Johns Hopkins Gazette: February 21, 1995

Newsbriefs


New test could improve cancer surgery, treatment

     Researchers at the School of Medicine reported in the Feb.
16 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine that they are
using a recently developed diagnostic cancer test to improve
cancer surgery and staging of the disease. The test examines
tissue taken from around the tumor site for genetic mutations
specific to cancer. The presence of mutations indicates that
cancer cells were left after surgery.
     "This test not only tells if cancer cells were left behind
[after surgery], but how many," said David Sidransky, an
associate professor of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, and
oncology, whose research team developed the test. "As a result,
treatment may one day be tailored specifically to each patient. 
     While Dr. Sidransky believes the test will have broad-based
implications in staging many solid tumors, initially he expects
it to be useful in treating cancers of the head and neck and
brain, where the amount of tissue removed has a direct impact on
patients' quality of life and ability to function normally.
Carson gets $1.3 million for operating room
     Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson Sr. will
use a $1.3 million gift from the Baltimore-based Children's
Cancer Foundation to completely renovate an operating room for
his young patients.
     Dr. Carson, director of the Division of Pediatric
Neurosurgery, said the room, which will be completed in March,
will house state-of-the-art equipment, such as a three-
dimensional "wand" that lets physicians locate precisely the site
of neurological problems and takes the guesswork out of probing
layers of tissue to find the irregularity.
     To ease young patients' fears, the operating room will be
painted in tropical colors and will feature dancing barn animals,
clouds and moons on the ceiling.
     "We know that an operating room is a scary place," said
Laurie Saletnik, nurse manager of the pediatric operating rooms.
"We want the children to focus on happy things as much as
possible."



Hutchins pleads guilty to misappropriation of funds

     On Jan. 20, former Hopkins employee Bernard Hutchins pleaded
guilty to misappropriating $4,582 in university funds and was
ordered to pay restitution. Hutchins worked for nine years at the
School of Hygiene and Public Health. He was employed by the
Department of Epidemiology until April 1993, when it was
discovered that he had endorsed and deposited into his personal
bank account an $806 check made payable to the university. The
case was brought to the university's attention by the student
whose check was misappropriated.
     A subsequent investigation disclosed that Hutchins had
inappropriately authorized hours and was misappropriating weekly
payroll checks totaling $3,776.
     Dale A. Wetzelberger, assistant director/manager in the
Office of Audits and Management Services, said that the
likelihood of this situation occurring could have been reduced if
access to payroll checks was restricted from staff members who
authorize time records and/or approve weekly payroll vouchers.



Lectures on politics and policy open to public

     President Clinton's pollster, Stanley Greenberg, and
syndicated political columnist Jack Germond are among the
speakers in a series titled "Politics and Policy in 
Contemporary America," to be held in the Rome Building, 1619
Massachusetts Ave., N.W., in Washington. Sessions run from noon
to 2 p.m. Discussions start at 12:30 p.m. with 30 minutes
scheduled for the lecture and 30 minutes for questions and
answers. Lunch will be served. Undergraduates can reserve a seat
by calling Marc Diamond, at 516-8722.

     Feb. 23: Stanley Greenberg heads his own D.C.-based polling
firm. Author of the forthcoming book "Middleclass Dreams: The
Politics & Power of the New American Majority."   

     March 2: Jack Germond, syndicated columnist, national
political reporter for the Baltimore Sun and regular panelist on
CNN's The Capital Game. 

     March 9: David Maraniss, Washington Post reporter and author
of "First in His Class," a biography of President Clinton.

     March 16: William Kristol, chairman of the Project for the
Republican Future and former chief of staff to Dan Quayle and,
previously, William Bennett.

     March 30: Elizabeth Drew, longtime Washington correspondent
for the New Yorker magazine and author of eight best-selling
books on politics.

     April 6: Lloyd Cutler, special counsel to Presidents Carter
and Clinton; member of numerous presidential commissions during
the Bush and Reagan administrations.


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