the Division of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine, has been named acting chief research and development officer for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), part of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. The appointment is effective July 5. Fihn will direct the VHA Office of Research and Development, which has a budget of over $400 million. At the UW, Fihn is professor of medicine and of health services. He directs the Northwest Health Services Research and Development Field Program for the VA and the Health Services Research and Development Fellowship Program at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. He will continue as head of the UW Division of General Internal Medicine while serving in the acting position in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Nelson Fausto, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology, has received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Liver Foundation. The award honors scientists who have helped boost understanding of the mechanisms of liver disease. Fausto was recognized for his work in liver regeneration, liver cancer, and hepatic stem cells. Fausto received his medical degree from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He was a faculty member at Brown University in Providence, R.I., for nearly 30 years, serving as chairman of pathology and laboratory medicine. Fausto also served as director of the Brown University Cancer Center’s Cancer Biology Program. He joined the UW as professor and chair of pathology in 1994.
Dr. James Lo Gerfo, professor of medicine and health services, has been named to the board of directors of the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation. The Seattle foundation, started 30 years ago, is a non-profit organization that promotes health and quality of life through education. LoGerfo is also director of the UW Health Promotion Research Center and an attending physician at the Harborview Medical Center Adult Medicine Clinic. He is the former medical director of Harborview Medical Center.
