Dr. Benton Adkins, professor of Surgery and Cell Biology, third from left, was honored at a retirement party for his 38 years at VUMC. Talking with Adkins were Dr. C. Wright Pinson, Dr. R. Daniel Beauchamp and Dr. Davis C. Drinkwater. (photo by Tommy Lawson)
Web team creates VUMC SiteBuilder
VUMC Communication’s Web Team has created a new Web site development software package for all VUMC departments, divisions, labs and offices. VUMC SiteBuilder is free and users do not have to know HTML. Anyone who can use Microsoft Word can easily use VUMC SiteBuilder.
The software incorporates all the VUMC Web minimum standards, offers a variety of templates, will be continuously updated (all updates are also free), and users can modify their site without paying or waiting for someone else to do it.
Contact Jonathan Dees at 2-5099 or Jason Coles at 2-2298 for information.
Backstrom receives Freedman Award
Jon R. Backstrom, Ph.D., research assistant professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, received the Freedman Award for a research project titled, “Identification of Novel 5-HT2C Receptor-Protein Interactions,” made possible by a NARSAD (National Alliance for Research of Schizophrenia and Depression) Young Investigator grant he received in 1998.
The Freedman Award is an honorary distinction for outstanding basic research established in 1998 to honor the late Dr. Daniel X. Freedman, a pioneer in biological psychiatry. The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 and a ceremony in New York City on July 26.
“NARSAD has been instrumental in developing a research program, initially based on minimal preliminary data, that resulted in an exciting new area of investigation,” Backstrom said. “Receiving the Freedman Award is an unexpected honor, but one that I feel connected with in light of Dr. Freedman’s pioneering work on the effects of hallucinogens.”
Skin care seminars offered at VUMC
The Vanderbilt Center for Cosmetic Plastic Surgery is offering educational seminars on skin care. Upcoming seminars are July 18, 6:30-8 p.m., Basic Skin Care and Microdermabrasion; and July 23, 6:30-8 p.m., Basic Skin Care and Rosacea.
Topics to be covered include basic skin care, such as cleansing and moisturizing, wrinkles, treatment of acne, managing aging skin, sun damage, and peels.
All seminars will be held at the Center for Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Medical Center East on the 6th floor.
Get paid to exercise
Healthy volunteers, 18-55 years old, are needed for a research study to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of an investigational monitoring device called the IDEEA monitor.
Currently, there are no reliable portable activity monitors available to provide a comprehensive measurement of physical activity in the free-living (in the free environment).
Participants must be normal weight and a non-smoker.
The monitor runs on 4 AA rechargeable batteries and is worn on the hip.
Volunteers will spend five hours in a calorimetry room where they will be asked to do mild exercises, including resting, standing, sitting, walking and jogging. After the exercise sessions, body fat composition will be measured.
Compensation is available for your participation in this study.
Contact Candice Donahue at 343-8497 for more information.
Boord receives Pfizer grant
Dr. Jeffrey B. Boord is the 2002 recipient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the Pfizer Scholars in Endocrinology Grant Program. The award honors a physician for important contributions to research and patient care in endocrinology.
Boord, instructor of Cardiovascular Medicine, was nominated by Dr. James M. May of the division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism to receive this year’s grant.