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The next issue of the University
Times will be published on Wednesday, Nov. 21, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
VOLUME 45 • NUMBER 6
I S S U E
Oakland is planning for its future....2
UNIVERSITY
TIMES
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
Trustees
honor
chancellor
Troy Polamalu may have the best
hair in the city, but a Pitt staffer
wins top honors among mustachioed
Americans.........................................3
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Cost of living here
benefits Pitt faculty
in AAU comparison
A
Scholarship,
new dormitory
named for him
new analysis of faculty
salary data shows that
when cost-of-living differences are accounted for, Pitt
faculty members’ smaller paychecks go farther than do those
of many higher-paid colleagues
at peer institutions.
Each year, the University
Senate budget policies committee
(BPC) reviews the University’s
Management Information and
Analysis office’s report that compares Pittsburgh campus faculty
and librarian salaries with public
Association of American Universities (AAU) peers. (See Oct. 11
University Times.)
The report also ranks salaries
on the Bradford, Greensburg and
Johnstown campuses with a peer
group of Carnegie category IIB
(undergraduate baccalaureatelevel) schools in nearby regions.
In discussing the 2011-12 academic year results at their Sept.
28 meeting, BPC members noted
that cost of living is a factor that
previously had not been examined
in the report.
David DeJong, vice provost for
academic planning and resources
management, agreed to present the salary data, adjusted for
cost-of-living differences, at the
University Senate budget policies
committee’s Oct. 26 meeting.
F
ollowing nearly a year of
secret fundraising, Pitt’s
Board of Trustees has
established a scholarship fund and
named an undergraduate dormitory in honor of Chancellor Mark
A. Nordenberg.
“It is not often that you can
keep a secret from Mark. In this
case, we’ve done it for nearly a
year,” quipped trustee Sam S.
Zacharias as he announced during
the board’s Oct. 26 meeting that
trustees and alumni have pledged
$5.8 million to date in honor of
Nordenberg’s “years of service to
the University and this region, his
record of achievement and commitment to the students throughout his distinguished career.”
The 10-story, 559-bed residence hall on University Place is
scheduled to open next fall.
Zacharias said the Office of
Admissions and Financial Aid
would administer the scholarship fund.
Income from the fund will aid
Pitt’s efforts “to recruit, enroll,
retain and graduate highly motivated and academically superior
undergraduate students,” he said.
Recipients of the merit-based
scholarship awards will be known
as Nordenberg Scholars. Contributions to the fund continue to
be accepted.
Surrounded by family members who were escorted into the
meeting just prior to the presentation, an emotional Nordenberg
told the board, “When you made
me the chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, you gave me
the greatest professional gift that
I ever could have hoped for. The
job has been a perfect job for me.
To be clear, I haven’t done it perfectly but I can’t imagine a more
rewarding position.”
He added: “All of our successes
are successes that we have built
together. I have been blessed to
work with some of the most wonderful people in the world. I have
been happy almost every day in
this job. The last two weeks have
been full of special moments but
this one tops them all.”
Nordenberg joined the Pitt law
T H I S
Mike Drazdzinski/CIDDE
Stephen R. Tritch, chairperson of Pitt’s Board of Trustees, joins in
the applause after the announcement that Pitt’s newest dormitory and a new undergraduate scholarship will be named in
honor of Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.
faculty in 1977, became dean of the
law school in 1985 and was named
interim provost and senior vice
chancellor for academic affairs
in 1993. He was named Distinguished Service Professor in 1994,
interim chancellor in 1995, and
in 1996 became the University’s
17th chancellor.
In 2005, trustees established
the Mark A. Nordenberg University Chair to honor his 10 years of
University leadership.
During the Oct. 26 meeting,
Nordenberg surprised board
members by having students
present each of them with 225th
anniversary medallions. (See story
on page 3.)
A committee had selected four
Pitt alumni to receive the anniversary medallions during homecoming festivities. Nordenberg noted
that board members likewise were
deserving of the honor.
“In thinking about Pitt’s recent
progress, it seemed no one had
served a more sustained and central role in Pitt’s progress than the
trustees,” he said.
“The committee and I decided
that, given its role in building what
some call the new University of
Pittsburgh, no group was more
deserving of collective recognition
on Pitt’s 225th anniversary than
our trustees.”
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
Pittsburgh faculty
salaries, unadjusted
Average salaries for professors,
associate professors and librarians
on the Pittsburgh campus rank
near the middle when compared
with 33 other public AAU peers.
In academic year 2011-12, Pitt
professors ranked No. 16 while
associate professors and librarians
ranked No. 14. Assistant professors were lower, ranking No. 26.
Pittsburgh salaries,
adjusted for cost of living
However, when cost-of-living
differentials are made part of
the comparison, the Pitt salaries
moved up.
• Professors (whose salaries
averaged $134,800) rose 11 places
to No. 5.
UCLA, ranked No. 1 in the
unadjusted comparison with
professors averaging $162,600,
fell to No. 19 when cost of living
was considered.
At the other end of the scale,
No. 34 Oregon, whose professors
averaged $112,300, moved up
to No. 31 in the adjusted salary
rankings.
• Associate professors on the
Pittsburgh campus, whose pay
averaged $90,000, moved up eight
places to No. 6 when cost of living
was a factor.
No. 1 UCLA (with average
salary of $107,400 for the rank)
fell to No. 21 in the adjusted rankings. Bottom-ranked University of
Missouri-Columbia, where associate professors earned an average
of $75,900, moved up to No. 19.
• Pitt’s 26th-ranked assistant
professors (with salaries averaging
$75,000) moved up 17 places to
No. 9 in buying power.
No. 1 UC-Berkeley, where
assistant professors averaged
$92,300, fell to No. 25 in the
adjusted rankings. Bottom-ranked
Missouri-Columbia (averaging
$61,700 for the rank) moved from
34th to 24th when salaries were
adjusted for cost of living.
• Pitt librarians, who averaged
$71,400, moved up 11 places to
No. 3 in the adjusted rankings.
Rutgers-New Brunswick librarians, who were highest-paid with
an average of $91,000, dropped
to No. 12 when cost of living was
taken into account. Librarians at
Missouri-Columbia, whose average of $58,400 placed them at the
bottom of the unadjusted salary
ranking, moved up 10 places to
No. 18 in the adjusted ranking.
q
DeJong said the cost-of-living
calculations were based on the
2011 third-quarter ACCRA cost
of living index (COLI) produced
by the Council for Community
and Economic Research (www.
coli.org). For peer institutions
whose city was not included in the
ACCRA COLI, the nearest city to
the institution was used, he said.
Of the 34 cities with AAU
public institutions, the cost of
living in Pittsburgh ranked 26th,
above Penn State, Kansas, Texas,
Texas A&M, Indiana, Purdue,
Ohio State and Missouri.
Six of the top nine highest-cost
regions were home to California
state schools, with UC-Irvine
topping the list. There, it would
take $150 to equal $100 in buying
power in Pittsburgh. SUNYStony Brook, Maryland and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
1
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
Oakland unveils plans for 2025
G
reener spaces, better transportation and sustainable
mixtures of residential and
business uses are envisioned for
the Oakland neighborhood of the
not-too-distant future.
More than a year in the making,
the Oakland 2025 master plan was
unveiled at a Nov. 1 celebration
in Alumni Hall.
The plan aims to support quality of life for Oakland residents
while aiding in growing the neighborhood as a center for innovation and technology. It addresses
housing, transportation, business
and development, open space and
art and community building as
components in making Oakland
a desirable place.
The Oakland Planning and
Development Corp. (OPDC) is
coordinating the Oakland 2025
project in conjunction with community partners and institutions
including Pitt. Design and planning firms Pfaffmann + Associates, Studio for Spatial Practice,
Fitzgerald & Halliday and 4ward
Planning consulted on the master
plan.
Community dialogue sessions,
public meetings, design workshops and individual interviews
were part of the planning process
launched in March 2011.
“It’s a tool for moving forward,” said OPDC executive
director Wanda Wilson. “We’re
not going to see everything change
overnight.”
q
From the process emerged a
“top 10” list of ideas:
• Increase the number of
people who both live and work
in Oakland.
• Increase the average age
of Oakland residents to support
a diverse, sustainable neighborhood.
• Establish model multi-modal
“complete streets” linked to
enhanced transit systems.
• Foster unique, diverse neighborhoods and businesses.
• Create a sustainable mix of
residential living options (new,
rehab and infill) for a variety of
users.
• Build up social networks and
community social capital.
• Increase access to parks, open
space and trails.
UNIVERSITY
TIMES
N. J. Brown
EDITOR
412/624-1373
[email protected]
WRITER
Kimberly K. Barlow
412/624-1379
[email protected]
BUSINESS MANAGER
Barbara DelRaso
412/624-4644
[email protected]
Events Calendar: [email protected]
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Send correspondence to University Times,
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2
• Promote a strong Oakland
residential brand to attract new
residents.
• Create strong leadership
capacity to implement components of the 2025 plan.
• Develop an effective and
proactive design and development
review process.
Among other recommendations, the Oakland 2025 plan also
proposes strategic priorities for
four specific areas:
• In the North Oakland business district, which connects
Oakland with the Baum Boulevard/Centre Avenue corridor,
planners recommend mixed-use
high-density development and
new transit systems that would
circulate through Panther Hollow,
Boundary Street and Neville
Avenue to connect with the East
Busway.
The plan recommends a multimodal transportation hub in the
Craig Street/Centre Avenue area
and attention to providing services
for dense residential populations.
