V. Craig Jordan, MD, was awarded the Charles F. Kettering Prize last June for the most outstanding recent contribution to the diagnosis or treatment of cancer. Dr. Jordan is Diana, Princess of Wales Professor of Cancer Research, professor of molecular pharmacology and biological chemistry, and director, Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Research Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
	Anjen Chenn, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pathology, was named a Searle Scholar for his research on brain growth during embryonic development. Also during the year, Hank Siefert, PhD, professor of microbiology—immunology, received a five-year competitive renewal of his NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award, which is in its 10th year. His research focuses on the bacterium that causes gonorrhea.
	Last summer Robert P. Schleimer, MD, formerly of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, was recruited as the Feinberg School’s new allergy division chief. A senior investigator with significant experience in translational research, he studies allergic inflammation of airways.
	D. James Surmeier, PhD, Nathan Smith Davis professor and chair of physiology, was named head of the new Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research. Northwestern University received a $5.5 million award from the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke to establish the center, which will focus on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the motor and cognitive symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
	Philip Greenland, MD, Harry W. Dingman Professor of Cardiology and chair of preventive medicine, and colleagues at Northwestern, University of Minnesota, and Boston University published results of a large-scale study in the August issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study found that 87 to 90 percent of people who had a fatal heart attack had at least one major risk factor.

A comprehensive national search was held for the president and scientific director of Children’s Memorial Institute for Education and Research. Cancer biologist Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, was chosen for the position. Dr. Hendrix is a gifted researcher whose laboratory’s key findings increase the understanding of how cancer metastasizes. “Great promise exists in human embryonic stem cell research, particularly with respect to growing specialized cells for therapeutic purposes,” Dr. Hendrix says. “In cancer biology, stem cell research holds important clues for understanding how cells replicate. This has significant implications for detecting and targeting stem cell populations in aggressive tumors.”
       Dr. Hendrix has published more than 150 scientific papers, numerous books, and book chapters. Her work is funded by the NIH, including a prestigious MERIT award from the National Cancer Institute. In addition to her research, Dr. Hendrix has been an energetic advocate for science, science policy, and funding for biomedical research.

Northwestern University received a $6.8 million grant from the NIH to unravel the molecular triggers that cause over-activation of glia brain cells, which in turn leads to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and other diseases. “Knowledge about glia-neuron interactions provides insight into signaling pathways,” says Linda J. Van Eldik, PhD, professor of cell and molecular biology. She and her colleagues believe that the projects funded by the grant will provide insight into fundamental cell biology changes and provide a foundation for future research to develop experimental drugs to inhibit disease progression.

Sherman Elias, MD, has joined the faculty as the John J. Sciarra, MD, PhD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and department chair. Dr. Elias is distinguished internationally in the field of human reproductive genetics. His current research focuses on prenatal diagnosis using fetal cells and DNA obtained from maternal blood. He also is exploring legal and ethical issues and social policies in human genetics. His research has been funded by the NIH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, March of Dimes, and other agencies. Dr. Elias completed a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics at Yale University School of Medicine and another, in human genetics, at Northwestern, where he subsequently served on the medical school faculty from 1978–86.

Feinberg School investigators participated in more than a dozen studies involving functional imaging. Their efforts were greatly enhanced by the new Siemens 3T whole body Trio system MR magnet, which was added to the existing 1.5T Sonata research magnet at the Center for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Reed A. Omary, MD, MS, assistant professor of radiology and director of research for the department, is a principal investigator or co-PI for several NIH grants, one of which was awarded last spring for a study on MRI-guided coronary balloon angioplasty. “We investigate ways to perform procedures using MRI guidance instead of x-ray guidance,” Dr. Omary explains. “The benefit is that eliminating X rays means eliminating ionizing radiation. Also, when we use MRI guidance, we can measure organ function, not just see the anatomy.”

The results of important research by Martha L. Daviglus, MD, PhD, associate professor of preventive medicine, on healthy and unhealthy aging were recently published by the Archives of Internal Medicine. In two articles, Dr. Daviglus and her research team outlined years of study that focused on health-related quality of life in older people. “By preventing adverse levels of cardiovascular risk factors at younger age, we add many more years of life,” says Dr. Daviglus. “But this brings up the question of quality of life. Our research, which is funded by the NIH and American Heart Association, shows that people who have favorable levels of all major cardiovascular risk factors in middle age have much better quality of life at older age.”