In Brief

Puddester to chair state panel reshaping CareFirst board

Frederick Puddester, executive director of the Office of Budget and Financial Planning and Analysis, has been named to chair the nine-member panel that will select new directors for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of Maryland, the state's largest health insurance provider.

Puddester, who served as secretary of the Department of Budget and Management under Gov. Parris N. Glendening, was named to the panel by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch each selected three members.

"The nominating committee appointments reflect a cross-section of health care, business, insurance and public sector leaders from around the state," Busch said in a written statement. "These are individuals who understand what it takes to run a successful nonprofit company and understand the importance of CareFirst's nonprofit mission.

 

Genetics and Public Policy Center forms advisory group

The Genetics and Public Policy Center at JHU has established the Reproductive Genetics Advisory Committee to provide expert advice on the scientific, medical, legal, social, ethical and policy issues that accompany genetic testing, gene transfer and cloning technologies and their potential applications to human reproduction.

The center, a $10 million project supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, seeks to assess societal attitudes toward reproductive genetics and to develop evidence-based policy options to guide the development and use of these technologies.

Over the coming months, the center, in consultation with the advisory committee, will develop a preliminary set of policy options, which will then be refined taking into account comments from key stakeholder groups, opinion leaders and the public. The center will present a range of options for each topic, rather than advocate for any particular policy.

The committee members are leading ex-perts in science, law, policy, medicine, religion and consumer/patient advocacy. For a complete list, go to www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2003/August/ 030801A.htm.

 

SOM oncologist named to magazine's 'Brilliant 10' list

Popular Science has named its second annual "Brilliant 10" -- young scientists in the United States who are doing extraordinary work that will touch all facets of life. "These are the researchers who have the potential to redefine the world in which we live," said Scott Mowbray, editor in chief, in announcing the group. The article appears in the September issue, which appeared on newsstands last week.

Victor Velculescu, an assistant professor of oncology in the JHU School of Medicine, is cited for his work in the field of genomics. "His maverick approach ushered in a new way to finger cancer genes," wrote the magazine.

For a profile of Velculescu's and the other scientists' research, go to www.popsci.com/popsci.

 
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