Kudos William A. Peck (right), M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, congratulates Larry Johnson, a health physics technologist in the radiation safety department, for 30 years of service to the medical school. More than 60 employees were honored at the Central Administration Recognition Luncheon Feb. 21 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

Alzheimer's disease begins before symptoms appear

By Gila Reckess

School of Medicine researchers have new evidence that Alzheimer's disease begins to affect the brain even before a person experiences the memory loss and other cognitive impairments that accompany the disorder.

The research, presented in the Feb. 13 issue of the journal Neurology, suggests that efforts to develop vaccines and targeted therapies need to be redirected toward preclinical signs of brain deterioration.

"To develop a treatment that will prevent dementia, we apparently need to find ways to identify the appearance of Alzheimer's disease lesions before clinical symptoms arise," said John C. Morris, M.D., the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Professor of Neurology and co-director of the medical school's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). Morris also is on the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

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Goldberg

Lichtman

Four researchers elected AAAS fellows for scientific endeavors

By Brendan Watson

Four School of Medicine researchers have become fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The highest honor awarded by AAAS, fellows are elected for scientifically or socially distinguished efforts on behalf of scientific advancement.

The new fellows from the medical school are Daniel E. Goldberg, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and molecular microbiology and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Jeff W. Lichtman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology; Philip D. Stahl, Ph.D., the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology; and Thomas A. Woolsey, M.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology, cell biology and physiology, engineering, neurology and neurological surgery, and director of the James L. O'Leary Division of Experimental Neurology and Neurosurgery.

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Stahl

Woolsey

Virginia Valian to deliver Science and Society lecture Thursday

St. Louis native Virginia Valian, Ph.D., will deliver the last Science and Society lecture for the 2000-2001 series at 4 p.m. Thursday in the School of Medicine's Moore Auditorium.

Valian, professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College in New York, is a cognitive scientist whose research focuses on language acquisition in 2-year-olds, second-language acquisition and sex differences in cognition.

She also is author of the book, "Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women," a meta-analysis of research on the status of women in business, law, medicine and academia.

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Internal medicine review course offered

Primary-care physicians and residents in internal medicine will benefit from a detailed review course starting next week. The Comprehensive Review of Internal Medicine and Recertification Course will take place March 7-11 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

For those physicians planning to sit for the board recertification exam on May 1, this course offers a timely review.

"A distinguished faculty will distill the latest information on diagnosis and treatment of medical diseases into a well-organized, crystal-clear form," said Daniel M. Goodenberger, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Department of Medicine's Division of Medical Education. "Each faculty member has broad experience in the field he or she is discussing and is acknowledged by peers as an expert practitioner and consultant."

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