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Professors honored for communication achievement
Two University of Colorado professors received awards from the National Communication Association during its annual convention in San Francisco Nov. 14-17.
Sherwyn "Sherry" Morreale, associate professor of communication, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, received the Samuel L. Becker Distinguished Service Award and Karen Tracy, a professor of communications at the University of Colorado at Boulder, was named a Distinguished Scholar. Both were selected by peers for the awards.
The Becker Award is given annually to an NCA member who has given outstanding cumulative service in research, teaching and service to the NCA and the profession.
Morreale served as NCA's associate director from 1997 to 2005. At UCCS, Morreale directs graduate studies for the communication department. Her research and teaching interests include instructional communication, public speaking, interpersonal and gender communication, diversity issues, organizational communication, and the assessment of communication competence.
She is the lead author of two communication textbooks, "Human Communication: Motivation, Knowledge, and Skills" and "Excellence in Public Speaking." Currently, she is working on a new public speaking textbook, a volume on trust in organizations, and the latest iteration of a national survey of the basic communication course.
Tracy is a discourse analyst who studies problems in justice, education-, and governance-linked institutions. Through close study of a communication practice, in combination with interviews of participants, and analysis of documents (e.g., minutes, web pages, legal opinions), she seeks to build a picture of the problems, conversational strategies, and ideals of good conduct in particular communication practices. Her past research has focused on academic colloquia, school board meetings, and exchanges between citizens and police/911 call-takers, with her most recent book being "Challenges of Ordinary Democracy: A Case Study in Deliberation and Dissent" (Penn State University Press).
She is currently at work on a new project investigating the dispute in U.S. society about extending the institution of marriage to same-sex couples.
Professor, alum takes chief justice post at state Supreme Court
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| Bender |
Michael Bender, an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado School of Law, is the new chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. He replaces the recently retired Mary Mullarkey.
Bender graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1967 and has served on the State Supreme Court since 1997, when he was appointed by Gov. Roy Romer.
"We are delighted to have one of our alumni, and a stalwart adjunct professor, appointed to the post of chief justice," said Dean David Getches. "Justice Mike Bender has been a loyal alumnus and a model of professionalism. We look forward to working with him in his new capacity."
Colorado School of Public Health dean receives international award
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| Hamman |
Richard Hamman, M.D., founding dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and a diabetes researcher, recently received the 2010 John Snow Award during the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in Denver.
Each year the international organizations co-grant the award to a researcher for his or her enduring contributions to the improvement of human health and disease prevention.
"I am honored that you believe my work and that of my colleagues has started to make a difference," Hamman said. "I have had a wonderful career studying the epidemiology of diabetes – both in youth and adults. As our knowledge of the risk factors for adult-onset Type 2 diabetes has expanded, we have been able to show that Type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed."
Diabetes has become a worldwide epidemic, occurring in developed and developing nations. According to Hamman, medical advances now extend and improve the lives of people living with the disease. Nevertheless, rates continue to increase and Hamman believes the solution requires research to inform individuals and policy makers of what can be done to limit the risks of the disease.
Doctors recognized at national meeting
At the American College of Rheumatology meeting in November, members of the University of Colorado School of Medicine's division of rheumatology received awards of recognition.
William Arend, M.D. and Distinguished Professor Emeritus, received the ACR Presidential Gold Medal. The highest award of the college, the medal recognizes a lifetime of achievement and contributions to rheumatology.
Sterling West, M.D. and professor, was given the Distinguished Clinician Scholar Award, the college's highest award for a rheumatologist who has made outstanding contributions in clinical medicine, clinical scholarship or education.
Susan Boackle, M.D. and associate professor, gave the Edmund L. Dubois Memorial Lectureship, which recognizes the best lupus research performed in the country. Jason Kolfenbach, M.D., became an ACR Distinguished Fellow in recognition of his research, educational and clinical achievements during his recently completed fellowship training.
Researchers receive grants for breast cancer work
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| Sartorius |
Two groups of Colorado breast cancer researchers have received $1.625 million in grants to better understand the role of stem-like breast cancer cells in treatment resistance and recurrence.
University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC) researcher Carol Sartorius, Ph.D., received a $1.25 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate the role of stem-like cells in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Sartorius, associate professor of endocrinology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (SOM), was the first person to show that the hormone progesterone regulates a stem-like cell phenotype in breast cancer.
In a July 28, 2010 paper in Breast Cancer Research Treatment, Sartorius and UCCC breast-cancer researcher and clinician Peter Kabos, M.D., assistant professor of medical oncology at the SOM, identified a pool of cells that lose both estrogen and progesterone receptors and gain expression of the protein cytokeratin 5. They showed that cells expressing cytokeratin 5 tend to survive treatment and endocrine therapy— a hallmark of stem-like cells.
Sartorius says the grant will allow her to figure out how these cytokeratin 5-expressing cells are regulated in ER+ breast cancer and how they make the tumor more drug-resistant. She will collaborate with UCCC researcher Dan LaBarbara, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, to figure out whether the cells can be targeted with novel drugs.
