Study funded on cardiovascular disease in people with HIV

Wendy Post, an associate professor at the School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute, has been awarded a five-year research grant totaling $4.96 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV disease.

The grant, believed to be the largest effort ever undertaken by the NHLBI into possible tie-ins between the two diseases, will support a study to evaluate the long-term consequences on the heart and its blood vessels from using anti-retroviral therapies over many years.

Since their introduction more than a decade ago, the powerful drugs have kept hundreds of thousands of infected Americans alive by suppressing viral levels in the blood. However, the drugs come with serious side effects, such as dyslipidemia and body fat distribution, which Post, as the study's principal investigator, says might increase these people's risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke.

More than 33 million people in the world are thought to be infected with HIV, including a million in the United States and 23,000 in Maryland.

 

Silhouette artist to snip portraits at Homewood Museum

Anne Leslie, a master portraitist in the tradition of the silhouette artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, will bring her magic scissors to Homewood Museum on Saturday, Dec. 13, to create unique holiday gifts.

One of the few remaining cut-paper artists still practicing in the mid-Atlantic, Leslie can snip a portrait of you or a loved one in about 10 minutes. The cost is $40 for two copies. Advance reservations are required for the sittings, which can be scheduled between noon and 4 p.m. To reserve a time, call 410-516-8645 or e-mail proffitt@jhu.edu.

 

Book buyback period begins at Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins

From 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, through 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins in Charles Village will be buying back textbooks, regardless of where they were bought. Prices vary depending on whether the instructor is using the same book next term and the total quantity of books needed. Once the store has purchased the amount needed for next term, buyback prices will decrease. To see which books are being used again at Johns Hopkins, go to: www.mybookvalue.com.

Bring books and a valid student ID to the store between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

 

Model of APL-built spacecraft soars over Smithsonian

A life-size replica of the APL-built New Horizons spacecraft now hovers over visitors at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

With the real spacecraft more than 1 billion miles from home on its voyage to Pluto and beyond, the model has been making a local journey. It appeared last year in the lobby of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., then in APL's Environmental Test Facility before being installed in the museum with a dedication ceremony that celebrated the spacecraft's first 1,000 days in space. The replica is the handiwork of APL's Technical Services and Space departments.

 

Museum shops offer JHU discounts for holiday shopping

The annual discount holiday shopping days at the Johns Hopkins University museums for faculty, staff and students began yesterday and run through Sunday, Dec. 14, during museum hours. Both the Homewood and Evergreen shops are carrying new and unique holiday gifts related to the museums and their collections. Everyone with a valid JHU ID receives a 10 percent discount on all merchandise, excluding consignment items.

 

Homewood by Candlelight scheduled for tonight, Dec. 8

Decorated for the holidays with garlands and boxwood by the Homeland Garden Club, Homewood Museum exudes a festive spirit that is best witnessed at the museum's annual Homewood by Candlelight open house, set for 5 to 7 p.m. tonight, Dec. 8.

Candlelight throughout the museum makes Homewood appear as it might have in the early 19th century. Rooms will be set for entertaining, the reception hall will be filled with the sounds of early American music performed by renowned artist David Hildebrand, and the Homewood Museum Shop will offer a wide variety of holiday gift-giving ideas for people of all ages. Eggnog and cookies will be served in the wine cellar. Admission is $6; free for members.

 

Deadlines are today, Dec. 8, for last 'Gazette' issue of semester

Because of the upcoming midyear vacation, The Gazette will not be published the weeks of Dec. 22 and 29. Next week's calendar will include events scheduled from Monday, Dec. 15, through Monday, Jan. 5. The deadline for that issue's calendar submissions and classified advertisements is noon today, Dec. 8.

 

JHU Press Holiday Book Signing at Homewood Museum

Meet local authors and celebrate the season with the Johns Hopkins University Press and Homewood Museum at the annual Holiday Book Signing and Madeira Tasting, 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the museum. A selection of regional and general interest books published by the Press will be for sale at a 25 percent discount.

The authors of many of the Press' popular regional titles will be on hand to sign books. The featured authors of 2008 books include David Harp and Tom Horton, The Nanticoke: Portrait of a Chesapeake River; Mary Ellen Hayward, Baltimore's Alley Houses: Homes for Working People since the 1780s; Bryan MacKay, Baltimore Trails: A Guide for Hikers and Mountain Bikers second edition; Michael Olesker, The Colts' Baltimore: A City and Its Love Affair in the 1950s; Kathleen Waters Sander, Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age; and Fraser Smith, Here Lies Jim Crow: Civil Rights in Maryland. The event also features books published by the Press in 2008 that were written or edited by Johns Hopkins faculty.

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