• Planners predict that the
Western Portal area near Craft
Avenue and the Boulevard of the
Allies bridge will be an important
connection between Uptown and
the South Side by 2025. A recently
developed apartment building at
the gateway to Oakland could be
joined by additional residential,
office and hotel space. The plan
suggests improving transportation, in part by including a rapid
bus station.
• The plan recognizes traffic
congestion in the Bates Street/
Boulevard of the Allies/Zulema
Park area as a barrier to redevelopment. It suggests intersection improvements including a
roundabout at the intersection of
Zulema and Bates streets as part
of a long-term plan to revitalize
the area.
Planners acknowledged that a
more detailed traffic engineering
analysis would be necessary to
determine the feasibility of the
concept, which aims to beautify
the intersection and improve
access for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• The Fifth and Forbes corridor would be transformed
into a pair of multimodal streets
designed to be pedestrian-, bike-
and transit-friendly while accommodating (but de-emphasizing)
automobile traffic.
q
Transportation figures prominently in the Oakland 2025 recommendations. Its recommendations
aim to create a multimodal network that would serve pedestrians,
bicyclists, drivers and transit users
with better parking, bike lanes, bus
rapid transit (BRT) and shuttles.
BRT would speed travel time
between Downtown and Oakland
through special buses with limited
stops and off-board payment. (See
May 3 University Times.)
Oakland 2025 also proposes
creating multimodal “mobility
hubs” that would include car sharing, bicycle and commuter parking
at some BRT stations.
q
OPDC is proceeding in conjunction with partners in the community to ramp up initiatives that
already are underway, Wilson said.
She said OPDC hopes to
expand its residential development. A project to build five homes
in South Oakland is progressing
with two presale agreements
already in place.
The organization also will continue its Oakland code enforcement project, which seeks to
Technology Corner
improve quality of life in the
neighborhood by seeking action
against owners of disruptive or
dilapidated properties.
A multiphase beautification
project in partnership with the
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and other partners is
underway to restore the “hillside
gateway” above the Parkway East
and Second Avenue. Wilson said
invasive plants and vines will be
removed from the hillside and
replaced with more attractive
plantings.
“We have a lot of work ahead of
us but it’s really essential to have a
plan in place,” Wilson said.
The plan is posted at www.opdc.
org/programs-services/2011community-plan/ and space is
available for comments. “We
love to hear people’s thoughts,”
said Wilson.
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
Audubon Day set
The University Library
System will hold its second
annual Audubon Day Nov. 16.
This event will include a display
of 20- 24 prints from John James
Audubon’s “Birds of America”
in 363 Hillman Library, 9 a.m.4:45 p.m.
n
Chris Keslar
CSSD Emerging
Technologies
Technology topics and trends from Computing Services and Systems Development (CSSD)
Social media 101
A colleague recounts this story
whenever the subject of social
media comes up:
New to Facebook, my colleague had friended not only
her siblings and cousins, but her
cousins’ college-aged children.
She then was horrified as she saw
what she considered “inappropriate” behavior on the part of one
young relative, and she turned to
her own son, then in his 20s, to
ask for advice on what to do.
Her son just looked at her and
said, “This is exactly why middleaged people should not be on
Facebook.”
However, staying away from
Facebook no longer is a practical
option for many people, middleaged or otherwise. While people
once used Facebook or other
forms of social media primarily to stay in touch with family
and friends, now engagement
with social media can be part of
your job: providing or gathering
information; developing contacts;
identifying resources.
Whose space?
Remember Usenet? Friendstr?
Right. Most people don’t. And
someday, presumably, people
won’t remember MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr, Digg,
Reddit, Google+ or Instagram.
But awareness of social media
can be an important part of your
work in higher education today.
A recent Babson Survey Research
Group survey of faculty from all
disciplines found that more than
64 percent of faculty use social
media for their personal lives,
while almost 34 percent use it for
teaching.
Defining “social media”
What does the term “social
media” mean, anyway? Generally
speaking, these are web-based
services that let people do three
things: establish a “public” profile; identify a list of other users,
and connect with the profiles and
activity of those other users.
While some social media establish profiles and make connections
primarily through text (Twitter,
LinkedIn), others operate primarily through photographs (Flickr,
Instagram). Most involve both text
and images.
Online bulletin boards offered
a social media forum for Internet
users in the 1980s and early ’90s,
but the Internet was in its infancy.
As computers, the web and then
mobile devices became a routine
presence in mainstream culture —
for both personal and professional
use — social media’s audience
expanded accordingly.
For people who are fond of
social media — and not everyone
is — they offer a kind of online
neighborhood, where individuals
quickly can get a sense of what’s
going on in their community and
can engage as much or as little
as they wish with others in that
community.
Recognition of the value of
social media is seen in educational
offerings at Pitt. For instance,
the School of Law offers a CLE
course in social media planning
for lawyers; the Katz school offers
social media marketing courses
at graduate and undergraduate
levels, and Pitt’s Career Services
office provides students with
guidelines on how to use social
media in a job search.
The potential of social media
to reach people who are interested
in your services is significant. The
University’s official Facebook
page, for instance, has well over
21,000 people reading its posts.
Smaller units with more targeted
missions, like the Study Abroad
office (766 Facebook “likes”) and
Computing Services and Systems
Development (1,357 “likes”), also
find social media an important
part of engaging with their communities.
Should you or shouldn’t you?
Whether you decide to have a
personal social media presence is
up to you, but a general familiarity
with social media can be helpful to
anyone working in higher education. Here are two low-investment
starting points:
• “Lurk” on sites like Reddit,
which allow you to read what
others are saying without having
an account. (See www.reddit.
com/r/pitt.)
• Browse Twitter. Go to twitter.com and type in search terms
like Pitt or #h2p. You also can
establish an account and follow
others on Twitter without writing
(tweeting) anything yourself.
Common sense
Because these are digital
resources, the common sense
you use in the rest of your online
life applies, but old-fashioned
common sense is needed, too.
Digital common sense
• Protect your device. Most
social media platforms have
mobile versions; if you have a
social media app on your smartphone, tablet or laptop, “lock”
your device with a passcode.
• Use a strong password for
social media accounts: at least
eight characters, not your birthdate, etc. KeePass, free software
available through Pitt’s Software
Download Service, can help you
keep track of different passwords
for different accounts.
• Be cautious about clicking.
It’s tempting to follow that link you
see from a friend who introduces
it with “You’ve gotta see this!” —
but don’t. If his account has been
hacked, that’s about to happen to
you, too.
Common sense 1.0
Equally important is the
common sense you use in daily life.
• Be yourself — and be nice.
In this instance, you definitely
do not want to be known as the
next Ann Coulter. Think before
you speak — or tweet. While this
is good advice for your personal
accounts, it is even more important
if you are managing a social media
presence for a University account.
• Keep personal information
personal. As parents, many of
us have heightened sensitivities
regarding what our children post
online. Be equally sensitive about
your own posts, whether they’re
about you or others.
• Don’t post anything you
wouldn’t be proud to have distributed publicly. When you post
to social media, you are passing
control of that message or image to
the company managing that social
media platform and asking them
to publish that message/image to
the people you’ve identified.
If they make a mistake, or
if you haven’t set your permissions properly, your information
could be made available to a far
more public audience than you’d
intended.
• “Clean your room”: Once a
month, take 15 minutes and go
through the privacy settings on
your social media account/s. n
Chris Keslar is a research and
development analyst for Computing Services and Systems
Development.
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
Staffer wins national mustache contest
P
Adam Causgrove
the American Mustache Institute (AMI) 2012 Robert Goulet
Memorial Mustached American
of the Year.
Causgrove, who accepted the
title Oct. 27 at the AMI ’Stache
Bash 2012 in Arizona, succeeds
2011 titlist Milwaukee Brewers
pitcher John Axford.
According to contest organizers, Causgrove won two-thirds of
the 1.3 million votes cast in a decisive win over a cohort of finalists
that included TV sitcom star Nick
Offerman, St. Louis Rams coach
Jeff Fisher and Indiana gubernatorial candidate John Gregg.
“I didn’t think I’d have a
chance to beat the celebrities,”
Causgrove said, chalking up the
victory to support from a wide
range of sources.
The Goulet award isn’t Causgrove’s only mustache title. He is
the proud holder of a Wannstache
trophy, won at a local ’stache bash
tailgate party.
And, although Causgrove
sports a neatly groomed and waxed
handlebar mustache, the AMI
Medallion marks
225th anniversary
A
t the board’s October
meeting, Pitt trustees
were presented with commemorative medallions to mark
the University’s 225th anniversary.
Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said the medallions
were created to honor individual
alumni whose achievements have
“brought honor to the University
and whose efforts have contributed to Pitt’s progress” and who
had not received bicentennial
medallions.
Four Pitt alumni, Olympian
Roger Kingdom, Pitt wrestling
coach Rande Stottlemyer, former
Pitt African American Alumni
Council president Linda Wharton
Boyd and former Katz Graduate
School of Business dean Jerry
Zoffer, were awarded the 225
medallions during homecoming
weekend.
“Each of those four initial
honorees obviously was a very
deserving recipient of our 225
medallion,” the chancellor said.
“But, in thinking about Pitt’s
recent progress, it seemed that no
group has served a more sustained
and central role in that progress
than our Board of Trustees.”
The chancellor commended
the board for its oversight, guidance and support, adding that
he and the medallion selection
committee decided that, “given its
role in building what some call the
�new University of Pittsburgh’, no
group was more deserving of collective recognition on Pitt’s 225th
anniversary than our trustees.”
