Cheers is a monthly listing of honors and awards received by faculty, staff and students plus recent appointments and promotions. Contributions must be submitted in writing and be accompanied by a phone number.

Applied Physics Laboratory

Jim Spall, of the Strategic Systems Department, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers with a citation for his "contributions to stochastic algorithms in control and optimization."

Bayview Medical Center

Matthew Kashima, a graduate of the School of Medicine who completed his residency at Johns Hopkins, joined the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery as assistant professor and acting chairman.

Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Robert Roper, an adjunct associate professor in the Writing Seminars, has won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. The prize, given by the British Alpine Club and supported by the Royal Geographic Society, honors the best work of mountain literature worldwide in a given year. Roper's book, Fatal Mountaineer, is an "intellectual biography" of philosophy professor Willi Unsoeld, America's greatest Himalayan climber. It was published in the United States by St. Martin's. Roper, who is a climber himself, teaches fiction and screenwriting.

Bilgin Ayata, a doctoral candidate in the Political Science Department, and Hatice Deniz Yukseker, a visiting assistant professor in the Sociology Department, have received a research and writing grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their proposal titled "The Political and Social Consequences of the Internal Displacement of Kurds in Turkey." The two will receive $99,000 over a period of 18 months. This year's competition focused on two topics, "Migration and Refugees" and "Technological Change and Global Security and Sustainability."

School of Medicine

John Bartlett, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was one of three physicians to receive the Hero in Medicine award last month from the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care. Bartlett was recognized for his work in HIV research and treatment.

Susan S. Buchanan has been named director of development for the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Buchanan previously was a major gift officer and an annual fund manager for the University of Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Julie Gottlieb has been named assistant dean for policy coordination. For two years she has served as senior director of the Office of Policy Coordination, which is responsible for implementing rules involving conflict of interest, conflict of commitment, faculty consulting agreements and misconduct. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown, Gottlieb holds a master's degree from SAIS.

Murray A. Kalish, an assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, was elected to a three-year term on the American Society of Anesthesiologists' board of directors. Kalish represents Maryland and the District of Columbia Society of Anesthesiologists.

Saeed Khan, an assistant professor of oncology at the Kimmel Cancer Center, has been awarded the Howard Temin Award from the National Cancer Institute to develop novel prostate cancer drugs. The award provides $770,000 over five years. Khan also directs the Medicinal Chemistry Core, a resource for the Hopkins community providing drug design and analytical services.

Robert McEwan, administrative director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center, was recognized by the Boys and Girls Club of Harford County as one of Harford County's Heroes for founding Medbank of Maryland, a program that provides free drugs to low-income, underinsured, chronically ill patients. Medbank of Maryland was recently named the 2002 Baltimore County Business Award winner in the category of entrepreneurial spirit.

Esteban Mezey, professor of gastroenterology, received the 2002 distinguished service award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

John H. Miller has been appointed director of pediatric imaging for the departments of Radiology and Pediatrics. Miller comes to Johns Hopkins from Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.

Patrick Onyango, a research fellow in the Department of Medicine, has been named the international Eminent Scientist of 2002 by the International Research Promotion Council. Onyango has been the lead author on numerous genetic imprinting studies under the direction of Andy Feinberg, the King Fahd Professor of Molecular Medicine.

Charles Reuland, administrator for the Department of Medicine, has been named president-elect of the Administrators of Internal Medicine's board of trustees.

Stanley S. Seligman, professor of radiology and director of the radiology residency program, has received the Radiological Society of North America's prestigious Gold Medal. Recognizing his many contributions as a scientist, teacher and editor, the award was presented Dec. 3 in Chicago during a special ceremony at the RSNA's annual meeting and convention.

Richard J. Traystman, a Distinguished University Research Professor and senior vice chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, is being honored by the American College of Critical Care Medicine with the 2003 Distinguished Investigator Award. The award recognizes an active research investigator for meritorious and pioneering research in critical care medicine who has contributed significantly to the understanding of disease or treatment of patients.

Levi Watkins, professor of cardiac surgery and dean of postdoctoral programs, has had a professorship named in his honor at his alma mater, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The post of Levi Watkins Jr. Professor and associate dean for diversity was established earlier this fall. At Vanderbilt, Watkins endured racial prejudice by many of his fellow medical students, professors and patients and went on to become that institution's first black medical graduate.

The Wilmer Eye Institute was named for the seventh consecutive year as Best Overall Eye Department in the country by Ophthalmology Times. Wilmer was chosen by academic eye department chairs polled by the magazine for its October issue. Wilmer received the nod for the best research program as well.

School of Nursing

Jerilyn Allen has been named associate dean for research.

Marion J. Ball, adjunct professor and vice president of clinical informatics strategies for Healthlink Inc., was awarded the Morris R. Collen Award of Excellence at the American Medical Informatics Association's Annual Symposium. The award is presented to a leader who has made significant contributions to medical informatics over his or her career.

Jacquelyn Campbell has been named associate dean for faculty affairs.

Kay Cresci, assistant professor, has been elected director at large of the National Gerontological Nursing Association.

Victoria Mock has been named director of the Center for Nursing Research.

Marie Nolan has been named director of the D.N.Sc. Program.

Gayle Page has been named director of the Ph.D. program.

Linda Pugh has been named director of the baccalaureate programs.

Janet Selway, clinical instructor and doctor of nursing science candidate, was a co-leader for the People to People Ambassadors Program U.S.-China Nursing Delegation, which was sponsored by the American Nurses Association. Approximately 100 nursing professionals from the United States and 100 from China participated in the U.S.-China Joint Nursing Conference, titled "The Role of Nursing in the 21st Century."

Phyllis Sharp has been named director of the master's programs.

The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing has chosen the first recipients of support from its Dorothy Evans Lyne Fund, a collaborative program that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through clinical nursing research. A study led by Benita Walton-Moss, an assistant professor, and Nancy Boyle, clinical transplant nurse manager at JHH, will collect data on living organ donations to be used to assist donors in making informed decisions. The study submitted by Candace Morrison, an associate professor, and JoAnn Coleman, an acute care nurse practitioner at JHH, will focus on studying and improving the effectiveness of educational materials created for pancreatic cancer patients and their families.

School of Professional Studies in Business and Education

Sabree K. Akinyele has been named director of admissions and advising for the Graduate Division of Business and Management. Akinyele, who has more than 20 years of experience in management, training, program development and financial management, holds a bachelor's degree from Morgan State University and a master's in business administration from Johns Hopkins.

Maria T. Lopez has joined the Graduate Division of Business and Management as director of marketing and communications. Lopez previously served as marketing communications consultant for Nestle, U.S.A.; an account supervisor at MARS Advertising in Detroit; and as director of membership and communications at the Ohio State University Alumni Association. She earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's in journalism/public relations from Ohio State.