Carol R. Bradford (M.D. 1986, Residency 1992), professor of otolaryngology and co-director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program, was one of 48 women selected to join the 2008-09 fellowship class of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. ELAM is the only national program dedicated to preparing senior women faculty for leadership at academic health centers; its curriculum focuses on applying traditional M.B.A. training to the academic health care environment. The nwewest fellows represent 46 medical, dental and public health schools from the U.S. and Canada.

The New England Association of Neonatologists selected Steven M. Donn, M.D., professor of pediatrics and director of the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, to receive the Douglas K. Richardson Memorial Lectureship Award. Donn presented a lecture entitled “Help Me, But Don’t Hurt Me: Can Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury Be Avoided?” at a meeting of the association in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

N. Reed Dunnick, M.D., the Fred Jenner Hodges Professor and chair of radiology, was elected vice chair of the American College of Radiology in May, and was selected by the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Radiology as president for the 2008-10 term, which began in June. Dunnick, who has served as chair of radiology for the past 16 years, is a past president of the Association of University Radiologists and the American Roentgen Ray Society.

The Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education selected R. Van Harrison (Ph.D. 1976) to receive the Distinguished Service in Continuing Medical Education Award for 2008. The award is given annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to continuing medical education over an extended period. Harrison is a professor of medical education and director of the Office of Continuing Medical Education.

Charles Koopman, M.D., professor of otolaryngology and of pediatrics and communicable diseases, was awarded a Presidential Citation from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. The citation honors the most distinguished physicians for their dedication to, and international impact on, the otolaryngology profession. Koopman has been active in the academy for 30 years.

Paul R. Lichter (M.D. 1964, Residency 1968), who is the F. Bruce Fralick Professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, as well as director of the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center, received the Lucien Howe Medal from the American Ophthalmological Society. First awarded in 1922, the Howe Medal is one of the highest honors in ophthalmology and recognizes Lichter’s distinguished service to the field.

At its annual meeting in October, the American Society for Clinical Pathology inaugurated Barbara McKenna (M.D. 1981, Residency 1985), an associate professor of pathology, as its president for a one-year term. Founded in 1922, the society is comprised of nearly 130,000 pathologists, physicians, technologists, technicians and other laboratory professionals.

Jack M. Parent, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurology, has been chosen as the first recipient of the Grass Foundation Award in Neuroscience, sponsored by the American Neurological Association and the Grass Foundation. The newly created award recognizes outstanding young neuroscience faculty nationwide who are in their first four years after graduate training.

Assistant Professor of Medical Education Ameed Raoof, M.D., Ph.D., has been elected as an executive board member for the International Society of Plastination, serving as treasurer, and also as a member of the Educational Affairs Committee of the American Association of Clinical Anatomy.

Samuel Silver, M.D., a professor of internal medicine, has received the Statesman Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The award honors invaluable contributions to the society and significant volunteer efforts. The society recognizes that at its core is a cadre of outstanding volunteers who give their time and energy for the betterment of society and for the improved care of patients with cancer.

Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity, an international women’s fraternity that promotes academic excellence, philanthropic giving, ongoing leadership and personal development, recently awarded Katherine Spindler, Ph.D., the Distinguished Citizen Award in the Field of Science. Spindler is a professor of microbiology and immunology. The award is presented to women who are outstanding in their professions or in civic, organizational, cultural or charitable work.

Fourth-year medical student Tanyaporn Wansom was one of a handful of students selected to be featured in an interactive exhibition, “Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health,” at the National Library of Medicine. The exhibit focused on how individuals and communities, in collaboration with scientists, advocates, governments and international organizations, are making a difference in the health of people around the globe. Wansom’s work in global health focuses on HIV/AIDS research and education.

Peter A. Ubel, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of the Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine, has accepted an invitation to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Healthcare Systems. The Network of Global Agenda Councils aims to convene the most innovative and relevant minds to address gaps in global governance. As a member, Ubel attended the inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai in November.

Ronald F. Zernicke, Ph.D., professor of orthopaedics and director of the Bone and Joint Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Center, was recently honored with the Canadian Society of Biomechanics Career Award during the North American Congress on Biomechanics. Zernicke received the award in recognition of his more than 30 years of distinguished research in biomechanics.

William Smith’s Landmark Science Celebrated

In 1971, people had been taking aspirin for more than 70 years, but no one knew exactly why it worked. That year, a study co-authored by William L. Smith, then a University of Michigan Ph.D. student, appeared in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. It revealed for the first time how aspirin achieves its pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects at the molecular level.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry has picked this study and a related 1990 study by Smith, now chair of the Department of Biological Chemistry, to celebrate scientists whose groundbreaking studies appeared in its pages from 1905-2005.

Smith was working in the lab of a young faculty member, William E.M. Lands, Ph.D., when he co-authored the first study. The two men reported that aspirin interferes with the normal activity of an enzyme called cyclooxygenase. Smith later purified and cloned this enzyme, which became known as COX-1. Almost all of the mainstays of over-the-counter pain relief today are COX inhibitors.

The 1990 study, which Smith conducted at Michigan State University, showed precisely where aspirin and other COX-1 inhibitors alter the COX-1 molecule. The clone his lab developed to examine that process led others to identify COX-2 four years later. This enzyme became the target for the developers of COX-2 inhibitors such as Celebrex and the now-withdrawn Vioxx.

An article highlighting Smith’s career, along with the two original articles, appears in a special “Classics” section of the Journal of Biological Chemistry’s May 16 issue.

The label “classic” makes Smith wince a bit at the passage of time. That aside, he says, “It’s certainly nice to have your work highlighted.

“At the time we were performing these biochemical studies, our goal was simply to understand how the synthesis of a newly discovered group of hormones called prostaglandins was regulated by cells,” Smith says about his 1971 study. “This story provides a nice example of the far-reaching impact that basic research has on the practice of medicine.”

Smith served a long stint as chair of biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State University before coming to U-M in 2003. In addition to serving as department chair, Smith is the Minor J. Coon Collegiate Professor of Biological Chemistry. —ANNE RUETER