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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 11, No. 29
July 27, 2007
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This week’s news:
* School of Medicine faculty promotions list available online
* UW chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society elects new members
* Bioengineering's Gerald Pollack named 2007-8 UW Faculty Lecturer
* Adrienne Fairhall receives McKnight Scholar Award in Neuroscience
* Ferric Fang elected to American Academy of Microbiology
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FACULTY PROMOTIONS LIST AVAILABLE ONLINE
Some Online News readers have reported having difficulty accessing the online list of UW School of Medicine faculty promotions. Here is a condensed version of the link, which redirects to the list of promotions on the UW Medicine Web site:
http://tinyurl.com/yoyq9t
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UW CHAPTER OF ALPHA OMEGA ALPHA ELECTS NEW MEMBERS
The Alpha Omega Alpha University of Washington Chapter has elected seven new medical students as well as two faculty members. AOA is a national honor medical society.
Students, faculty, residents and volunteer faculty are all eligible to be nominated for election to the society. Students are nominated by their classmates and faculty. Only a portion of the top 25 percent of a medical school class are eligible for election to AOA, making it a very selective society. In addition to scholarly achievement, election is based on qualities such as leadership, professionalism, and community service. Those elected earlier this year as third-year students are:
Lindsay Barclay
Elizabeth Brown
Jacob Calvert
Michelle Dossett
Kyle Tubbs
Brian Waldschmidt
Luke Wander
Two UW medical school faculty were elected to AOA: Stuart Farber, associate professor of family medicine, and Ben Danielson, clinical associate professor of pediatrics and physician at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic. Three UW residents were also elected to the society: Karlee Ausk, Internal Medicine; Molly Blackley Jackson, Internal Medicine; and Jodi Dodds, Neurology.
The UW chapter of AOA was founded in 1950. Douglas Paauw, professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, is the current chapter councilor, having led the chapter since 1994.
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GERALD POLLACK SELECTED AS UW ANNUAL FACULTY LECTURER
Gerald Pollack, UW professor of bioengineering, has been selected as the UW's Annual Faculty Lecturer for 2007-8. The selection honors UW faculty whose research, scholarship, or art is widely recognized by their peers, and whose achievements have had a substantial impact on their profession, on the research or performance of others, or on society as a whole. The honor includes a $5,000 stipend. The lecture date and time will be announced later.
Pollack studies the chemical and physical properties of water at and near surfaces, and how it acts differently than bodies of water. His research has shown that water near surfaces acts more like a liquid crystal or gel than other water. Pollack also uses engineering techniques to learn how cells function, especially in the areas of muscle contraction and motion.
Pollack may be reached at ghp@u.washington.edu
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ADRIENNE FAIRHALL RECEIVES MCKNIGHT SCHOLAR AWARD
Adrienne Fairhall, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, has received the 2007 McKnight Scholar Award in Neuroscience. The awards are granted to scientists in the early stages of their independent careers, and are intended to support innovative research in the neurosciences. The McKnight Scholar Award is given to up to six scientists each year, and includes $75,000 of support per year for three years.
Fairhall is a computational neuroscientist, studying how neurons transform input from other neurons into outputs – or the computation that neurons perform on inputs. Her research project is titled Intrinsic Contributions to Adaptive Computation and Gain Control. She is especially focused on neurons in the retina, and how neurons adapt to changing signals over time.
Fairhall earned her Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. While at the Weizmann Institute, she became interested in neuroscience and switched fields, completing a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience.
She may be reached at fairhall@u.washington.edu
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FERRIC FANG ELECTED TO AMERICAN ACADEMY OF MICROBIOLOGY
Ferric Fang, UW professor of laboratory medicine and of microbiology, has been elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. The academy's 2,500 fellows are chosen through a highly selective peer-review process, based on members' records of scientific achievement and original contributions to the field.
In selecting Fang, the academy recognized him for his contributions to our broad understanding of infectious diseases, his expertise in host-pathogen interactions, and his application of molecular biology research methods to the field of clinical microbiology. Fang earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Before joining the UW several years ago, he taught at the University of California, San Diego, and was on the faculty of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Fang may be reached at fcfang@u.washington.edu
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2007. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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