April 2007 in the PCTB/Restriction Court Yard

Click on one of the links below to go directly to the News and Information about the following people:
Congratulations to the four Pharmacology graduate students listed below who have won poster awards at the 9th Annual Poster Session held on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. This Annual Poster Session was organized by the Graduate Student Association (GSA).
Hopkins-PREP program:
Ileana Lorenzini (2nd) - "Enhancing Axon Regeneration through Peripheral Nerve Bridges via Multi-Inhibitor Blocking - Ron Schnaar's Lab
LaShon Ussin (3rd)- "Imidazole Restores Proteolytic Activity to a Mutant Cytomegalovirus" - Wade Gibson's Lab
1st/2nd Years:
Lisa DiPilato (2nd) - "Fluorescent Indicators of cAMP: Resolving the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of cAMP Signaling - Jin Zhang's Lab
3rd/4th Years:
Curtis Chong (1st) - "Identification of the anti-Angiogenic Effect of the Mycophenolic Acid and the anti-Malarial Effect of Astemizole" - Jun Liu's Lab
05/24/05
It gives us great pleasure to share two delightful pieces of news.
First, the Medical Advisory Board of Medical Faculty at Hopkins has recently voted to approve the promotion of Charles Flexner to Professor of Clinical Pharmacology. Second, Paul Talalay has recently been awarded the Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health Research. This award is one of the leading honors in the world for scientists studying micronutrients, diet, and other natural approaches to disease prevention. Click here to view Paul Talalay's press release.
Please join us in congratulating both Charles and Paul for their wonderful and well-deserved recognition.
05/19/05
Honors for Two Hopkins Faculty
Two Johns Hopkins faculty members were recently inducted as members of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Rhoda Alani, M.D., associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in the departments of Oncology, Dermatology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, and member of the Pharmacology& Molecular Sciences Graduate Program, has been elected to membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Dr. Alani was formally inducted in the Society at its annual meeting in April. Her research focuses on melanoma. Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in General Internal Medicine, was recognized for her contributions to research on health care disparities and patient-physician communication. Established in 1908, it is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies. Individuals are elected to membership who have accomplished meritorious original and independent investigations in the clinical sciences of medicine. This year, ASCI received 144 nominations and elected 64 members. There are 69 Johns Hopkins faculty members who are members of ASCI. Dr. Alani’s and Cooper’s induction doubles the number of women faculty from Johns Hopkins who are members of ASCI. 05/18/05.
11/20/03
Congratulations to the following faculty for being listed among the 50 most influential scientists worldwide
over the past 20 years by Science Watch.
Dr. Bert Vogelstein - Ranked #1
Dr. Solomon Snyder - Ranked # 3
Dr. Kenneth Kinzler - Ranked #19
Dr. Snyder is renowned for his brilliant work on neurotransmitters and their receptors. Drs. Vogelstein and Kinzler elucidated the trigger that turns the path of cancer on and off. The discoveries of all three already are applied to patient care. A computer analysis of footnotes revealed that their research papers have been cited most often by other researchers. Scientists worldwide are standing on the shoulders of these giants, who are right here at Hopkins, collaborating with their colleagues.
COMMUNITY SCIENCE DAY IN PHARMACOLOGY
Monday, March 30, 2009
The laboratories of Drs. Philip Cole, Robert Cotter, and Ronald Schnaar represented our department in this year's Community Science Day. Students in the 5th and 6th grades from the East Baltimore Community visited each station to participate in science projects organized by the laboratories. Below are some pictures from each science station.
| Cole Lab | |||
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| Cotter Lab | |||
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| Schnaar Lab | |||
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In the Winter 2008 issue of HOPKINS MEDICINE, Dr. Thomas August is featured in the "Alpha Docs" section entitled, "An August Achievement: Celebrating the man whose discoveries have dramatically advanced immunology". 1/18/08
In the Winter 2002 issue of the HOPKINS MEDICAL NEWS, Dr. Philip Cole is featured in an article entitled, "The Dabbler."
Wei Lu, BCMB graduate student in Dr. Philip Cole’s laboratory, won the 2002 Young Investigators’ Day Alicia Showalter Reynolds Research Award. Topic: “Site-specific incorporation of a phosphotyrosine mimetic reveals a role for tyrosine phosphorylation of SHP-2 in cell signaling.” THE JHU GAZETTE published an article in the April 8, 2002 issue entitled, "SOM to honor its student research."
In the July 13, 2003 issue of THE BALTIMORE SUN, there is an article entitled, "Tougher visa rules to stop terrorism hamper research," featuring Drs. Philip Cole and Heng Zhu.
In the October 27, 2003 issue of THE BALTIMORE SUN, there is an article entitled, "Scientists unlock key aspect of sleep chemistry," featuring Drs. Philip Cole, Weiping Zheng, and Zhongsen Zhang.
