Terri Schiavo case is subject of Shallenberger Lecture Series

Beginning this week, the JHH Ethics Committee and Consultation Service will present a four-part lecture series titled What Have We Learned from Terri Schiavo? In the first three lectures, speakers will discuss the challenges in defining and achieving the goals of care for patients with significant brain injury from three perspectives: medical (Feb. 16), legal (March 2) and theological (March 30). The series will culminate with keynote speaker Ronald Crawford giving the Shallenberger Lecture (April 27); following his presentation, WYPR radio host Marc Steiner will lead a panel discussion.

This Thursday’s medical-perspective lecture will be given by Michael A. Williams, co-chair of the JHH Ethics Service.

All lectures will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. in the School of Nursing Alumni Auditorium. CEUs have been applied for through the MNA. For more information, contact Sharon Mears at smears@jhmi.edu or 410- 955-0620.

 

Event to celebrate Institute for Computational Medicine

Prominent faculty members from the Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Medicine will talk about how new technology enhances their research during a program celebrating the university’s Institute for Computational Medicine.

The event begins at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20, in 210 Hodson Hall on the Homewood campus. Because of limited seating, those planning to attend are encouraged to place reservations by Friday, Feb. 17, by calling 410-516-8723 or sending e-mail to kwillis@jhu.edu.

The institute was formed last October to address important health problems by using powerful information management and computing technologies to produce a better understanding of the origins of human disease. Institute researchers apply this approach to identify disease in its earliest stage and to look for new ways to treat illnesses.

The institute, which is believed to be the first and certainly the largest and most ambitious research center of its kind, is administered by the Whiting School but involves a close collaboration with researchers in the School of Medicine.

The event will open with welcoming remarks from Nicholas P. Jones, dean of the Whiting School, and Edward R. Miller, dean of the School of Medicine. Aristides Melissaratos, a Johns Hopkins Engineering graduate who serves as secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, will also address the audience.

Four Johns Hopkins engineering and medical researchers will talk about how technology can enhance the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The scheduled participants, who will also field questions from the audience, are Raimond Winslow, director of the Institute for Computational Medicine; Michael Miller, director of the Center for Imaging Science; John Stone, director of the Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center; and Aravinda Chakravarti, director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine. A reception will follow the panel discussion.

 

National interfaith conference set for this week at Homewood

JHU Campus Ministries and the Interfaith Council are this week hosting Coming Together 2, the second annual national collegiate interfaith conference.

Students from more than two dozen colleges and universities across the country are expected at Homewood from Thursday, Feb. 16, through Sunday, Feb. 19, for an interfaith gathering that includes guest speakers and group activities, both on and off campus.

Chaplain Sharon Kugler said the purpose of the conference is to share interfaith models, methods and programs so that all can learn from one another and advance collegiate interfaith work nationwide.

A sacred music concert by the Yuval Ron Ensemble, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Baltimore Museum of Art, is free and open to the public.

 

Nominations sought for 2006 Student Employee of the Year

During National Student Employee Week, April 2 to 8 this year, the university names a Johns Hopkins Student Employee of the Year, who then goes on to compete on the state level. The winner of that competition goes on to the regional and perhaps national levels.

The aim of National Student Employee Appreciation Week is to enhance awareness of student employment and the important role it plays in higher education. At Johns Hopkins, students fill more than 4,200 vital positions in the university’s various offices, labs and centers.

Faculty and staff who have students working in their departments are asked to submit nominations by Friday, Feb. 17. Individuals or groups of students may be nominated. The forms are online at www.jhu.edu/stujob. For more information, contact Student Employment Services at 410-516-8421 or e-mail D. Lynn O’Neil at dlynn@jhu.edu.

 

Singer Britney Spears taken to task for driving incident

The day after pop music princess Britney Spears was photographed driving with her 4-month-old son in her lap, the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center issued a media tipsheet titled “Britney Needs to Learn Car Seat Safety.”

The timing of the singer’s incident, it turns out, was particularly unfortunate: Feb. 12 to 18 is National Child Passenger Safety Week.

The tipsheet reminds readers that motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of children 2 through 14 years of age, using a child safety seat decreases the risk of injury by 59 percent compared to using a safety belt alone, and all 50 states and the District of Columbia require that children under 16 be properly restrained when riding in a vehicle.

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