Kevin Cullen, MD

Kevin Cullen, MD, professor, Department of Medicine, and director, University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, co-published “Racial Survival Disparity in Head and Neck Cancer Results from Low Prevalance of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Black Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients” in the September 2009 issue of Cancer Prevention Research Journal.

Ashraf Badros, MD

Ashraf Badros, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine and Program in Oncology, co-published “Phase I Study of Vorinostat in Combination with Bortezomib for Relapsed Multiple Myeloma” in the August 15, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Alan R. Shuldiner, MD

Amy Fulton, PhD

Amy Fulton, PhD, professor, Department of Pathology and Program in Oncology, was a guest editor of the book Chemokine Receptors in Cancer, which was published by Humana Press, 2009.

Ronald Gartenhaus, MD

Ronald Gartenhaus, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine and Program in Oncology, published an article entitled “ERK Positively Regulates the Oncogenic Activity of MCT-1 in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma” in the October 1, 2009, issue of Cancer Research Journal.

Stephen B. Liggett, MD

Stephen B. Liggett, MD, professor, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, co-authored “a2C-adrenergic Receptor Polymorphism Alters the Norepinephrine Lowering Effects and Therapeutic Response of the Beta Blocker Bucindolol in Chronic Heart Failure” in the October 30, 2009, online version of Circulation: Heart Failure.

Leonid Medved, PhD,
and Sergiy Yakovlev, PhD

Leonid Medved, PhD (pictured), professor, and Sergiy Yakovlev, PhD, research associate, both from the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases, co-published “Interaction of fibrin(ogen) with Endothelial Cell Receptor VE-cadherin: Localization of the Fibrin-binding Site within the Third Extracellular VE-cadherin Domain” in Biochemistry, 2009 June 16;48(23):5171-9.

Shawn Robinson, MD,
and Elijah Saunders, MD

Olga Ioffe, MD

Olga Ioffe, MD, associate professor, Department of Pathology and Program in Oncology, was a guest editor of a special issue of Pathology Case Reviews Journal entitled “Diagnostic Problems in Breast Pathology.”

Robert J. Bloch, PhD

Robert J. Bloch, PhD, professor, Department of Physiology, received a two-year $758,231 research grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grant is entitled “Intermediate Filaments & Costamere Structure & Function.”

Meredith Bond, PhD

Meredith Bond, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Physiology, received a one-year $276,723 competing supplement grant from the National Institute of Aging, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The parent grant is entitled “AKAP Regulation of PKA Targeting in the Heart.”

Gregory Carey, PhD

Gregory Carey, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases, received a one-year $100,000 National Cancer Institute grant for his work entitled “Selective Targeting of MEK and Akt in Lymphoma Myeloma Apoptosis.”

Yen-Pei Christy Chang, PhD

Yen-Pei Christy Chang, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, received a two-year $627,400 R21 award from the National Institutes of Health for her work entitled “The Relationship between STK39, Salt Sensitivity, HCTZ-Induced BP Response.”

Kevin J. Cullen, MD

Kevin J. Cullen, MD, professor, Department of Medicine, and director, University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, received two administrative supplements to the Cancer Center Support Grant (P30). The first grant is for $1.5 million to hire a new physician-scientist for the period of August 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010, and the second is a two-year $150,000 supplement for pilot and grant programs to support developing shared services.

Reha Erzurumlu, PhD

Reha Erzurumlu, PhD, professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, received a five-year $1,640,625 R01 competing renewal grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Pattern Formation.” Additionally, he received a $62,415 equipment supplement award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his R01 grant entitled “Somatosensory Cortical Development and Plasticity.”

Amy Fulton, PhD

Amy Fulton, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology and Program in Oncology, received a three-year $775,750 Department of Defense grant for her work entitled “Reducing Breast Cancer Mortality by Targeting the COX-2 Pathway.”

Ronald Gartenhaus, MD

Ronald Gartenhaus, MD, associate professor, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology and Program in Oncology, received a five-year $1,781,250 R01 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for his work entitled “Alcohol Consumption and Risk of NHL: Role of mTOR Dysfunction.”

Ann Gruber-Baldini, PhD

Ann Gruber-Baldini, PhD, associate professor, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, received a one-year $264,798 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 grant from the National Institutes of Health for her work entitled “FOCUS Hip Fracture Transfusion Trial: Delirium and Other Cognitive Outcomes.” The grant number is R01 HL085706-02S1.

