Honors
Judy Schaechter, associate professor of pediatrics at the Miller School of Medicine, received the Clay Hamilton Memorial Hope Award from the Human Services Coalition for her work as an advocate in the struggle to provide health care to children and families. Schaechter, director of the Miller School’s Division of Adolescent Medicine, joined the faculty of the Miller School in 1997. In addition to caring for children and adolescents at Jackson Memorial Hospital and the Mailman Center for Child Development, she serves as director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Miami, conducting research and community programming in violence and injury prevention.
Fred Telischi, professor and vice chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology and professor of neurological surgery and biomedical engineering, was invited as a visiting professor to Haifa, Israel, June 16-20, to perform 15 cochlear implant operations for deaf children and adults at the Bnai Zion Medical Center. Telischi participated in conferences and clinical rounds and taught cochlear implantation techniques to residents. In addition, Telischi recently received a Distinguished Service Award at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Jorge L. Hernandez, professor in the School of Architecture, has been elected to the board of trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He is the first Cuban-American ever elected to the board. Hernandez, who joined the school in 1987, is an advocate for the preservation of the architectural and cultural heritage of South Florida, serving on several civic organizations, including the Dade Heritage Trust, the State of Florida Historic Preservation Advisory Council, and the Florida Historical Commission.
John Pepper, crime prevention coordinator for the University of Miami Police Department, has been elected vice president of the Coral Gables Citizens Crime Watch, a not-for-profit organization that educates the citizens of Coral Gables about crime and fire prevention, personal safety, and homeland security. Founded in 1980, the organization sponsors several programs, including self-defense classes for women and children and a citizens’ crime watch mobile patrol that allows trained citizens to assist police officers in patrolling neighborhoods throughout Coral Gables.
In Print
Laura Bianchi, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, led a study that was published in the September issue of The EMBO Journal. The paper documents a novel mechanism of pain and implicates interplay of glial and nerve cells. The study was conducted in a tiny round worm called C. elegans, which is used worldwide as a model organism to understand basic biological mechanisms. Bianchi was recently awarded a $700,000 grant from the American Cancer Society to continue her studies on pain in C. elegans. Her work will elucidate how glia participate in pain transmission and will help identify novel targets for therapies aimed at alleviating pain in cancer patients.
Jan Nijman, professor of geography and regional studies, wrote “Against The Odds: Slum Rehabilitation in Neoliberal Mumbai,” which was published in the journal Cities (Volume 25, Number 2). The paper examines how a changing institutional environment in which slum policies in urban India are becoming increasingly reliant on the market and local self-help agencies has affected slum rehabilitation efforts in Mumbai, formerly Bombay. It provides an overview of Mumbai’s slums and slum policies and presents a case study of a rehabilitation project in Ganesh Nagar D, a small community in the southern part of the city.
Look Who's Talking
Rich Beckman, the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the School of Communication, gave the keynote address at the 87th Annual ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Kansas City on October 30. During his talk, “It’s Our Time to Lead: The Changing Role of the Collegiate Journalist,” Beckman discussed how multimedia storytelling, social networks, and citizen journalism have changed today’s media landscape and created opportunities for the collegiate press and young journalists.
S.L. Harrison, professor at the School of Communication, presented the Mencken Society Lecture, titled “Fourth-Estate Scolds: Mencken and Other Press Critics,” on Mencken Day, September 18, at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland.
Kele S. Williams, associate professor of clinical legal education, spoke at the Seminole County Child Protection Conference, which was held October 27-30 in Orlando, Florida. Williams, who is co-director of the School of Law’s Children and Youth Law Clinic, participated in the conference’s “Educational Success for Foster Care Children” workshop.
Submissions
Faculty and staff information and pictures should
be sent to “Briefly Noted,” Veritas, 1320 S.
Dixie Highway, Suite 950, Coral Gables, Florida 33146-2941, faxed
to 284-2532, or
e-mailed to rcjones@miami.edu.