Recent News

Physical Therapy Program Celebrates 75 Years The physical therapy (PT) education program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine is commemorating its 75th year with an alumni weekend on November 8–9, 2002. Several hundred alumni from all over the country are expected to attend the weekend, which will feature educational seminars, research posters, tours, and…

Recruitment Publication Wins Design Award The primary recruitment publication to attract MD degree applicants to Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has won a 2002 American Graphic Design Award from Graphic Design: usa, a monthly journal distributed to more than 30,000 graphics industry leaders. The viewbook, which was published in May 2002, presents in a…

August 14, 2002 Contact: Charles R. Loebbaka at 847/491-4887 or at c-loebbaka@northwestern.edu Welfare Reform Impacts Parents’ Health Insurance EVANSTON, ILL— Loss of health insurance, especially for parents, appears to be an unintended consequence of welfare reform, according to new findings from the Illinois Families Study (IFS) at the Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research. “We…

July 10, 2002 Break in HIV Treatment May Be Safe in Some Cases BARCELONA— Interrupting anti-HIV treatment for an extended period and then re-initiating therapy might be safe in some patients, according to a study by Northwestern University infectious disease experts. Chad Achenbach, M.D., and co-investigators from The Feinberg School of Medicine presented data from…

Memorial Service Held for Dr. David Hanson David G. Hanson, MD, chair of otolaryngology—head and neck surgery at The Feinberg School of Medicine from 1989–2000, died July 10 of pancreatic cancer. He was 58. A memorial service was held Monday, July 15, at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, where he was a deacon. A native…

July 8, 2002 Researcher Calls for Less Toxic HIV Therapy BARCELONA— A Northwestern University researcher today called on HIV researchers and clinicians to develop more simplified and less toxic strategies to insure patient compliance and quality of life without sacrificing the potency of a protease inhibitor-containing regimen. The current standard of care for HIV includes…

Patricia Spear Elected to National Academy of Sciences Patricia G. Spear, PhD, Guy and Anne Youmans Professor of Microbiology—Immunology at the medical school, recently received what is considered to be one of the highest honors that can be awarded to an American scientist—election to the National Academy of Sciences. Nationwide, only 72 people this year…

Pediatrics Faculty Featured in Public Television Series The patients, families, and physicians of Children’s Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Chicago were recently featured in a six-week public television series called “Children’s Hospital” that began airing nationally in early July. Selected from among several children’s hospitals across the country, CMH is a member of the McGaw Medical…

July 6, 2002 New Protease Inhibitor Has Added Benefits BARCELONA— Atazanavir, a potent new HIV-fighting protease inhibitor, reduces high cholesterol and triglyceride levels that may be caused by other protease inhibitors, a Northwestern University researcher reported today at the XIV International AIDS Conference. Although protease inhibitors have been shown to be safe and effective in…

June 20, 2002 Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Aids Diabetes CHICAGO— Statins, drugs usually prescribed for high cholesterol, have been found to slow diabetes-related kidney damage, according to a Northwestern University research study published in the June 11 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The study found that statins affect the activity of a…

June 21, 2002 Fighting Disease on the Cellular Level CHICAGO— Contrary to those static diagrams of a cell you may remember from high school biology, a eukaryotic cell (cell with a nucleus) is actually a dynamic and intricately ordered living creature, complete with its own set of tiny “organs” and empowered by thousands of chemical…

Graduates Urged to Face New Medical Challenges The medical school’s 144th Graduation Convocation, held May 24 at Navy Pier, featured David Satcher, MD, PhD, former U.S. surgeon general. In his address, “The MD Responsibility to the Health of the Public,” Dr. Satcher urged the graduates to tackle existing medical challenges while acknowledging past progress. “The…

In Memoriam (Charles Kramer, Robert Norman, Warren Wells, Harold Visotsky) Charles H. Kramer, MD, professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a leader in family therapy, died April 30 at age 79. Dr. Kramer earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Illinois, established a private practice in suburban Chicago for several…

June 10, 2002 Contact: Megan Fellman at (847) 491-3115 or atfellman@northwestern.edu Nanotechnology Technique Could Lead to Ultimate Gene Chip EVANSTON, ILL.— Using an atomic force microscope tip as a pen and different single-stranded DNA as inks, scientists at Northwestern University have demonstrated a technique that could lead to the ultimate high-density gene chip because it…

June 20, 2002 Contact: Megan Fellman at (847) 491-3115 or atfellman@northwestern.edu New Device Removes Drinking Water Contaminants EVANSTON, ILL.— A Northwestern University environmental engineer has received a U.S. patent for a treatment device that renders perchlorate—a thyroid-damaging ingredient of rocket fuel and a drinking water problem—harmless. The applications extend beyond the safety of drinking water…

NU-AID Volunteers Serve the Underserved in Nicaragua The Northwestern University Alliance for International Development (NU-AID), a medical school student organization, will bring free health services to the people of Nicaragua this June 22–30. Twenty-one students and four faculty physicians will set up clinics in and near the towns of Matagalpa and Jinotega. Dispensing some $200,000…

June 20, 2002 University Receives Grant to Study Oral Cancer CHICAGO— Oral cancer currently accounts for almost 6 percent of all malignancies, and its incidence is increasing worldwide. At least 90 percent of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas that originate from the oral epithelium, a thin lining of cells that covers tissues in the…