The medallions were designed
by University Marketing Communications executive creative
director Marci Belchick, and are
similar in style to those presented
to honorees during Pitt’s bicentennial year.
One one side, the medallions
depict Pitt’s progress as an institution “from a log cabin academy to a
modern University with ambitions
that match the soaring height of
the Cathedral of Learning,” the
chancellor said.
The other side of the medallion, which was inscribed with
the recipient’s name, featured the
names and likenesses of William
Pitt and Hugh Henry Brackenridge, “two people who helped lay
the foundation from which we do
our important work of building
better lives today,” Nordenberg
said.
Speaking on behalf of the
board, Chair Stephen R. Tritch
thanked the chancellor for the
awards, saying, “It’s a great honor
for us and I do believe that the
board, working with you and
your senior team, has forged a
partnership which has achieved
some great things. And we can
do more.”
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
crown isn’t awarded for superior
facial hair.
Rather, according to AMI,
the annual award “recognizes
the person who best represents
or contributes to the Mustached
American community over the
past year.”
Causgrove, 28, is a native of
Erie who came to Pittsburgh a
decade ago to pursue a marketing
degree at Pitt. He said he fell in
love with the city and has been
here ever since.
“I feel very fortunate that I
found a university I loved so much
that I wanted to work there,” said
Causgrove, who had been a staffer
at UPCI before joining the MMG
staff in 2010.
His foray into the mustached
American lifestyle began when
he grew a mustache and beard to
protect himself from the winter
cold while training for the 2011
Pittsburgh Marathon.
After a few months, he noticed
how full his mustache had become.
He shaved the beard and learned
how to trim and wax his mustache
into a handlebar style. “I thought
it was a really cool look,” he said.
A friend nominated him for
the national award. His girlfriend,
Chelsea Banks (a staffer at the
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine), photographed
him posed with Oliver Hazard
Perry, one of his two Jack Russell terriers. Causgrove’s entry
submission detailed his charitable
efforts, which include establishing
a dog park in Mt. Washington and
founding Tail-Great (tail-great.
com), an annual tailgate party
that benefits several nonprofit
organizations.
His most recent endeavor
is Side Project (sideprojectinc.
org), a start-up that assists small
nonprofit organizations in finding
funding to build capacity.
Causgrove’s Goulet award
submission made the cut from
among more than 900 entries to
become one of 15 finalists.
He credits friends, family and
“just Pittsburgh being awesome”
for his victory. “Pittsburgh loves
to win a title,” he said.
Media here and in his hometown picked up the story. He was
featured on TV news as well as
on several radio morning shows,
which supported his campaign via
their web pages, Facebook and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Chelsea Banks
Kimberly K. Barlow
itt staff member Adam
Causgrove, a grants administrator in the Department
of Microbiology and Molecular
Genetics (MMG) has been named
Twitter. “Those reached a huge
audience,” he said.
He also had support from relatives in Pennsylvania, Illinois and
Washington; alumni connections
from Pitt and Erie Cathedral Prep
and contacts made through his
charitable work. Coworkers and
their families also helped garner
votes.
He returned from Arizona
to congratulations from faculty
members, lab staff and others
beyond his department. Coworkers in Bridgeside Point II
made a mustache-shaped cake
and covered his workstation with
photos to celebrate his victory.
His AMI title came with a
Causgrove’s winning competition portrait
Health sciences extend UW drive
A
s Pitt’s main United
Way campaign thrust
is ending, the University
is well on its way to its $650,000
campaign goal. Nearly $416,000
had been raised as of Nov. 7,
organizers said.
This year’s official campaign
was set for Oct. 4-Nov. 2 but the
campaign push is continuing in the
Schools of the Health Sciences,
where a special effort to increase
participation is underway, said
Anne Franks, manager of Pitt’s
campaign and executive director
of administration in Pitt’s Office
of Institutional Advancement (IA).
For instance, the School of
Nursing plans to continue its
efforts until Thanksgiving, said
representative Jennifer Fellows.
This year, the health sciences’
campaign is under the leadership
of a new co-chair, Everette James
of public health.
q
While Pitt’s campaign is well
established, there still is room
for change and improvement,
Franks said. She is expecting to
see an increase in participation this
year as a result of efforts to make
donating easier for the subset of
Pitt employees who don’t work at
computers.
Some 85 percent of donations to the campaign are made
electronically via www.unitedway.
pitt.edu. But, while online donation may be convenient for Pitt
employees who spend their time
in offices, one size does not fit all.
Franks noted that there was
a 500 percent increase in union
members’ participation last year
due not only to the work of excellent campaign coordinators, but
also to some adjustments that
made it easier for them to donate.
She said breakfasts were held
over several shifts and paper donation forms were offered — alternatives that proved to be better for
those workers who spend their
days moving around the campus
rather than behind a desk.
Similar changes are being
made in the Schools of the Health
Sciences, Franks said, noting that
some of the challenges there are
similar. “People are on the run,
working varying shifts, often in
places like labs,” she said.
In addition, their sheer numbers present a challenge, as does
the fact that some departments are
spread out in multiple locations.
q
Last year Pitt’s United Way
drive raised $617,161. This year’s
final number won’t be available
until spring, as donations both
from individuals and from special
departmental events around the
University continue to be counted.
“We never turn down any
money that comes in,” Franks said.
Creativity rules when it comes
to departmental fundraising
events. Franks noted that Sur-
plus Property employees at Pitt’s
Thomas Boulevard building held
a soup meal fundraiser and challenged their counterparts from
the University Library System to
outdo their contributions.
Bagel breakfasts are the Learning Research and Development
Center’s method.
Fellows said the nursing school
is planning to boost participation
there by making pledge forms
available and offering prizes
during a bagel and donut breakfast
scheduled for Monday.
In public health, representative Sarah Metz said volunteers
donned Halloween costumes
and handed out candy along with
donation forms to encourage
participation. Donations there
also are being solicited through
“Pittsburgh pigeon flockings” in
which an employee may arrive to
find his or her workspace covered
with photos of pigeons. Victims
can purchase pigeon flocking
insurance to prevent a recurrence
or can donate to send the pigeon
flock to someone else.
q
The Pitt campaign’s final prize
drawing for donors is set for
tomorrow, Nov. 9. Pledges must
be made online or received in the
IA office by noon in order for the
donor to be eligible for the drawing. Winners’ names can be found
on the Pitt United Way web page.
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
3
PittBenefits
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
Office of Human Resources • November 2012
November 15th:
A Great Day to Quit…
…Smoking! November 15th marks the American Cancer
Society’s 37th annual “Great American Smokeout.” The Great
American Smokeout encourages smokers to use the date to
develop a plan for quitting smoking or to plan in advance to
quit smoking by that date.
Not only will “kicking the habit” keep more money in your
wallet, but it certainly will lead to a reduction in your risk for
various types of cancer, lung diseases, heart attacks, strokes
and other health issues. Research has shown that smoking
affects nearly every organ in the body. According to the
American Cancer Society, “Tobacco use remains the single
largest preventable cause of disease and premature death
in the U.S., yet more than 45 million Americans still smoke
cigarettes.”
If you currently are using tobacco products and are choosing
to quit, there are resources available to help you. You can
speak with a tobacco cessation counselor at UPMC to
develop a plan to quit by calling 1-800-807-0751. In addition,
copayments for smoking cessation prescription medications
can be reimbursed if you carry the University’s medical
insurance and if you complete the UPMC smoking cessation
counseling program.
Downtown Employee
Appreciation Shopping Event
The University of Pittsburgh is a member of the Pittsburgh
Downtown Partnership (PDP), an organization that was
developed by Downtown businesses, professionals, civic
organizations, foundations and residents that creates and
implements various programs to promote and enhance
Downtown Pittsburgh.
The PDP has organized a holiday party that will be hosted by
Downtown Macy’s on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, from 5
p.m. until 8 p.m. All faculty, staff and students are invited to
attend the holiday party, where they will receive a coupon for
a 25% discount off most Macy’s purchases. The party will
include food, entertainment and raffles for fabulous prizes.
Plan Type
Claims
Incurred
Incurring
Extension
Available?
Health Care
7/1/11 6/30/12
Yes - through
9/15/12
12/31/12
Dependent
Care
7/1/11 6/30/12
Yes - through
9/15/12
12/31/12
Parking
7/1/11 6/30/12
No
12/31/12
Mass Transit
7/1/11 6/30/12
No
12/31/12
Filing
Deadline
All flexible spending plans are regulated by the Internal
Revenue Service. Exceptions to the December 31, 2012,
deadline are not permitted.
To find out if you have a FSA balance from the 2011-2012
plan year, access your account by following the steps below:
1. Log onto the University portal my.pitt.edu using your
University username and password.
2. Click “My Resources” from the tabs on top of the page.
3. Select “UPMC Health Plan” from the drop down list.
4. Click the “My Health” link in the top right corner of the
page.
5. Select the “Spending and Claims” tab, then the “Spending
Accounts” button.
6. Make sure the 7-1-2011 to 6-30-2012 FSA Plan
Period is selected.
You also can contact UPMC Health Plan at 1-888-4996885 to obtain your balances from the last plan year. If you
have an existing balance from the past plan year that is not
reimbursed in the next few weeks, you will receive a balance
statement and reminder at your home address from UPMC
Health Plan.
In addition to viewing your account balances on the UPMC
Health Plan web site, you also can:
•
View claim activity.
•
Access forms.
