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.

'Great Excavations' takes a gold

Great Excavations, a communications program created to provide "the latest 'scoop' on Homewood's 2000 campus renovation" was the unanimous winner of the gold award in its category from the CASE District II Accolades Awards program.

A series of fliers (numbering 17 so far), a listserv and a Web site http://www.jhu.edu/gx comprise the package, which was launched in March.

The judges said they were "most impressed with the creativity, playfulness and comprehensive approach evident in this communications project" and found the presentation "thorough and well-prepared, and that every audience was considered and communicated with effectively."

Kudos go to writer Dennis O'Shea, executive director of the Office of Communications and Public Affairs; designer Royce Faddis, of the Office of Design and Publications; and the staff of Communications and Public Affairs.

Arts and Sciences

David Yarkony, a professor of chemistry, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. His citation will read: "For the development of algorithms to locate and characterize conical intersections and the demonstration of the essential role these intersections play in non-adiabatic phenomena."

Medicine

William Beach has been appointed cardiovascular administrator for the departments of Radiology and Cardiology. Before coming to Hopkins, Beach was director of cardiopulmonary and invasive cardiology services at Jewish Hospital Heart and Lung Institute in Louisville, Ky.

Adrian S. Dobs, director of the Clinical Research Unit at JHM, has been promoted to professor in the Division of Endocrinology.

John D. Hundt, senior director of planning and marketing for Johns Hopkins Medicine, has been named administrator of the Department of Surgery. Hundt has worked in the Department of Planning and Marketing since 1994, and has been involved in multiple aspects of institutional planning and business development efforts for JHM.

Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry, has been awarded the Nola Maddox Falcone Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Affective Disorders Research by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. The annual prize carries a cash award of $50,000, which Jamison shares with two researchers at other institutions.

Adam I. Kaplin, a house staff fellow in psychiatry, has received a Pfizer Postdoctoral Fellowship, which provides $65,000 per year for three years. Under the guidance of his sponsor, Solomon H. Snyder, Distinguished Service Professor and director of the Division of Neuroscience, Kaplin will spend the next three years pursuing his research project, "The Role of D-serine as an Endogenous Neurotransmitter Regulating N-methyl-aspartate Receptor Function."

Michael A. Levine, professor of pediatric endocrinology with joint appointments in the departments of Medicine and Pathology, has been invited to join the Association of Osteobiology by the group's members. The international association consists of a fixed membership of 100 scientists known worldwide for their scholarly achievements. Also, Levine recently received an award from the Progressive Osseus Heteroplasia Association in recognition of his pioneering research on the rare disease that may help expose genetic control elements in bone cell differentiation.

Ira D. Papel, an associate professor of otolaryngology, has been elected treasurer of the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. A member of the group's board of directors since 1997, Papel has served as an examiner for both the ABFPRS and the American Board of Otolaryngology. The ABFPRS was established in 1988 to improve the quality of medical treatment by examining for professional expertise in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Walter J. Stark, a professor of ophthalmology, was recognized by the American Academy of Ophthalmology as its 2000 Guest of Honor, one of the highest honors in the field. He has been an active fellow of the organization for 26 years, and is currently medical director of the Medical Eye Bank of Maryland and director of the medical board of directors at Tissue Banks International. Stark also was recently appointed chairman of the Committee for Research and Regulatory Agencies for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Moody D. Wharam Jr., Hackerman Professor of Oncology and director of the Division of Radiation Oncology, has been elected secretary-treasurer of the Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiation Oncology Programs. He will become president of the organization in 2002.

Nursing

Jerilyn Allen, a professor and director of the doctoral program, received the American Heart Association Award for Best Abstract of the Scientific Sessions 2000. The title of the abstract is "Nurse Case Management Compared with Usual Physician Care for Lipid Management Following Revascularization."

Marion Ball, an adjunct professor, has received the President's Award of the American Medical Informatics Association in recognition of her outstanding leadership in medical informatics in the United States and nationally.

Public Health

Karen Bandeen-Roche, an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics, was recently elected secretary of the International Biometric Society's Eastern North American Region for 2001-2002.

Allison Fryer, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, has been invited by the editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine to serve a five-year stint as one of 12 associate editors for that journal.

Lynn Goldman, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, gave a talk called "How Safe Is the Food Children Eat?" at the November meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Adnan A. Hyder, an assistant research professor in the Division of Community Health and Health Systems, presented at the ninth Congress of the World Federation of Public Health Associations a study on the ethics of research in developing countries. At the meeting, which was held in Beijing in September, he also participated in a symposium, "The 10/90 Disequilibrium in Global Health Research: What Can Public Health Associations Do?"

Thomas R. Oliver, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and director of the MHS Program in Health Policy, has been named to a study panel on Medicare governance and management convened by the National Academy of Social Insurance.