Making a difference

Rob Chamberlin has secured an excused absence for next Thursday.

The recent mechanical engineering and business graduate won't be on hand to receive his Monsignor John A. Shocklee Interfaith Social Justice Award, given for extraordinary leadership in the area of social justice. Instead, Chamberlin will be in Haiti, working on business development as a volunteer with the Peace Corps.

"You can't get a better excuse than that," allowed Shocklee committee member Thomas N. Nolan. "We'll let him get by with that one."

Indeed, unselfish devotion such as Chamberlin's is the very reason he and the other three recipients are being honored. Scanning the collective list of activities, it's surprising that any of the awardees could attend the banquet.

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Research could help battle against bacteria

A paper in the Sept. 30 issue of Science identifies an enzyme essential for the body's daily battle against bacteria in the intestine and, possibly, in other organs as well, such as the lung and bladder. The paper reports on research that could one day help drug companies design more effective drugs to combat a myriad of diseases, including gingivitis, bladder infections and cystic fibrosis.

"This enzyme activates molecules called defensins, which people always thought were a key line of defense against bacteria. But no one has proven it until this paper," said senior author William C. Parks, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and of cell biology and physiology at the School of Medicine.

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Search for new art dean begins

A 12-member advisory committee has been appointed to help in the search for a new dean for Washington University's School of Art, according to an announcement Monday, Oct. 4, from Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The committee will be chaired by James W. Davis, Ph.D., professor of political science in Arts & Sciences. Davis served as acting dean of the art school before the previous dean's appointment.

"The first phase of the committee's work will be to gather information regarding the desired qualities and expectations for the next dean," Wrighton said. "The committee's critical responsibility will then be to identify three to five candidates who meet those criteria and could serve as dean."

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Lessons from the birds

Testosterone has been blamed for everything from the muscular prose of Ernest Hemingway to Wall Street greed to the invention of ice hockey. But the biggest rap against the hormone comes from the biomedical world, which long has maintained a correlation between elevated testosterone levels and a suppressed immune system. After all, males across species die earlier than females and are more prone to stress and disease.

Now a Washington University biologist is suggesting a completely different role for the hormone that made John Travolta and John Wayne famous.

Stanton H. Braude, Ph.D., lecturer in biology, analyzed a number of studies that focused on the phenomenon whereby bright or showy male animals advertise their disease resistance. For instance, a male bird, during mating season, will display showy feathers to let females know that he is healthy -- resistant to parasites -- and would be a good mate. This evolutionary trick could be likened to Travolta gliding on the dance floor or the Duke strutting through a saloon to talk to the barmaid.

These studies, however, revealed a paradox: testosterone, a long-assumed immunosuppressive, is also known to trigger the sexual display. How, Braude asked, could an immunosuppressive trigger a display that reveals disease resistance?

"The whole idea that testosterone and stress suppress the immune system makes absolutely no sense evolutionarily," Braude said.

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