•
View list of eligible expenses.
•
Submit claims using the online claims submission tool.
If you have any questions about your flexible spending
accounts, please contact UPMC Health Plan at
1-888-499-6885.
When
ANYONE
in the house
smokes,
EVERYONE in the
house
SMOKES.
In addition, many Downtown restaurants will be offering
dinner specials after the party. Please consider taking
advantage of the great discounts and support the PDP.
Flexible Spending Account
Reimbursement Deadline for
2011/2012 Plan Year
There is still a small window of time to submit claims for reimbursement if you have a remaining balance in your flexible
spending account (FSA) from this last plan year, July 1, 2011
– June 30, 2012.
The Great American Smokeout is November 15.
Your family members may have shortness of breath, trouble breathing at night,
and a 30 percent greater risk for lung cancer if you smoke.
Call a tobacco cessation specialist when you are ready to quit.
If you participated in any of the University’s flexible spending accounts last plan year, and you are still employed with
the University, you have until December 31, 2012, to submit
claims for reimbursement. If a claim for reimbursement is
not made by this deadline, any remaining funds in your account will be forfeited.
1-800-807-0751
The chart on this page is a schedule of when claims can be
incurred and reimbursed for each of the four types of flexible
spending accounts offered by the University for this past plan
year.
University of Pittsburgh
Student Health Service Q.U.I.T. Program
412-383-1830
4
American Cancer Society
1-800-784-8669
Copyright 2012 UPMC Health Plan, Inc. All rights reserved.
PITT GAS AD C20121031-04 (MFS) 11/1/12
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
P E O P L E
O F
The School of Medicine has
announced new members of its
Academy of Master Educators.
The academy recognizes and
rewards excellence in education,
strives to advance education
through innovation and professional development of faculty, as
well as supports and promotes
educational scholarship.
During the application process,
potential members submit an educational portfolio to the Academy
of Master Educators membership
committee for review.
The new academy members
are:
• Department of Anesthesiology: Shawn T. Beaman; Manuel
C. Vallejo Jr.
• Department of Emergency
Medicine: Michele L. Dorfsman;
Stephanie M. Gonzalez.
• Department of Family Medicine: Donald B. Middleton.
• Department of Medicine:
Eric J. Anish; Gregory M.
Bump; William P. Follansbee; Rachel J. Givelber; Alda
Maria R. Gonzaga; Peggy B.
Hasley; Harish Jasti; Michael A.
Mathier; R. Harsha Rao; Carla
L. Spagnoletti.
• Department of Neurobiology: A. Paula MonaghanNichols.
• Department of Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences: Gabriella Gray
Gosman; Gary Sutkin.
• Department of Ophthalmology: Paul (Kip) R. Kinchington;
Evan “Jake” L. Waxman.
T H E
T I M E S
• Department of Pathology:
Trevor A. Macpherson.
• Department of Pediatrics:
Sanjay Lambore; Kishore Vellody.
• Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology:
Donald B. DeFranco.
• Department of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation:
Brad Dicianno.
• Department of Psychiatry:
Michael J. Travis.
• Department of Surgery:
Giselle G. Hamad.
Every year since 2000, AuntMinnie.com, a web site that
features news on medical imaging, has recognized the best in
radiology, identifying the people
and technologies that have made
an important impact. The annual
awards are referred to as “Minnies.”
For the second time, Wendie
Berg, Pitt faculty member in
radiology, has won the Minnie
for the most influential radiology
researcher, building on the role she
has played in using modalities such
as MRI, ultrasound and positron
emission mammography.
Berg has served as the principal investigator of the American
College of Radiology Imaging
Network (ACRIN) trials, examining the use of new modalities in
women with dense tissue.
Her article entitled “Detection
of Breast Cancer With Addition
of Annual Screening Ultrasound
or a Single Screening MRI to
Mammography in Women With
Elevated Breast Cancer Risk,” was
recognized as the best scientific
paper of the year. It was published
in the Journal of the American
Medical Association.
The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh has named winners of the
2012 Racial Justice Award, a
tribute to community leaders who
promote equality in society.
Two members of the Pitt community were among the winners:
• Paula K. Davis, assistant
vice chancellor for health sciences
diversity. Davis was honored in
the health category for a program
she implemented on sensitivity to
cultural and racial differences in
the medical school.
The People of the Times column features recent news on faculty and
staff, including awards and other honors, accomplishments and administrative appointments. We welcome submissions from all areas of the University.
Send information via email to: [email protected], by fax at 412/624-4579 or
by campus mail to 308 Bellefield Hall.
For submission guidelines, visit www.utimes.pitt.edu/?page_id=6807.
• David A. Harris, a faculty
member and associate dean for
research in the law school. Harris,
known nationally for his work on
racial profiling, was selected in the
legal category.
The awardees will be recognized at a dinner Nov. 14 at the
Westin Convention Center Hotel.
Two bioengineering faculty
members have been recognized
for their outstanding productivity
as junior faculty members.
• Tracy Cui has been appointed
as the Bicentennial Alumni Faculty Fellow for a three-year period.
• Lance Davidson has been
appointed as the Wellington C.
Carl Faculty Fellow, also for a
three-year period.
For the 14th year, Pitt’s School
of Nursing honored area nurses
Nov. 3 with Cameos of Caring
Awards. The award program was
started in 1999 to celebrate the
profession and to help alleviate the
shortage of nurses by promoting
nursing as a viable and rewarding
career choice.
Awardees are from Pitt are:
• Irene Kane, RN options
coordinator in the school’s Department of Health and Community
Systems, won the Nurse Educator
Award for Pitt.
• Aaron M. Ostrowski,
Department of Acute/Tertiary
Care, won an Advanced Practice
Award.
• Judith A. Kaufmann,
Department of Health Promotion and Development, won the
Nurse Educator Award for Robert
Morris University.
• Ellen Aaker Reynolds,
Department of Health Promotion and Development, won the
Advanced Practice Award, representing Children’s Hospital.
• Michele Upvall, Department of Health Promotion and
Development, won the Nurse
Educator Award for Carlow
University.
n
Staffer wins
’stache award
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
crown, a plaque and a high-end
shaver from contest sponsor Wahl
Trimmers, plus numerous other
perks and swag:
— The London-based maker
of his favorite mustache wax —
lavender-scented Captain Fawcett’s Mustache Wax — is shipping
him a seven-jar supply and proudly
touting itself as his sponsor.
— He’s been asked to throw
out the first pitch at a Lexington
Legends minor league baseball
game. The team’s logo is a mustache. “I’ll cross that off the bucket
list,” said Causgrove, a longtime
baseball fan.
— And Milwaukee Brewers
closer Axford, Causgrove’s Mustached American predecessor, has
promised to host him and guests at
the ballpark when the team comes
to Pittsburgh.
His Phi Kappa Theta fraternity
brothers from have reached out for
his support as they participate in
November’s month-long Movember mustache-growing charity
event. The Movember movement
aims to raise awareness and funds
for men’s health issues including
prostate and testicular cancer.
He also has been asked to speak
at a local school about community
service.
Causgrove said his mustache
has helped him meet countless
new people.
“It’s a great icebreaker,” he said.
“Everyone wants to give me a
high-five or shake my hand,” he
said. Strangers ask him to pose
with them for pictures.
“I’m having fun with it.”
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
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BY SIGNING YOUR INITIALS BELOW, YOU ARE STATING
THAT YOU HAVE READ AND APPROVED THIS WORK.
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
Male fertility
restored after
treatment
for cancer
An injection of banked spermproducing stem cells can restore
fertility to male primates who
become sterile due to cancer drug
side effects, according to researchers at the School of Medicine
and Magee-Womens Research
Institute (MWRI). In the animal
study, which was published in Cell
Stem Cell, previously frozen stem
cells restored production of sperm
that successfully fertilized eggs to
produce early embryos.
Some cancer drugs work by
destroying rapidly dividing cells.
As it is not possible to discriminate
between cancer cells and other
rapidly dividing cells in the body,
the precursor cells involved in
making sperm can be wiped out
inadvertently, leaving the patient
infertile, said senior investigator
Kyle Orwig, faculty member in
the Department of Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Reproductive
Sciences and an MWRI investigator.
“Men can bank sperm before
they have cancer treatment if they
hope to have biological children
later in their lives,” he said. “But
that is not an option for young
boys who haven’t gone through
puberty.”
Even very young boys, though,
have spermatogonial stem cells
in their testicular tissue that are
poised to begin producing sperm
during puberty. To see whether
it was possible to restore fertility
using these cells, Orwig and his
team biopsied the testes of prepubertal and adult male macaque
monkeys and cryopreserved the
cells from the small samples. The
monkeys then were treated with
chemotherapy agents known to
impair fertility.
A few months after chemotherapy treatment, the team reintroduced each monkey’s own
spermatogonial stem cells back
in to his testes using an ultrasound-guided technique. Sperm
production was established from
transplanted cells in nine out of
12 adult animals and three out of
five prepubertal animals after they
reached maturity.
In another test, spermatogonial stem cells from other unrelated monkeys were transplanted
into infertile animals, which
created sperm with the DNA
fingerprint of the donor to allow
easy tracking of their origin. In
lab tests, sperm from transplant
recipients successfully fertilized
81 eggs, leading to embryos that
developed to the morula and blastocyst stages, which are the stages
that normally precede implantation in the mother’s uterus. Donor
parentage was confirmed in seven
of the embryos.
