Recent News

McKinlock Campus Poster Now Hangs in Galter Library When Al Cubbage, vice president for University Relations at Northwestern University, noticed the colorful poster in a downtown Chicago gallery, he knew right away that it should hang somewhere on the University’s Chicago campus. Cubbage made arrangements to acquire the poster, and James Shedlock, director of the[…]

Russell Robertson Appointed Family Medicine Chair Russell G. Robertson, MD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, effective October 10. He had been associate professor of family and community medicine and associate dean for faculty affairs at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. A[…]

October 11, 2005 Northwestern Is Center for Stem Cell Research CHICAGO—Northwestern University has been awarded a $3.6 million grant and named a Center of Excellence in Translational Human Stem Cell Research by the National Institutes of Health. Northwestern University was one of two institutions to receive the prestigious NIH Center of Excellence grant. The two[…]

Northwestern Medical Student Studies French Health Care SystemGlobe trotting for second-year medical student Adam L. Trotta means seeing the world not just for traveling’s sake but also for sharing and learning. This former Peace Corps volunteer spent six weeks in a French hospital this summer, where he studied immigrant health care in the greater Paris[…]

Blood Drive Slated for October 3 In cooperation with the American Red Cross, medical students at the Feinberg School of Medicine are organizing a blood drive on Monday, October 3, to aid those in need in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina. The blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 4[…]

September 20, 2005 Institute for Healthcare Studies Formed The Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies and the Center for Healthcare Studies have merged to form the Institute for Healthcare Studies. Kevin B. Weiss, MD, professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, was named director of the new institute. The institute’s mission[…]

Contact: Charles R. Loebbaka at 847/491-4887 or atc-loebbaka@northwestern.edu September 20, 2005 Northwestern Offers Graduate Degree in Medical Informatics CHICAGO—The Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies will offer a new master of science in medical informatics (MMI) degree program in partnership with the University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The deadline for submitting applications to enroll in[…]

In Memoriam (David Smith) David W.E. Smith, MD, professor emeritus of pathology at the Feinberg School, died September 12 of complications from multiple sclerosis (MS). He was 71. A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Smith joined the medical school faculty in 1969 as professor of pathology. He earned his MD degree from Yale University[…]

Feinberg Annual Report a Triple Winner The Feinberg School of Medicine’s annual report for fiscal year 2003–04, titled Anatomy, recently was honored by three organizations. The report received a gold award in the 22nd Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards competition, in the non-hospital health care institution category. More than 3,500 entries were submitted to the competition,[…]

July 28, 2005 Blood Pressure Poorly Controlled in Elderly CHICAGO—Controlling high blood pressure in individuals age 80 years and older has become a major national health problem, according to a study published in the July 27 issue of JAMA. The study found that almost three fourths of those 80 years and older have hypertension—blood pressure[…]

Breast-Saving Surgery Underused by Some CHICAGO—Asian American and Pacific Island women, particularly those born abroad, are less likely to receive breast-conserving surgery for early-stage breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a study published in the online Journal of General Internal Medicine. “Differences in use of breast-saving surgery among foreign-born Asian American and Pacific[…]

Founders’ Day Welcomes Entering Class Good teachers are the foundation of any educational institution, so it seemed fitting that the Feinberg School of Medicine’s Founders’ Day convocation on August 26 officially opened the academic year by honoring top teachers from the past year and, of course, welcoming the entering Class of 2009. This year’s 171[…]

August 2, 2005 Mentally Ill More Likely to Be Victims of Violence CHICAGO—More than one-fourth of individuals with severe mental illness were victims of violent crime in the past year, almost 12 times general population rates, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Depending on the type of violent[…]

Summer Program Helps Aspiring Physicians by Symone Young Young (pictured below) spent the summer as an intern in the Dean’s Office at the Feinberg School of Medicine. If you’ve ever wondered what life is like being a medical student or physician—or going into medicine has always been your primary interest—then the Summer Medical Education Program[…]

In Memoriam (Kenneth Viste Jr.) Neurologist Kenneth Viste Jr., MD ’66, GME ’70, died August 21 of complications from gallbladder cancer in Rochester, Minnesota, at age 63. Past president of the Northwestern University Medical Alumni Association, Dr. Viste received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 for his service to his profession, Northwestern, and the greater[…]

Contact: Megan Fellman at (847) 491-3115 or atfellman@northwestern.edu June 29, 2005 Faulty Biological Clocks May Influence Drug Addiction EVANSTON, Ill.—A gene that regulates the body’s circadian rhythms, including sleep and wakefulness, body temperature, hormone levels, blood pressure, and heart activity, may also play a central role in drug addiction, according to a recent study published[…]

Research Rankings Show ImprovementThree Feinberg School of Medicine departments—urology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and cell and molecular biology—are ranked in the top 10 in terms of National Institutes of Health funding for fiscal year 2004 among their peers in the 127 medical schools across the country. Urology ranks 2nd (same as last year), physical medicine[…]

Alumni Medal Caps Northwestern Love Affair For more than 80 years, the Traisman family “business” has specialized in excellent pediatric care and a deep loyalty to Northwestern. Pediatrician Howard S. Traisman, MD ’47, GME ’51, followed in the footsteps of his late father, former medical school faculty member Alfred S. Traisman, MD, in both respects.[…]

June 29, 2005 Tiny Zebrafish Teaches Researchers How to Fight Off a Deadly Cancer CHICAGO—The embryo of a tiny, silvery tropical fish found in many home aquariums is providing cancer researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine with powerful new insights into the development of malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. In[…]