In the April 2004 issue of NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY in the "News and Views" section, there is an article entitled, "Is acetylation the key to opening locked gates?", which is a commentary relating to Dr. Cole's recent paper. 3/31/04
In the May 17, 2004 issue of THE JHU GAZETTE, Dr. Douglas F. Covey was among the new members who was inducted into the Society of the Scholars. Dr. Covey, who was a postdoctoral fellow in Pharmacology from 1974 to 1977, was nominated by Dr. Philip Cole. 05/25/04
In the October 18, 2004 issue of THE JHU GAZETTE, Drs. Philip Cole, Robert Cotter, Dongxia Wang, Heng Zhu and other JHU faculty are featured in an article entitled, "Geneticist gets Roadmap grant." This incredible team of researchers received a five-year $17 million grant under the National Institutes of Health's Roadmap for Medical Research to develop new technologies to comprehensively examine proteins' interactions in systems ranging from yeast to human cells. 10/18/04
In the March 13, 2006 issue of CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS, Drs. Philip Cole and Yingfeng Qiao are featured in the "Science & Technology" section in an article entitled, "Enzyme Rescued for First Time in Live Cells". 03/13/06
In the May 28, 2007 issue of CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS, Dr. Philip Cole is featured in the "Science & Technology Concentrates" section in an article entitled, "Demethylase's Specificity Explained". 05/29/07
In the September 10, 2007 issue of CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS, Dr. Philip Cole is featured in the "Science & Technology Concentrates" section in an article entitled, "Tracking Down Acetyltransferases". 09/10/07
Congratulations to Dr. Robert Cotter for being the recipient of the 2009 ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Chemical Instrumentation sponsored by the Dow Chemical Company. There will be an award ceremony and symposium at the upcoming 238th ACS National Meeting in Washington, D.C. from August 16-20, 2009. 3/4/09
On February 14, 2007, Dr. Robert Cotter is featured in a Hopkins press release entitled, "Medical School's Mass Spec Experts Aid Search for Life on Mars." 2/15/07
In the June issue of THE BUSINESS MONTHLY, Dr. Robert Cotter is featured in an article entitled, "APL Inventions Focus on Homeland Security." 6/13/03
In the June 2003 issue of GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS, Dr. Robert Cotter is on the cover and also featured in an article entitled, "Making the Most of Mass Spectrometry". If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download and install the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe.
The May 9, 2003 issue of SCIENCE E-NEWSLETTER reported that Drs. Robert Cotter, along with Wayne Bryden and Scott Ecelberger of the Applied Physics Laboratory's Research and Technology Development Center, have received one of APL's three "Invention of the Year" awards. The team developed technology that combines both chemical and biological sample measurements in a single, time-of-flight mass spectrometer to dramatically reduce detection and identification times. Cotter directs the Middle Atlantic Mass Spectometry laboratory at Hopkins and is professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences and of biophysics and biophysical chemistry.
JOHNS HOPKINS Magazine published an article featuring Dr. Robert Cotter in their February 2003 issue entitled, "A Pint-sized System for Detecting Bioagents." 2/13/03
In the Fall 2004 issue of HOPKINS MEDICINE, there is an article featuring Dr. Charles Flexner, entitled "All in the Family". 09/15/2004
The Medical Advisory Board of Medical Faculty at Hopkins has recently voted to approve the promotion of Dr. Charles Flexner to Professor of Clinical Pharmacology. Congratulations, Dr. Flexner! 5/19/05
In the May 19, 2003 issue of THE JHU GAZETTE, there is an article featuring
Dr. Craig Hendrix who is one of the recipients of "The 2003 Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award." Congratulations, Dr. Hendrix!
In the February 11, 2002 issue of THE JHU GAZETTE, there is an article featuring Drs. James Hildreth, Richard Markham, and Kristen Khanna entitled, "Advance made in fighting AIDS transmission."
Congratulations, Dr. James Hildreth, for receiving the Ranice W. Crosby Distinguished Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the visual communications of medical science. Dr. Hildreth received this award at the School of Medicine's Convocation on May 23, 2002. 6/28/02
On December 2, 2003, Dr. James Hildreth accepted the National Medical Fellowships' Visionary Research Award in Academic Medicine at their annual awards gala in New York. Dr. Hildreth was recognized for his "groundbreaking discoveries and extraordinary research in HIV," according to the award letter from NMF. NMF's goal is to help qualified and highly motivated minority medical students overcome the cost barriers associated with securing a medical education. Coincidentally, Dr. Hildreth received two NMF awards while in medical school at Johns Hopkins -- The William and Charlotte Cadbury Award in 1986, and The Kaiser Foundation Award in 1987. 12/2/03
Congratulations to Dr. Richard Huganir, who was among 72 of the nation's top scientists elected on April 20, 2004 to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. He joins 15 other Hopkins faculty currently in the Academy.