“This study demonstrates that
spermatogonial stem cells from
higher primates can be frozen
and thawed without losing their
activity, and that they can be
transplanted to produce functional
sperm that are able to fertilize eggs
and give rise to early embryos,”
Orwig said.
The findings are encouraging
because several centers in the
United States and abroad are
banking testicular tissue for boys
in anticipation that new stem cellbased therapies will be available in
the future to help them have their
own biological children. В В Orwig directs the fertility preservation program, a collaboration
between MWRI, Magee-Womens
Hospital, Children’s Hospital
and the University of Pittsburgh
Cancer Institute that offers education and treatment options for
children and adults who are at risk
of becoming infertile due to medical problems including cancer.
“Many questions remain to be
answered,” Orwig noted. “Should
we re-introduce the spermatogonial cells as soon as treatment is
over, or wait until the patient is
considered cured of his disease, or
when he is ready to start a family?
How do we eliminate the risk of
cancer recurrence if we give back
untreated cells that might include
cancer cells?”
Co-authors of the paper
included lead author Brian P.
Hermann, David K. Cooper,
Angus W. Thomson, Gerald P.
Schatten and others from the
School of Medicine, as well as
collaborators from the Oregon
National Primate Research
Center, University of CaliforniaDavis, ITxM Diagnostics and
CaridianBCT.
The project was funded by
Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation, The Richard King Mellon Foundation
and the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy
Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development
(NICHD).
Grant funds
placental
research
NICHD has awarded a $5 million grant to a Pitt project examining the molecular and cellular
controls of placental metabolism.
Because the placenta plays a
central role in supporting fetal
development, metabolic dysfunction of the placenta may hinder
fetal growth, and subsequently
render the growth-restricted
newborn susceptible to a host
of childhood and adult diseases,
researchers say.
By harnessing the power of
new, rapidly evolving mouse
genetic and epigenetic technologies, as well as high throughput
genomics and lipidomics analyses,
the study will strive to answer
fundamental systems-based questions in placental biology, and
offer a novel view on metabolic
pathways that underlie a clinical
conundrum.
Yoel Sadovsky, faculty
member in obstetrics, gynecology
reproductive sciences, microbiology and molecular genetics and
the Clinical and Translational
Science Institute (CTSI), as well
as director of the Magee-Womens
Research Institute, is program
and project principal investigator. Other PIs are Yaacov Barak,
faculty member in of obstetrics,
gynecology reproductive sciences,
and J. Richard Chaillet, faculty
member in microbiology and
molecular genetics.
Other Pitt collaborators/
co-investigators are Tianjiao
Chu, obstetrics, gynecology and
reproductive sciences; Valerian
The University Times
Research Notes column
reports on funding awarded
to Pitt researchers and on
findings arising from University research.
We welcome submissions from all areas of the
University. Submit information via email to: utimes@
pitt.edu, by fax to 412/6244579 or by campus mail to
308 Bellefield Hall.
For submission guidelines, visit www.utimes.pitt.
edu/?page_id=6807.
Kagan, vice chair, environmental
and occupational health (EOH);
W. Tony Parks, pathology, and
Vladimir Tyurin, EOH.
Also participating are researchers from Ohio State University,
the University of Calgary, McGill
University and Mt. Sinai School
of Medicine.
Genomic areas
associated with
IBD identified
An international team that
includes researchers from the
School of Medicine has uncovered
71 genomic regions associated
with inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD), which includes Crohn’s
disease and ulcerative colitis. The
results, published in the Nov.
1 issue of Nature, increase the
number of known IBD-associated
genomic regions to 163 and suggest that genes involved in defense
against infection also play a key
role in IBD.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative
colitis affect as many as 1.4 million people in the United States
alone, noted Richard Duerr,
faculty member in medicine,
co-director and scientific director of the UPMC Inflammatory
Bowel Disease Center and one of
12 co-investigators. Both conditions are characterized by chronic
inflammation of the intestine,
typically leading to diarrhea and
abdominal pain, and sometimes
rectal bleeding.
“This research was conducted
to fill gaps in our understanding
of the genetic predisposition and
biological pathways leading to
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative
colitis,” Duerr said. More than
Annual Robert S.
Totten Lecture
“Aggressive vAriAnts
CArCinomA &
of PAPillAry thyroid
thyroid CAnCer stem Cells”
Wednesday
November 14
Noon
1105 Scaife Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Department of Pathology
Ricardo V. Lloyd, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin
Dr. Lloyd’s research has been in endocrine pathology. He has previously been an
NIH funded researcher in pituitary biology for the past 23 years. His laboratory
discovered the widespread distribution of chromograinins in neuroendocrine
tumors after they developed a monoclonal antibody to chromogranin A.
Dr. Lloyd’s laboratory was the first to show the aggressive biological behavior
of the tall cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma and in 2010 they described
a new aggressive variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, the hobnail variant.
His current research interests include studies of thyroid cancer stem cells.
75,000 IBD and control study
subjects from 15 countries, as well
as 100 scientists and physicians,
contributed to the study.
The research team analyzed
data from 15 studies on the
genetics of IBD, identifying more
than 25,000 single nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs) or genetic
variations with at least suggestive evidence for association with
either Crohn’s disease, ulcerative
colitis or both. That information
was followed up by data from
an additional set of more than
41,000 IBD and control samples
at 11 centers around the world,
including the University, to verify
that 163 genomic regions, including 71 newly identified ones, are
associated with IBD.
Seventy percent of the IBDassociated genomic regions also
are home to genetic variants that
are associated with other immunemediated, chronic inflammatory
diseases, particularly psoriasis
and ankylosing spondylitis, the
researchers noted. Also, the
IBD-associated genomic regions
are enriched with genes linked to
immune deficiencies that increase
susceptibility to certain infections.
The study uncovered pathways
shared between responses to
mycobacterial infections, such as
tuberculosis and leprosy, and those
predisposing people to IBD.
“It’s possible that the biological
mechanisms intended to protect us
from infection go awry and overreact, triggering inflammation that
characterizes IBD,” Duerr noted.
The project was funded in
part by the National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases, the Crohn’s &
Colitis Foundation of America and
the International IBD Genetics
Consortium.
Off-label
antipsychotic
use common
in VA nursing
homes
More than one in four older
veterans residing in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
community living centers received
antipsychotic medications, and
more than 40 percent of those
veterans had no documented
evidence-based reason for such
medications, according to research
from Pitt and the VA Pittsburgh
Medical Center.
The study found similar rates
of antipsychotic use as studies
in non-VA nursing homes. The
findings will be published in the
November issue of the journal
Medical Care and are available
online.  “Our study adds to the growing
evidence base that antipsychotics
have been overused in nursing
homes, and the VA is not immune
to this problem,” said lead author
Walid Gellad of the School
of Medicine and the Graduate
School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management. “Behavioral symptoms
in dementia patients are difficult
to treat and, in most cases, nursing
home staff are doing what they can
to keep patients comfortable and
safe. We have to find better ways
to do this, though.”
Antipsychotics have limited
efficacy in alleviating behavioral
problems in dementia patients,
and several studies associate
their use with an increased risk
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
6
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
of mortality.
“The VA already is undertaking several initiatives to address
the use of antipsychotics in VA
nursing homes, including increasing the availability and integration of psychologist services and
piloting behavioral modification
programs,,” said Gellad, also a
core faculty member with the
VA Center for Health Equity
Research and Promotion and a
primary care physician in the VA
Pittsburgh Healthcare System.
Gellad and his colleagues collected data on veterans age 65 and
older who were admitted for 90 or
more days to one of the 133 VA
community living centers between
January 2004 and June 2005, the
most recent years for which data
could be collected.
Of the 3,692 veterans, 948 — or
25.7 percent — received an antipsychotic. Among that group, 59.3
percent had an evidenced-based
reason for use. The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has
approved antipsychotics for use in
treating psychiatric illness, such as
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
and Tourette syndrome.
Veterans residing in Alzheimer’s or dementia special care units
had 66 percent greater odds of
receiving an antipsychotic, and
residents with aggressive behavior
had nearly three times greater
odds of receiving an antipsychotic medication. Among those
residents with dementia, veterans
with no evidence of psychosis for
which an antipsychotic would be
appropriate were just as likely to
receive an antipsychotic as those
with documented psychosis.
“We couldn’t determine if
clinicians are using antipsychotics in residents with dementia
without considering the risks, or
whether they are considering the
risks but have determined that
the behavioral symptoms are
sufficiently problematic that the
potential benefits outweigh the
risks of therapy,” Gellad said. “The
VA is supporting efforts for better
documentation in patients’ medical records of the risk vs. benefit
discussions regarding the use of
these antipsychotics.”
Residents receiving multiple
medications of any type, particularly those receiving antidepressants, were more likely to receive
antipsychotics.
The FDA issued a warning in
2005 for the atypical antipsychotics, emphasizing their association
with increased mortality when
used for behavioral disorders in
elderly residents with dementia.
The warning was extended to all
antipsychotics in 2008.
“Our data was collected prior
to these warnings, so we cannot
draw conclusions about whether
they make a difference in current
practices,” said Gellad. “However,
despite the lack of an FDA warning
at the time that the data for our
study was collected, reports had
already appeared in print about
the risks of these drugs.”
Co-authors included Sherrie L. Aspinall, pharmacy and
therapeutics; Steven M. Handler,
biomedical informatics; Roslyn
A. Stone, biostatistics; Nicholas
Castle, health policy and management; Todd P. Semla; Chester
B. Good, Michael J. Fine and
Joseph T. Hanlon, all of the
Department of Medicine, and
Maurice Dysken.
