Recent News

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[…]

Brain Networks Change According to TaskUsing a newly released method to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Northwestern University researchers have demonstrated that the interconnections between different parts of the brain are dynamic and not static. This and other findings answer long-standing debates about how brain networks operate to solve different cognitive tasks. They are[…]

Delinquent Youth at High Risk for Violent Death By Elizabeth Crown CHICAGO—Plagued by a high rate of homicides, America’s delinquent youth, a group largely composed of poor racial and ethnic minorities, are four times more likely to die—and if they are girls, eight times more likely—than their peers in the general population, according to a[…]

In Memoriam (Richard Evans III) Pediatric allergist Richard Evans III, MD, MPH, professor emeritus of pediatrics, died June 3 in Tucson, Arizona, at age 69. Former head of the Division of Allergy at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Dr. Evans became professor of pediatrics at Northwestern’s medical school in 1987. When he retired in 2003, Dr. Evans[…]

June 1, 2005 Kids Can Be Taught To Cut Down On Unhealthy Food—Except Pizza CHICAGO—Getting kids to eat foods that are good for them—that are lower in saturated fat and cholesterol—is an ongoing challenge for parents, especially for those whose children have elevated cholesterol levels. And even when kids with high cholesterol learn about good[…]

Dr. Philip Greenland Appointed to New Post Philip Greenland, MD, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine since 1991, will assume the newly created post of executive associate dean for clinical and translational research, effective September 1. Dr. Greenland will step down as department chair but continue as the[…]

Public Health Director Addresses Long-Term Care With age in today’s graying America comes the wisdom that long-term care needs reform. This “demographic imperative” isn’t lost on the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Eric E. Whitaker, MD, MPH, who presented the 11th Annual Eckenhoff Lecture, “Long-term Care in Illinois: Financing, Regulation, and[…]

Protein Essential for Hearing Also Vital for Pain Perception The same protein that “translates” sound into nerve signals to the brain and enables individuals to hear is also required for pain perception, researchers from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine have found. Because the protein, TRPA1, is found in most—about 75 percent—of the body’s pain-perceiving[…]

June 7, 2005 Sleep Loss Affects High Schoolers CHICAGO—Current high school start times deprive adolescents of sleep and force students to perform academically in the early morning, a time of day when they are at their worst, according to a study in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics. Results from high school senior sleep-wake[…]

Study Finds Unreported Drug ReactionsCHICAGO—A monitoring program developed by a Northwestern University researcher has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious, and often fatal drug reactions associated with 15 commonly used drugs and devices, including Plavix®, thalidomide, and drug-coated cardiac stents. As described in an article in the May 4 issue of the[…]

May 10, 2005 Feinberg Commencement is May 20 Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine will hold graduation ceremonies beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, in the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom. Renowned cardiologist Eugene Braunwald, MD, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Braunwald is the Distinguished Hersey Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He[…]

Celebrating the Noble Traditions of Medicine The traditions and future promise of medicine were emphasized at the Feinberg School of Medicine’s Graduation Convocation on Friday, May 20. Held in Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom, the ceremony honoring 168 members of the Class of 2005, drew more than 1,800 friends and family members. As the crowd gathered,[…]