In the February 16, 2006 issue of CANCER RESEARCH Melinda Yates, graduate student in Dr. Kensler's laboratory, is the first author and the paper is featured on the cover of this issue. The article is entitled, "Potent protection against aflatoxin-induced tumorigenesis through induction of Nrf2-regulated pathways by the triterpenoid 1-[2-cyano-3-,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oyl]imidazole." 04/20/06
In the April 27, 2009 issue of the NEW YORK TIMES, Dr. Jun Liu is featured in an article in the Health section entitled, "With Aid of Drug Library, New Remedies From Old." 4/27/09
Congratulations to Dr. Jun Liu for being one of five Johns Hopkins faculty named 2008 AAAS fellow. Dr. Liu and other faculty are featured in the January 5, 2009 issue of The JHU GAZETTE. 01/06/08
In the Winter 2008 issue of HOPKINS MEDICINE, Drs. Jun Liu, Curtis Chong and David Sullivan are featured in the "Circling the Dome" section entitled, "Old Drugs, New Tricks: Could taking a second look at existing drugs hold the key to fighting emerging diseases?" 1/18/08
In the October 1, 2007 issue of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS there is an article in the "News of the Week" section entitled, "Tagging Natural Products". A team, led by Drs. Jun Liu and Daniel Romo at Texas A & M, have simultaneously readied natural products for biological assays and gleaned structure-activity information without multi-step synthesis or large amounts of materials. 10/1/07
Congratulations to Curtis Chong for receiving the 2007 Young Investigators' Day Michael A. Shanoff Award. Curtis and other Young Investigators' Day winners are featured in the April 16, 2007 issue of The JHU GAZETTE. 04/16/07
In the January 19, 2007 issue of the BALTIMORE SUN PAPER Dr. Jun Liu is featured in an article in the "Health and Science" section entitled, "Immune System Clues: Understanding Cold Virus Protein May Help Transplant Patients". 01/19/07
In the September 25, 2006 issue of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS there is an article in the "News of the Week" section entitled, "New Antimalarial Target is found". Drs. Liu and Sullivan, graduate student Curtis Chong, and postdoc Xiaochun Chen discovered XC11 by high-throughput screening of a large compound library. 9/25/06
In the December 19, 2005 issue of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS there is an article in the "Science & Technology" section entitled, "Protein Synthesis Nipped in the Bud". This article features Dr. Jun Liu as one of the two teams who independently discovered that pateamine A inhibits translation initiation.
Congratulations to Pharmacology graduate student, Curtis Chong, for winning first place in GSA's Training Years 3-4 poster session entitled, "Two Approaches to Anti-angiogenic Drug Discovery". Keep up the good work, Curtis!
Dr. Jun Liu, his lab and a team of researchers from University of Colorado has discovered a chink in the structure of a gene-controlling protein critical in regulating the growth and death of immune, brain and muscle cells, which was published in the April 17, 2003 issue of Nature. In addition, INSIDE HOPKINS MEDICINE spotlighted this discovery in an article entitled, "Structure Reveals Keys to Important Gene Regulator."
In the September 16, 2002 issue of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS Dr. Jun Liu is featured in an article in the "Science & Technology" section entitled, "In Search of Better Immunosuppessants."
Congratulations to Curtis Chong, Fatemah Mamdani, Tilman Schneider-Poetsch, and Joynita Sur, all of whom are members of this year's winning 2006 Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) MoshPit Business Plan Competition. 04/28/06
In the May 24, 2006 issue of ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE, Xiaoyi Hu and Dr. Jun Liu published a paper in collaboration with Dr. Brian Matthews' group, and it is featured on the cover of the journal. The cover article is entitled, "Identification of Pyridinylpyrimidines as Inhibitors of Human Methionine Aminopeptidases". 05/30/06
Congratuations to Curtis Chong for being the first author on two recently published papers that have attracted media coverage and inquiries. To review the media coverage, please click on: The Johns Hopkins Clinical Compound Screening Initiative (JHCCSI). 07/17/06
Dr. Ronald Schnaar
In the September 2006 issue of ASBMB Today there is an article featuring Dr. Ronald Schnaar entitled, "Scientists Coax Nerve Fibers to Regrow After Spinal Cord Injury".
In the April 29, 2002 issue of CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS there is an article featuring Dr. Ronald Schnaar under the "Meeting Briefs" section entitled, "Agents spark nerve regrowth."
In the June 18, 2002 issue of INSIDE HOPKINS MEDICINE there is an article featuring Dr. Ronald Schnaar and others entitled, "Molecular "Stop Signs" May Hold Secret of Nerve Regeneration ." This paper has also been published in PNAS, Vol. 99, Issue 12, 8412-8417, June 11, 2002.