The researchers were supported by a VA Career Development Award and grants from
the National Institute of Aging,
the National Institute of Mental
Health, the National Institute
of Nursing Research and the
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality.
Kids help
researchers
fight flu
Hundreds of school children
on Election Day — a scheduled
day off from school — wore proximity sensors to help Pitt researchers learn more about the spread of
influenza and the impact of school
closures on slowing epidemics.
Dubbed the “Social Mixing
and Respiratory Transmission in
Schools,” or SMART Schools,
study, theВ deployment is part of a
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) effort to
create a national policy on school
response to flu and pandemics.
Charles Vukotich Jr., senior
project manager at the Graduate
School of Public Health, said:
“This unprecedented study will
contribute greatly to our knowledge on influenza outbreaks and
what we can do to disrupt their
spread.”
On Nov. 5, a proximity sensor
— called a “mote” — was sent
home with each participating child
at Borland Manor elementary
and North Strabane intermediate
schools in the Canon-McMillan
School District. The children
wore the motes, which weigh three
ounces and are about the size of
a beeper, on lanyards all day at
school Monday, all day while home
on Tuesday, and all day at school
Wednesday.
The battery-powered motes
send out a weak signal to detect
other motes and record when they
detect one. The researchers will
use the data collected by the motes
to determine how often children
come in contact with each other.
“We know that children can
drive influenza outbreaks, but
we don’t know how or why,” said
Shanta Zimmer, faculty member
in the School of Medicine. “KnowOFFICES of
ing their interaction and contact
patterns will give us much needed
real-world data that can be used to
conduct research, test hypotheses
and run computer simulations.”
The data will allow researchers to investigate whether limiting movement between classes
during the school day, increasing
vaccination campaigns, instituting
educational programs, changing
sick leave policies or instituting
programs that encourage hand
sanitizer use are better interventions for controlling the spread
of flu.
This is the second year of the
SMART Schools study, and the
first time the motes have been
sent home with the children on
a scheduled day off from school.
Last year children in eight schools
in the Canon-McMillan School
District in Washington County
and Propel charter schools in
Allegheny County wore the motes
during the school day. Elementary,
middle and high schools were
included.
Preliminary results from last
year’s mote deployments showed
that each child over all grades
interacted with an average of 109
other children during the school
day. High school students interacted more than middle school
students. The students interacted
the most at mid day. В The children also are given
diaries to record who they come
in contact with during a 24-hour
period. This helps the researchers
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
incorporate information about
people who might not be wearing
the sensors.
In the diary, relationships are
identified with generic terms, such
as mother, friend or teacher, to
maintain confidentiality.
“When the students took the
motes home overnight last year, we
found that they would still cluster
together after school and well into
the evening,” Vukotich said. “This
provides us some evidence that
simply closing schools for a few
days will not stop children from
interacting with each other.”
Other Pitt researchers participating in the SMART Schools
study are Hasan Guclu, Shawn T.
Brown and John Grefenstette,
all of public health.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins, the University of Liverpool
and the CDC also are participating.
Grant funds
research to aid
oil extraction
With a $1.3 million grant from
the U.S. Department of Energy,
Pitt researchers are developing an
economical CO2 thickener that
could improve crude oil extraction
significantly and expand accessible
domestic oil reserves.
Current oil-extraction methods in the United States involve
oil being “pushed” from underground layers of porous sandstone
or limestone reservoirs using a
first-water-then-CO 2 method.
CO2 — which is obtained from
natural CO2 reservoirs and piped
and TECHNOLOGY
FROM BENCHTOP
What Every Scientist Needs to Know
TO
to oil reservoirs — pushes and dissolves oil from underground layers
of porous rock, but its viscosity is
too low to extract oil efficiently.
As such, it tends to “finger”
through the oil rather than sweep
oil forward toward the production
well. This process, “viscous fingering,” results in oil production
companies recovering only a small
fraction of the oil that is in a field.
During the late 1990s, Pitt
researchers demonstrated that it
was possible to design additives
that could greatly enhance CO2’s
viscosity, but the compounds
were costly and environmentally
problematic.В Principal coinvestigator Eric
Beckman, George M. Bevier
Professor of Engineering in the
Swanson School of Engineering,
said: “In this proposal, we’re looking at designing candidates that
can do the job at a reasonable cost.”
Beckman and Robert Enick,
principal co-investigator and
Bayer Professor and vice chair
for research in the Department
of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, intend to build upon earlier Pitt models of CO2 thickeners,
but with a more affordable design.
“An affordable CO2 thickener
would represent a transformational advance in enhanced oil
recovery,” said Enick. “If a thickener could be identified that could
increase the viscosity of the CO2 to
a value comparable to that of the
oil in the underground layers of
rock, then the fingering would be
inhibited, the need to inject water
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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7
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
would be eliminated and more oil
would be recovered more quickly
using less CO2.” Omega-3 aids
working
memory in
young adultsВ Pitt researchers have determined that healthy persons ages
18-25 can improve their working
memory even further by increasing their omega-3 fatty acid
intake. Their findings have been
published online inВ PLOS One.
Bita Moghaddam, project
investigator and faculty member in
neuroscience, said: “Before seeing
this data, I would have said it was
impossible to move young healthy
individuals above their cognitive
best. We found that members of
this population can enhance their
working memory performance
even further, despite their already
being at the top of their cognitive
game.”
Led by Rajesh Narendarn,
project principal investigator
and faculty member in radiology,
the research team sought healthy
young men and women from all
ethnicities to boost their omega-3
intake with supplements for six
months. They were monitored
through phone calls and outpatient procedures.
Before they began taking the
supplements, all participants
underwent positron emission
tomography (PET) imaging and
their blood samples were analyzed.
They then were asked to perform
a working memory test in which
they were shown a series of letters
and numbers. The young adults
had to keep track of what appeared
one, two and three times prior,
known as a simple “n-back test.”
“What was particularly interesting about the presupplementation n-back test was that it
correlated positively with plasma
omega-3,” said Moghaddam.
“This means that the omega-3s
they were getting from their diet
already positively correlated with
their working memory.”
After six months of taking
Lovaza — an omega-3 supplement
approved by the Food and Drug
Administration — the participants
were asked to complete this series
of outpatient procedures again. It
was during this last stage, during
the working memory test and
blood sampling, that the improved
working memory of this population was revealed.
“So many of the previous studies have been done with the elderly
or people with medical conditions,
leaving this unique population of
young adults unaddressed,” said
Matthew Muldoon, project coinvestigator and faculty member
in medicine. “But what about our
highest-functioning periods? Can
we help the brain achieve its full
potential by adapting our healthy
behaviors in our young adult life?
We found that we absolutely can.”
Although the effects of omega3s on young people were a focus,
the Pitt team also was hoping
to determine the brain mechanism associated with omega-3
regulation. Previous rodent
studies suggested that removing
omega-3 from the diet might
reduce dopamine storage (the
neurotransmitter associated with
mood as well as working memory)
and decrease density in the striatal
vesicular monoamine transporter
type 2 (commonly referred to as
VMAT2, a protein associated
with decision making). Therefore,
the Pitt researchers posited that
increasing VMAT2 protein was
the mechanism of action that
boosted cognitive performance.
But PET imaging revealed this
was not the case.
“It is really interesting that
diets enriched with omega-3 fatty
acid can enhance cognition in
highly functional young individuals,” said Narendarn. “Nevertheless, it was a bit disappointing that
our imaging studies were unable to
clarify the mechanisms by which
it enhances working memory.” Ongoing animal modeling
studies in the Moghaddam lab
indicate that brain mechanisms
that are affected by omega-3s
may be influenced differently in
adolescents and young adults than
they are in older adults. With
this in mind, the Pitt team will
continue to evaluate the effect of
omega-3 fatty acids in this younger
population to find the mechanism
that improves cognition.
Other Pitt researchers involved
in the project included William G.
Frankle, psychiatry, and Neal S.
Mason, radiology.В The research was supported by
grants from the National Institute
on Drug Abuse and the American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act
of 2009.
Mathematical
modeling used
to study neuron
behavior in
brain
While scientists know that
neurons in the brain anatomically
organize themselves into network
camps, or clusters, the implications of such groupings on neural
dynamics have remained unclear
until now.
Using mathematical modeling,
OMET В An В Important В Message В from В Attention Faculty
ONLINE
STUDENT OPINION OF TEACHING SURVEYS
two Pitt researchers have found
that neurons team up to sway
particular outcomes in the brain
and take over the nervous system
in the name of their preferred
action or behavior.
The findings will be published
in the November print issue
of Nature Neuroscience. “Through complex mathematical equations, we organized
neurons into clustered networks
and immediately saw that our
model produced a rich dynamic
wherein neurons in the same
groups were active together,” said
Brent Doiron, faculty member in
mathematics.
Together with Ashok LitwinKumar, a doctoral student in
neural computation in Pitt and
Carnegie Mellon’s Center for the
Neural Basis of Cognition, Doiron
found that, like a political race,
the brain’s neurons divide into a
collection of candidates (clusters)
with various preferences, each
with its own network of supporters
(neurons) interacting on a competitive playing field (the cortex).
The mathematical models
show that few neural teams can
be highly active and “in the lead”
at any given time, advocating for
their stimulus or response preference and suppressing the preferences of the other teams.