Anne Hamburger, PhD

Anne Hamburger, PhD, professor, Department of Pathology and Program in Oncology, received a two-year $930,338 National Cancer Institute grant for her work entitled “A Novel Therapy for HER2 Positive Hormone Refractory Breast Cancer.”

Bret Hassel, PhD

Bret Hassel, PhD, associate professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Program in Oncology, received a two-year $750,000 National Institutes of Health grant for “Role of Antiviral Ribonuclease, RNase-L in the Host Antibacterial Response.”

Nicola Heller, PhD

Nicola Heller, PhD, post-doctoral fellow, Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases, received an $870,574 career development K99/K00 award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for her work entitled “IRS Phosphorylation by Type I IL-4R Signaling Role in Allergic Disease” to support two years of her senior post-doctoral fellowship, followed by three years of portable R01 level funding to support the establishment of her own research program.

Frederick M. Ivey, PhD

Frederick M. Ivey, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, received a three-year $718,100 VA Merit Award for “Strength Training for Skeletal Muscle Adaptation after Stroke.” In addition, Dr. Ivey, along with Marianne Shaughnessy, PhD, adjunct assistant professor, Department of Medicine, received a four-year $892,000 VA Merit Award for “Veterans with Stroke Translating Exercise Programs (VET STEP).”

Dhan V. Kalvakolanu, PhD

Dhan V. Kalvakolanu, PhD, professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Program in Oncology, received a five-year $280,989 administrative supplement to his National Cancer Institute R01 grant entitled “Cytokine Modulated Model Growth Inhibitory Mechanisms.”

Desiree Krebs-Kraft, PhD

Stephen B. Liggett, MD

Stephen B. Liggett, MD, professor, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, received a five-year $2.3 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for his work on the molecular basis of rhinovirus-induced smooth muscle relaxation-contraction alterations. The title of his grant is “Lung HRV: G-Protein Coupled Signaling Interactions in Asthma.”

Tony Passaniti, PhD

Aaron Rapoport, MD

Aaron Rapoport, MD, professor, Department of Medicine and Program in Oncology, received a one-year $139,842 supplement to his National Cancer Institute R21 grant entitled “Immunotherapy after ASCT for MM Using hTERT Vaccination + Vaccine-Primed T Cells.”

Feyruz Rassool, PhD

Feyruz Rassool, PhD, associate professor, Department of Radiation Oncology and Program in Oncology, received a three-year $600,000 V Foundation grant for her work entitled “Targeting Abnormal DNA Repair Pathways in Leukemia.”

Douglas Ross, MD

Douglas Ross, MD, professor, Department of Medicine and Program in Oncology, received royalties for his invention entitled “Partial DNA & Deduced Protein Sequence of a Novel Member of the ATP-Binding Cassette Family of Transport Proteins that is Overexpressed in Human Multi-Drug Resistant Breast Carcinoma Cells.”

Alan R. Shuldiner, MD

Alan R. Shuldiner, MD, John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine, received a one-year $123,825 National Institutes of Health administrative supplement award for “Pharmacogenomics of CVD Risk Reduction;” a one-year $117,551 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act administrative supplement award for “Genetics of Diabetes in the Amish;” and two one-year American Recovery and Reinvestment Act administrative supplement awards totaling $352,096 for “Clinical Nutrition Research Unit of Maryland.”

Koji Tamada, MD

Lydia Temoshok, PhD

Lydia Temoshok, PhD, professor, Department of Medicine and Institute of Human Virology, received an administrative supplement from the National Institute of Child Health and Development for a one-year extension of her five-year R01 grant entitled “Elucidating Biopsychosocial Factors Mediating HIV Progression.”

Jing Tian, MD, PhD

Jing Tian, MD, PhD, research associate, Department of Medicine, received the 2009 Nuclear Cardiology Foundation Pilot and Feasibility Award from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. This one-year $30,000 study will investigate the feasibility of using PET bio-distributions in predicting electrophysiology voltage maps for ventricular tachycardia ablation.

Jaylyn Waddell, PhD

Jaylyn Waddell, PhD, post-doctoral fellow, Department of Physiology, received a two-year $100,000 post-doctoral fellowship from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund for “Androgens and Sex Differences in Human Neural Stem Cells.”