Dr. Theresa Shapiro
In the August 30, 2004 issue of The JHU GAZETTE, there is an article featuring Drs. Theresa Shapiro and Gary Posner entitled, "Compounds Show Promise Fighting Malaria and Cancer: Design of dual-action drugs based on ancient Chinese folk remedy."
In the August 27, 2007 issue of CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS in the "Science & Technology Concentrates" section, there is an article featuring Dr. James Stivers entitled, "DNA repair process revealed."
In the September 9, 2002 issue of NATURE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY, there is a commentary entitled, "3-Methyladenine DNA glycosylase I is an unexpected helix-hairpin-helix superfamily member."
In the March 7, 2002 issue of INSIDE JOHNS HOPKINS an article entitled, "Broccoli Brew: Tea for Tumors?" , features Dr. Paul Talalay and other researchers. These researchers have brewed up a tea they say combines that beverage's natural disease-fighting properties with one found in broccoli. And they're offering it, for now, only in Colorado.
In the March 2002 issue of the DOME, Dr. Paul Talalay is featured in an article entited, "What's on Your Plate?" You can view and print out the PDF file of the article by clicking on the title above. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download and install the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe.
In the May 28, 2002 issue of THE JHU GAZETTE, there is an article entitled, "Dietary Component Kills Bacterial Cause of Ulcers, Stomach Cancer" featuring Dr. Jed Fahey, Dr. Paul Talalay, and other researchers. The research team discovered that sulforaphane, a compound found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts, kills the bacterium in laboratory studies.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Talalay was recognized for his lifelong and exemplary contributions to cancer research by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 at the 95th AACR Annual Meeting that was held in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Talalay received the 2004 AACR-DeWitt S. Goodman Memorial Lectureship, and he delivered a 40-minute Award Lecture at this annual meeting. Congratulations, Dr. Talalay! 4/5/04
Dr. Paul Talalay has recently been awarded the Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health Research. This award is one of the leading honors in the world for scientists studying micronutrients, diet, and other natural approaches to disease prevention. Congratulations, Dr. Talalay! Please click here to view the press release and picture of award. 5/20/05
In the October 30, 2007 issue of THE NEW YORK TIMES in the Health Section, Dr. Paul Talalay is featured in an article entitled "In Broccoli Spouts, Protection From UV Rays." 10/30/07
In the June-July 2008 issue of BASICS, Dr. Sean Taverna is featured in an article entitled, "Deciphering an Elephant: New Pharmacology Faculty Member Helps Piece Together the Puzzle of Epigenetics." 08/22/08
It is with saddness that we report that Dr. Mackenzie Walser, a noted nephrologist and professor of medicine and pharmacology and molecular sciences who wrote widely on the nutritional management of kidney disease, passed away on Saturday, October 28, 2006. He was 82 and will be sorely missed.
Dr. Mackenzie Walser's book entitled, "Coping with Kidney Disease: A 12-Step Treatment Program to Help You Avoid Dialysis", is now on sale. This book was written by Dr. Mackenzie Walser with Betsy Thorpe, published by Wiley & Sons, and is 230 pages. 5/25/04
In the November 15, 2004 issue of the Johns Hopkins E-Newsletter, there is an article featuring Dr. Jin Zhang entitled, "New tool highlights activity of key cellular signal." The article highlights Dr. Zhang's recent paper: Fluorescent Indicators of cAMP and Epac Activation Reveal Differential Dynamics of cAMP Signaling within Discrete Subcellular Compartments (2004). L. M. DiPilato, X. Cheng, and J. Zhang, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:16513-16518. 1/21/05
In the August 7, 2006 issue of CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS, Dr. Jin Zhang, Lisa DiPilato, Michael Allen, and Meghdad Radhar are featured in the "Science & Technology" section in an article entitled, "A Boost for Biosensors: Beefing up signal of FRET kinase biosensors makes inexpensive high-throughput screening possible." 8/10/06
In the June 2008 issue of ASBMB Today, Dr. Jin Zhang is featured in the "Annual Meeting: A Recap of San Diego 2008" section in an article entitled, "New Strategies for Imaging Protein Localization and Dynamics". 6/10/08
In the January 12, 2005 issue of CHANGE, Dr. Heng Zhu is featured in an article under the "Opinions" section entitled, "Chipping In: Heng Zhu on creating proteomics' primo tool." 1/25/05
In the October 18, 2004 issue of THE JHU GAZETTE, Drs. Philip Cole, Robert Cotter, Dongxia Wang, Heng Zhu and other JHU faculty are featured in an article entitled, "Geneticist gets Roadmap grant." This incredible team of researchers received a five-year $17 million grant under the National Institutes of Health's Roadmap for Medical Research to develop new technologies to comprehensively examine proteins' interactions in systems ranging from yeast to human cells. 10/18/04