However, when Doiron and
Litwin-Kumar introduced a
stimulus to select only a few groups
in the network, the competition
quickly became unbalanced. Similar to selective funding during a
campaign, the parties with “more
campaign money” (neurons influenced by their preferred stimulus)
had a higher probability of “winning the race” (or taking over the
nervous system). “We found that stimulation
actually reduces the firing rate
variability among neurons, an
observation that is consistent with
recent cortical readings,” said
Doiron. “Our results show that
even weak stimuli can substantially
change our balanced network
dynamics, making brain dynamics
much more predictable.”
When there was no stimulus,
Doiron and Litwin-Kumar saw
that the landscape of winners and
losers was very random in time,
with clusters randomly transitioning from the lead position to
secondary positions and vice versa.
These significant fluctuations over long periods of time
mimicked recorded activity in
the spontaneously active brain.
While past models of unclustered
brains could not capture this key
dynamic, this new model gives
a plausible explanation for how
spontaneous neural activity arises
and is maintained.
These results explore how the
wiring of the nervous system can
influence stochastic (or unpredictable) brain dynamics, especially
when the brain is spontaneously
active. Doiron said there has been
significant research on how the
brain responds to input — such
as during tasks like remembering
a phone number or grasping a
cup. However, the neuroscience
community has just begun to think
about what is happening in the
brain when there are no inputs
and the brain seemingly is idle.
“Unlike the quiet states of your
computer between processing
jobs, the brain has a highly variable
and random political fight going
on when there are no immediate tasks,” said Doiron. “This
fight likely consolidates factions
and keeps specific networks well
linked, a feature that can be crucial
for proper brain functioning in
driven states.”
The research was supported
by the National Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation and
the U.S. Department of Defense.
Carotid artery
change in
menopause
may mean more
cardiovascular
disease risk
Substantial changes in the
diameter and thickness of a section
of carotid artery in perimenopausal women may indicate a
higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the leading cause
of death in women, according to
Pitt researchers.
Epidemiologists studied 249
women aged 42-52 from the
Pittsburgh site of the Study of
Women’s Health Across the
Nation (SWAN) observational
study. Each participant was given
up to five ultrasound scans during
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
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If you requested an online Student Opinion of Teaching Survey for your course,
e-mails containing a link for students to take the survey will be sent to your
students on November 19 from OMET. The subject line of the e-mail will include
the name of the instructor and the title of the course.
Ways You Can Encourage Your Students to Participate:
INFORM students they will soon receive an e-mail containing a link to the survey
STRESS the importance of the survey
EXPLAIN the value of their responses
GIVE examples of how you have used student survey information in the past
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Visit omet.pitt.edu for more information on Student Opinion of Teaching Surveys.
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8
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
Cost of living benefits Pitt faculty in AAU comparison
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Rutgers also were near the top of
the cost-of-living rankings.
Regional campus
salary comparisons
The cost of living for Pitt’s
regional campuses was calculated
using Sperling’s BestPlaces (www.
bestplaces.net), which DeJong
said provides cost of living estimates for suburban and rural areas.
Comparisons used Bradford as a
benchmark, which DeJong said
fell between Greensburg and
Johnstown in cost of living.
For the cost-of-living comparison, a set of 21 schools from among
the 236 IIB peers was selected for
each faculty rank.
DeJong said a statistical procedure was used to select institutions across the full range of salary
averages. The highest and lowest
schools and those from every 5th
percentile — a total of 21 in all —
were chosen for each faculty rank.
He explained: “It gives a perfect snapshot across the distribution of salaries, perfectly spread
out across the distribution. But
at the same time it gives you a
random selection of the institutions. It’s random who falls on the
5th percentile, who falls on the
10th percentile and so on.”
Because the distribution differed for each faculty rank, a
different set of schools was used
for each rank in order to maintain
a uniform set of steps across the
salary averages.
• In the unadjusted rankings,
full professors on Pitt’s three IIB
regional campuses ranked at the
bottom of the 5th decile with an
average salary of $78,200. In the
adjusted rankings, professors’ salaries rose to No. 6, putting Pitt in
the 75th percentile, DeJong said.
• Unadjusted salaries for associate professors on the regional
campuses ranked in the middle of
the 5th decile at $64,400. In the
adjusted rankings, they rose to No.
2, or the 95th percentile, he said.
• In the unadjusted rankings,
assistant professors at the regional
campuses ranked near the bottom
of the 6th decile with an average
salary of $52,700. In the adjusted
rankings, they rose to No. 4, or
the 85th percentile, DeJong said.
He noted that assistant professors fail to rank on par with peers’
median salaries in the unadjusted
comparisons, both in Pittsburgh
and on the regional campuses.
“But when we adjust, we see that
we are 8.8 percent higher than the
median in the regionals and 15.9
percent higher in Pittsburgh,”
he said.
BPC member Michael Spring,
who sought the analysis, said he
was glad to see the adjusted comparison. “I do believe this is an
important consideration.”
Other committee members
noted that the specific information
could be important to department
chairs in recruiting, enabling
them to provide firmer numbers
rather than simply noting that the
Pittsburgh area has a relatively low
cost of living.
Charts from DeJong’s presentation are posted at www.utimes.
pitt.edu/documents/FY12COL_
Analysis.pdf.
q
In other business:
• In response to BPC’s request
for an update on the departments
of German, classics and religious
studies, in which graduate admissions were suspended last spring
(see June 14 University Times),
DeJong reported no formal recommendations have been offered,
but that dialogue is continuing
between the department chairs
and Dietrich School of Arts and
Sciences administrators.
“There is a continuing active
dialogue,” DeJong said.
BPC agreed to request either
to send a representative to the
Dietrich school’s planning and
budgeting committee meeting,
or to invite its PBC chair to meet
with BPC.
BPC chair John J. Baker reiterated that the committee’s interest
in the issue stems from BPC’s duty
to ensure planning and budgeting system (PBS) processes are
followed.
“When the suspensions were
first announced last April, a
number of individuals did protest,” Baker said. “The primary
concern, then and now, is that
the process be more transparent — that there be dialogue and
clarity in terms of what is going
to happen.”
Baker was scheduled to report
on the issue at the Nov. 7 Faculty
Assembly meeting, after the University Times went to press.
Baker added that the University’s planning and budgeting
documents call for an impact
statement if departments are
going to be modified. Noting that
it apparently had not been done
in this case, “I would hope that at
some point it would be part of the
process,” he said.
“We just want to see the process go through properly and be
as transparent as possible.”
BPC member Phil Wion
added that it is important that
the process is completed quickly
so the three programs don’t risk
languishing if graduate admissions
are suspended for multiple years.
• The Office of the Provost
continues to accumulate information in order to prepare a
report on University units’ salary
reconsideration policies and the
procedures for requesting salary
reconsideration. (See Oct. 11
University Times.)
DeJong said units had been
asked to report on their process
as well as the past three years’
activity under the process.
• BPC requested a survey of
the status of all University units’
PBCs. The last survey was done
in 2009. (See June 11, 2009, University Times.)
Chief Financial Officer Arthur
J. Ramicone agreed to convey the
request to his staff.
• DeJong said a report on
gender equity in faculty salaries is
complete. It will be presented to
the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Women’s Concerns before
being brought to BPC, he said.
Ramicone noted that an attribution study (that reports revenues and expenses attributable to
each of the University’s academic
units and other responsibility
centers) is complete and must
be presented to UPBC before it
comes to BPC. No date has been
set for when those documents
would be presented to BPC.
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
Summary of rank, range, spread and comparison to median
Note: $ value in thousands
R E S E A R C H
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
Source: Office of the Provost
N O T E S
transitional phases of menopause to measure the thickness
and diameter of a section of the
carotid artery. Researchers noted
significant increases in the average
thickness (0.017 mm per year) and
diameter (0.024 mm per year) of
the carotid artery during the late
perimenopausal stage, the period
of time when menstruation ceases
for more than three consecutive
months.
These increases were significantly higher than those found in
the premenopausal stage.
Samar R. El Khoudary,
lead author of the study and a
public health faculty member,
said: “These data highlight late
perimenopause as a stage of vascular remodeling during which
arteries become more vulnerable,
regardless of a woman’s age and
ethnicity.”
The study is available online
and will be printed in the January
2013 issue of Menopause: The
Journal of the North American
Menopause Society. В В В The findings also suggest that
the changes in the diameter of
the arterial wall may occur first
in response to lower levels of
estrogen during perimenopause.
The thickening of the arterial
wall likely follows as the body
adjusts to the increased stress
from the dilated artery, said El
Khoudary. Late perimenopause
also is the time during which
women gain weight and face
changes in lipid profiles and body
fat distribution.
Those risk factors in combination with the vascular changes
may place older women at risk for
developing atherosclerosis, said El
Khoudary.
Pitt contributing authors
included Joyce T. Bromberger
and Kim Sutton-Tyrrell, both
of public health, and Karen
Matthews and Rebecca C.
Thurston, both of the School of
Medicine.
SWAN received support from
NIH, the Department of Health
and Human Services through the
National Institute on Aging, the
National Institute of Nursing
Research and the NIH Office of
Research on Women’s Health.
The Study of Women’s Health
Across the Nation Heart was supported by the National Heart,
Lung and Blood Institute.
nВ Annette C. Baier
Funeral services were held Nov. 7 in New Zealand for Distinguished
Service Professor of Philosophy emerita Annette C. Baier, 83, who
died Nov. 2, 2012.
Internationally known as a moral philosopher, Hume scholar and
feminist, Baier and her late husband, philosopher Kurt Baier, came
to Pittsburgh in 1962 when he was named chair of Pitt’s philosophy
department. She became a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon before
joining Pitt’s philosophy department in 1973. She retired in 1997.