Da-Wei Gong, PhD

Vincent M. Conroy, PT, DScPT

Vincent M. Conroy, PT, DScPT, assistant professor, Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science, was appointed to the Maryland State Anatomy Board in September 2009. Dr. Conroy is the first physical therapist to ever be appointed to this board.

Ronald Gartenhaus, MD

Ronald Gartenhaus, MD, associate professor, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology and Program in Oncology, has been appointed co-leader of the Molecular and Structural Biology Program in the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

Steven R. Gambert, MD, MACP

Steven R. Gambert, MD, MACP, professor, Department of Medicine, and co-director, Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, was recently named president-elect of the Baltimore City Medical Society. He will assume this role following the organization’s Inauguration Gala on January 30, 2010. He will then assume the presidency of the Baltimore City Medical Society in January 2011. Dr. Gambert served as vice president of the medical society during 2009 and, since 2006, has been a member of their Board of Directors. Additionally, since 2004, he has served as chair of the Professional Education Committee. The society traces its roots back to 1788, and was formed to sustain quality medical practice, to serve the citizens of Baltimore, to advance the ethical practice of medicine and improve the quality of medical care by providing advocacy, educational programs and essential resources for physicians.

Lawrence Goldman, PhD

Lawrence Goldman, PhD, professor, Department of Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, was appointed to the rank of professor emeritus for his many years of dedicated teaching and scholarly service. Dr. Goldman received a plaque detailing his appointment at the November 2009 School of Medicine Council Meeting.

Koji Tamada, MD, PhD

Koji Tamada, MD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Otorhinolarynology-Head and Neck Surgery and Program in Oncology, has been appointed co-leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotheraphy Program in the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

Ming T. Tan, PhD

Ming T. Tan, PhD, professor, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, has been appointed as the department’s new head of the Division of Biostatistics. Dr. Tan, who has been a member of the faculty since 2002, has extensive methodological and collaborative research in the design, conduct and analysis of clinical trials, laboratory investigations and epidemiologic research. Dr. Tan succeeds the division’s founding director Laurence S. Magder, PhD, professor, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine.

Angela Brodie, PhD

Angela Brodie, PhD, professor, Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, was one of 50 guests invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to attend a program honoring the millions of women and families affected by breast cancer. The program occurred October 23, 2009, on the grounds of the White House, in the Jacqueline Kennedy Gardens. The crowd consisted of survivors, lawmakers, physicians, researchers and officials from non-profit organizations, such as the National Breast Cancer Coalition and Susan G. Komen Foundation, who are dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer. Speeches were given by Mrs. Obama, who focused on improving health care and reforming the US health care system; Jill Biden, EdD; and three women from the general public who shared their personal stories. The importance of early detection and increased access to preventive care was stressed.

Xiao-Ling Li, MD, PhD

Xiao-Ling Li, MD, PhD, research associate, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, received the 2009 Milstein Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research (ISICR). The award was given at the October 2009 ISICR Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, where Dr. Li presented her work entitled “Reciprocal Regulation of Tristetraproline and RNase-L Modulates the Induction of Proinflammatory Cytokines.”

Allan Krumholz, MD

Allan Krumholz, MD, professor, Department of Neurology, received the 11th Annual J. Kiffin Penry Award for Excellence in Epilepsy Care. The American Epilepsy Society (AES) developed this award as a tribute to J. Kiffin Penry, MD, and his many contributions to the treatment and study of epilepsy. Dr. Krumholz received the award at the 2009 AES Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, in December 2009. He was chosen in recognition of his genuine concern for patients, as well as his devotion to the care of people afflicted with epilepsy, characteristics reflective of Dr. Penry’s own philosophy.

Jing Tian, MD, PhD

Jing Tian, MD, PhD, research associate, Department of Medicine, was named a finalist for the American Heart Association Young Investigator Award. She presented her research “Feasibility of Three Dimensional Anatomic, Dynamic and Perfusion Imaging of Myocardial Scar Using Contrast Enhanced Multi-Detector Computer Tomography to Guide Ventricular Tachycardia Ablations” at the American Heart Association 2009 Scientific Session in Orlando, Florida, in November 2009. Her research is the first application of 3D cardiac CT imaging in the field of cardiac electrophysiology and shows that integration of 3D CE-CT imaging allows an accurate, simultaneous display of left ventricular dynamic and anatomic characterization, which could be used to facilitate a novel image-guided approach to substrate-based VT ablations.