Robert M. Steiner, MD, Professor of Radiology and Medicine and Clinical Professor of Diagnostic Imaging of the College of Allied Health Professions, was elected President of the Society of Thoracic Radiology at its annual meeting in March. The Society is the world's largest medical society devoted to cardiopulmonary imaging with over 600 members in 20 countries. Dr. Steiner is the first Jefferson physician to serve as the Society's President. Dr. Steiner recently retired from Jefferson after 26 years with Jefferson's Radiology Department. He will continue working in the field of Radiology as Chairman of the Department of Radiology at New York Methodist Hospital, a 550-bed medical center in New York. Dr. Steiner will also be Professor of Radiology and Associate Chairman, Department of Radiology at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

Michael Mooreville, MD, Instructor of Urology, Jefferson Medical College, received a $25,000 grant from the Benjamin Franklin Technology Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania to develop a new urinary continence device. Dr. Mooreville was awarded the grant after his idea was selected from the many entries. Dr. Mooreville has also received an allowance notification from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for his patent application covering an automated penile prothesis. His devise contains an electromagnetic-activated pump which also acts as a valve and transports fluids between a reservoir and the penile chambers.

Jack London, PhD, Director of the Laboratory for Applied Computing, Kimmel Cancer Center, received a national award honoring his efforts to connect community physicians and the public with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital expertise. Intel Corporation nominated Dr. London for the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in the medicine category. Each year, the awards program "identifies and honors men and women whose visionary use of information technology produces positive social, economic and educational change." Dr. London's and his colleagues' project titled "Facilitating Access to Optimal Cancer Center," introduces low-cost technology - video conferencing with a personal computer - to facilitate clinical consultations between community physicians and Jefferson cancer specialists. The project is now part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology Innovation at the National Museum of American History.

Charlene J. Williams, PhD, Department of Rheumatology, and Associate Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry/Molecular Pharmacology, Jefferson Medical College, was awarded an Arthritis Foundation Biomedical Science Grant for arthritis research. The grant, approved for three years, begins in July with a first-year award of $78,002, and second and third year awards close to $80,000. Dr. Williams will study Blau Syndrome, a hereditary, multi-organ inflammatory disorder.

Raelynn Cooter, PhD, Director of Financial Aid, TJU, was honored at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Awards Ceremony held in Rockville, MD. Dr. Cooter, representing a group of five contractors, received the Administrator's Citation for Outstanding Group Performance "for outstanding development and presentation of financial management workshops for medical residency staff." The Division of Student Assistance nominated Dr. Cooter's team for the award. The team's accomplishments include developing and presenting several workshops in various parts of the country to help medical residents manage their educational debt, and developing the guide, "Doctors, Dollars & Sense," a federal publication available to directors of medical residencies so they can tailor the workshop concept to meet individual needs.

Jennifer L. Cirello, JMC '01, has received an Alpha Omega Alpha Student Research Fellowship for $3,000. Ms. Cirello was chosen among applicants from across the country who submitted research proposals. Ms. Cirello's research is titled "Immunolipsome Mediated Delivery of a Fluorescent Dye to Sca-1 Hematopoietic Stem Cells of C-57BL/6j Mice." The fellowship also provides a financial award to the student's mentor, Fred C. Garbrecht, MD, Director of Bone Marrow Processing Laboratory and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College.

Randolph L. Haines, CPE, Manager, Facilities Services Department, was elected President of the Association for Facilities Engineering (AFE), Trenton - Princeton Chapter #125. Mr. Haines served as the secretary for this AFE chapter for the past five years.

Alvin F. Goldfarb, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is the author of "The Endocrine Management of Benign Gynecologic Disease" recently published by Chapman and Hall. In addition, Dr. Goldfarb edited "An Atlas of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology" published by Current Medicine and distributed by Appleton and Lang. The Atlas is the first book of its kind published in the United States and contains over 600 pictures, illustrations and charts.

Steven J. DiBiase, MD, resident physician in the Department of Radiation Oncology, was recently elected to a three-year term on the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Associate Member Council. Dr. DiBiase is one of twelve international members on this council.

Elena G. Hitraya, MD, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Scleroderma Foundation for her project "Identification of TGF-B-Responsive Elements in the First Intron of the al(L) Procollagen Gene and Evaluation of Their Role in the Pathogenesis of Scleroderma."

Mery Kostianovsky, MD, Associate Professor of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, was an invited speaker at the XXI Congress of Latin-American Pathology held in Panama, where she presented the paper "Tumors in AIDS Patients."

Dennis B. Leeper, PhD, Professor and Director, Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, was elected President of the North American Hyperthermia Society at its annual meeting. This society represents physicians, biologists, physicists, and engineers interested in using hyperthermia to treat cancer. Dr. Leeper also was invited to give a keynote address on the "Role of the Tumor Cell Microenvironment on Response to Treatment" at the second annual Uludag Oncology Symposium in Turkey. Also presenting at this symposium was Belma Kurdoglu, a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Oncology, University of Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey who is doing research for her thesis with George Iliakis, PhD, Professor and Associate Director, Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Leeper also spoke on "Modifications of Tumor Extracellular pH by Hyperglycemia and its Potential for Thermoradiotherapy Sensitization" to the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Medical College of Uladag University.

Bruce E. Northrup, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, recently completed his term as President of the Cervical Spine Research Society. The 25th international meeting was held in Palm Springs, California where Dr. Northrup delivered the presidential address on collegiality.

David Reiter, MD, DMD, FACS, Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Jefferson Medical College, represented the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at a meeting of the federal government's Practice Expense Validation Panel of the Healthcare Finance Administration (HCFA). In addition, Dr. Reiter was nominated to represent both academies to the American Medical Accreditation Program (AMAP) of the American Medical Association. He was also elected to the Credentials of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and was appointed Chairman of the Task Force on Practice Parameters and Guidelines.