Sartorius also is working with UCCC researcher Jennifer Richer, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology at the SOM, who is an expert in the role of microRNAs in breast cancer. They received a $375,000 Idea Grant from the Department of Defense to narrow down which of a group of microRNAs are involved in changing cells from being differentiated to being stem-like. Kabos also will collaborate on the DOD grant.
Associate dean to chair student affairs group
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| Garrity |
Maureen Garrity, M.D., associate dean for student affairs in the School of Medicine, was named chair of the Group on Student Affairs at a recent meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges. She will serve in that role through the national meeting in Denver next year.
In her role, Garrity will head the group's steering committee. She also will sit on the committee on student financial aid and on the group on diversity and inclusion. These roles will give her the opportunity to help make national policies, to represent Colorado and to bring back innovative programs and best practices to the school.
Three from UCCS honored for economic development contributions
Terry Boult, El Pomar Chair of Innovation and Security, Michael Larson, El Pomar Chair of Engineering and Innovation and associate vice chancellor for research and innovation, and Jesse McClure, senior assistant research faculty, engineering, at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs were honored recently by the Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corp. and Peak Venture Group.
Larson and McClure received the Chairperson Award for their work with Mind Studios, which provides low-cost design and engineering services to inventors and small businesses. College of Engineering students work at Mind Studios located in science and engineering.
Boult was named Inventor of the Year in recognition of his nine patented inventions and eight other patents pending. He helped create the Bachelor of Innovation program at UCCS, runs the school's Vision and Security Technology Lab and is co-founder of Securics Inc.
The awards were presented during a reception at Broadmoor West honoring companies and organizations that have helped improve the local business climate, make investments in local facilities, have operated in the Springs for many years, do business internationally, or foster a culture of innovation and growth.
Postdoctoral fellow receives award from American Cancer Society
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| Gump |
Jacob Gump, Ph.D, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC) deputy director Andrew Thorburn, Ph.D., has received a $150,000, three-year fellowship from the American Cancer Society.
The award helps new cancer researchers who have doctoral degrees with initial funding to pave the road to an independent cancer research career. Gump, who received his Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of California San Diego, is studying the role of autophagy — cellular self-digestion — in leukemia and lymphoma.
"I'm excited and proud to have my first fellowship," Gump said. "This is the first step to securing a junior faculty position."
Gump became interested in cancer research after working in the lab of Stephen Hunger, M.D., UCCC associate director for pediatrics and director of pediatric hematology/oncology at The Children's Hospital.
"When kids get cancer, it's horrible," Gump says. "I think the last 30 to 40 years have taught us that a lot of pediatric cancers are curable, and if we can learn more we can cure those kids who still don't do well. I want to be a part of that."
Specifically, Gump is working to understand if targeting the autophagy process in cancer cells helps or hurts the cancer's survival.
Dropping names ...
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| Francis James Hickey |
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| Kamens |
At its November meeting, the CU Board of Regents approved sabbaticals for three faculty members: from CU-Boulder, John Daily, professor of mechanical engineering, effective Spring 2011, and Zhiqiang John Zhai, associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, January through December 2011; from the Anschutz Medical Campus, Robert Murphy, professor of medicine, January through June 2011. The board also appointed Robert McIntyre, M.D., to the board of directors of the University of Colorado Hospital Authority; Peter F . Steinhauer, D.D.S., and John W. Bliss were reappointed to the board of directors of the Coleman Colorado Foundation. ... Kathleen Ryan, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is the recipient of a $3,000 Eugene M. Kayden Grant from the College of Arts and Sciences. The grant will cover the costs of processing and digitizing films held by the National Archives for use in her documentary, Homefront Heroines: The WAVES of World War II, which will integrate Web-based, multimedia and interactive features. ... Recipients of the Career Teaching Scholars Award for 2010, recently announced by the University of Colorado School of Medicine, department of pediatrics, are: John Ogle, M.D., professor, director of pediatrics at Denver Health; Mike Schaffer, M.D., professor of cardiology at The Children's Hospital; Karen Leamer, M.D., a clinical faculty pediatrician in private practice; and Jody Maes, M.D., a pediatrician at Denver Health, and also part of the clinical faculty. The department of pediatrics will honor them Dec. 10 in the Mount Oxford Auditorium at The Children's Hospital second floor Conference Center. ... Francis James Hickey, M.D., has been named medical director of the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at The Children's Hospital. The Sie Center for Down Syndrome serves as the clinical care center of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the University of Colorado Medical School. Hickey served for 21 years as an adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio. ...
Helen Kamens, a researcher with the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, participated at a National Drug Facts Week event at Golden High School in Golden. She spoke in an effort to dispute various myths and help students get the facts about substance abuse. The teen health observance week, Nov. 8-14, aims to shatter myths about drugs and drug abuse. ... A documentary film featuring Beth Osnes, an assistant professor in the department of theater and dance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will be presented at the Boulder International Film Festival in February. "Mother: Caring Our Way Out of the Population Dilemma," was produced by Tiroir A Films and traces Osnes' work using theater as a tool for empowering women's voices. Osnes is co-founder of Mothers Acting Up, a movement to mobilize mothers to act on behalf of the world's children.
Want to suggest a colleague — or yourself — for People? Please e-mail information to Jay.Dedrick@cu.edu
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