At the time of her death, Baier was active in the philosophy department at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
A more detailed obituary will appear in the Nov. 21 issue of the
University Times.
n
Cyclists raising funds for pulmonary hypertension
Patricia George, a faculty
member in the Department of
Medicine who works with lung
transplant patients and others,
and three friends have formed
a cycling team that will ride
coast to coast in the Race Across
America (RAAM) in 2014 to raise
donations for and awareness of
pulmonary hypertension.
Also on Team PHenomenal
Hope are Stacie Truszkowski, who
works in pulmonology at UPMC,
Anne-Marie Alderson and Ryanne
Palermo.
But the team isn’t waiting for
2014. With November designated
as pulmonary hypertension awareness month, the team is holding
two events:
• A 60-minute webcast of a pulmonary rehabilitation workout.
The Nov. 10 event at Cycling
Fusion in Oakmont is free. Sign
up at http://teamphenomenalhope.org/.
• On Nov. 20 cycling enthusiasts can participate — on-site
at Cycling Fusion or via a webcast — in the Dirty Dozen, a
stationary-bike ride simulating
the 13 most brutal hills of Pittsburgh.
n
9
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
C A L E N D A R
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
Pitt Bowling League
PAA, 5:30 pm (Tuesdays through
April; 4-8956)
Men’s Basketball NIT Tournament
Fordham vs. Robert Morris or
Lehigh, 6 pm; Pitt vs. Robert
Morris or Lehigh, 9 pm; Petersen
Alumni Assn. Conversation
“Post-Election Landscape,”
Gerald Shuster; UClub Ballrm.
A, 6:30 pm
Wednesday 14
Family Medicine Grand
Rounds Lecture
“Evidence at Point of Care,”
Brian Alper; Scaife lect. rm. 1, 8
am (3-2248)
Pathology Robert S. Totten
Lecture
“Aggressive Variants of Papillary
Thyroid Carcinoma & Thyroid
Cancer Stem Cells,” Ricardo
Lloyd, U of WI; 1105 Scaife,
noon
Pitt Arts Artful Wednesday
“Pillow Project”; WPU Nordy’s
Place, noon (4-4498)
SAC Mtg.
548 WPU, 12:15 pm
Book of Common Prayer
Service
Heinz Chapel, 12:15 pm
(Wednesdays: http://pittepiscopalchaplaincy.wordpress.com/)
PARKING LOT
THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE
PH LOT
Closed Thu. 11/22/12 through Sun. 11/25/12
OC LOT
Closed Thu. 11/22/12 through Fri. 11/23/12
Open Sat. 11/24/12 (10 am–2 pm) Women’s Basketball 1 pm
Closed Sun. 11/25/12
SO LOT
Closed Thu. 11/22/12
Open Fri. 11/23/12 (4 pm–midnight) Concert
Closed Sat. 11/24/12 through Sun. 11/25/12
OH LOT
Closed Thu. 11/22/12 through Sun. 11/25/12
SENNOTT STREET GARAGE (SN)
Closed Thu. 11/22/12 through Sun. 11/25/12
University of Pittsburgh
HSLS Workshop
“SNP & Genetic Variation,”
Ansuman Chattopadhyay; Falk
Library classrm. 2, 1-3 pm
([email protected])
Women’s Studies Info Expo
WPU lower lounge, 2-5 pm
Senate Council Mtg.
2700 Posvar, 3 pm
World History Seminar
“Carriers or Barriers to Human
Mobility? Shipping Companies
& the Rise of Modern Border
Controls at a Local, National
& Global Scale,” Torsten Feys;
4130 Posvar, 4 pm (joneskh@
pitt.edu)
GI Grand Rounds
“Neurogastroenterology Motility Disease”; 11 Scaife, 5 pm
([email protected])
Thursday 15
Molecular Biophysics/Structural Biology Seminar
David Boehr; 6014 BST3, 11 am
Emerging Legends Concert
RichPatrick; Cup & Chaucer, gr.
fl. Hillman, noon
Epidemiology Seminar
“Pittsburgh Epidemiologists
Go to India,” Clareann Bunker;
A115 Crabtree, noon (rosanoc@
edc.pitt.edu)
EOH Seminar
“The Roles of Apolipoprotein
E & MicroRNAs in Alzheimer’s
Disease & Brain Aging,” Jungsu
Kim; 100 Technology Dr. conf.
rm. 540, noon ([email protected])
Sr. VC’s Laureate Lecture
“Regulation of Oxygen Homeostasis by Hypoxia-Inducible
Factor 1,” Gregg Semenza; Scaife
lect. rm. 6, noon
ADRC Lecture
“Are Subjective Cognitive Complaints in Aging a Risk Factor for
Dementia?” Beth Snitz, neurology; Montefiore ADRC conf.
rm. S439, noon (412/692-2721)
Chemistry Seminars
“Dopants & Charge Carriers
in Colloidal Quantum Dots,”
Daniel Gamelin, U of WA, 2:30
pm; Richard Crocombe, Thermo
Fisher, 4 pm; 150 Chevron,
([email protected])
Geology & Planetary Science
Colloquium
“Long-Wave Infrared Airborne
Imaging Spectroscopy of the
Earth (Geological, Environmental & Industrial Applications),”
Dean Riley; 11 Thaw, 4 pm
([email protected])
ID Grand Rounds
“Complicated C. Difficile Infection: The Role of Surgical
Therapy,” Brian Zuckerbraun;
1103 Scaife, 4 pm (mab403@
pitt.edu)
Concert
“A Great & Mighty Voice,”
OvreArts; Heinz Chapel, 7:30
pm (www.heinzchapel.pitt.edu)
Friday 16
ULS Audubon Day
363 Hillman, 9 am-4:45 pm
(8-8199)
Dental Lecture
“A Review of Radiologic Procedures for the Dental Professional:
DEP Recommendations,” Marie
George; 2148 Salk, 9 am-noon
Titusville Campus Discover
Day
UPT, 10 am-1 pm (register: www.
upt.pitt.edu/site/admissions/
discoverdayform.php)
GI Research Rounds
“Hepatic Biology,” Paul Monga;
Presby conf. rm. M2, noon (joj2@
pitt.edu)
Holiday schedule for the campus shuttle service can be
viewed on the Panther Central website: www.pc.pitt.edu
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Sr. VC’s Research Seminar
“Mechanisms of Neuronal Excitability & Their Consequences
for Neural Coding,” Steven
Prescott; Scaife lect. rm. 6, noon
Human Genetics Seminar
Wei Chen, pediatrics; A115
Crabtree, noon ([email protected])
UCSUR Seminar
“Where the Streets Have Four
Names: Building Address Standards in Allegheny County’s
Municipalities,” Matt Mercurio;
UCSUR 3343 Forbes Ave., noon
([email protected])
CIDDE Workshop
“TA Services: Designing Effective Assessments”; 815 Alumni,
1 pm (www.cidde.pitt.edu/
workshops)
Audubon Day Talks
Roberta Olson, NY History
Society; Amy Knapp Room, Hillman, 2 pm; Cup & Chaucer, 3 pm
UPMC Ctr. for Cranial Base
Surgery 25th Anniversary
Banquet
LeMont Restaurant, Mt. Washington, 6:30-10:30 pm ([email protected])
Saturday 17
UPMC Center for Cranial
Base Surgery 25th Anniversary
Celebration
S120 Starzl BST, 8 am-5 pm
([email protected])
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Review
“General Dental Practitioner,”
Mark Sosvicka; 2148 Salk, 9
am-noon
Men’s Basketball
vs. Oakland; Petersen, 7 pm
Sunday 18
Concert
Black Orchid String Trio; Heinz
Chapel, 3 pm (www.heinzchapel.
pitt.edu)
Music on the Edge
Sequitur; Bellefield aud., 8 pm
(4-7529)
Monday 19
Hepatology Research &
Pathology Seminar
“Native Liver Pathology”; 7E 24
Montefiore pathology conf. rm.,
7 am ([email protected])
Adoption Studies Film
“Made in India”; 5200 Posvar,
7:30 pm ([email protected])
Tuesday 20
IEE Discussion
“Beyond Financial Wealth:
Investing in Your Family,” Ron
Law; Duquesne Club, Downtown, 7:30-10 am ([email protected])
GI Fellows Conf.
“Jeopardy,” Jana Al-Hashash,
Mathew Coates & Shari Rogal;
Presby conf. rm. M2, 7:30 am
([email protected])
Senate Community Relations
Committee Mtg.
272 Hillman, noon-2 pm
MMR Seminar
“How Does IL-23 Drive Pathogenic Th17 Cell Function in
Humans & Other Animals?”
Mandy McGeachy; Rangos
Research Ctr. aud., noon (linda.
[email protected])
Call Today to reserve your appointment!
412-681-8011
smilesbyhart.com
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
10
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
C A L E N D A R
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
Basic & Translational Research
Seminar
“Cancer Genomes & Their
Implications,” Nickolas Papadopoulos, Johns Hopkins; Hillman
Cancer Ctr. Cooper classrm. D,
noon ([email protected])
Social Epidemiology Journal
Club
Forbes Twr. 7th fl. conf. rm., 4 pm
Women’s Basketball
vs. Wagner; Petersen or Fitzgerald, 7 pm
Wednesday 21
• No classes through Nov. 25
due to Thanksgiving recess.
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Lecture
“Anesthesia,” Andrea Ford;
G33 Salk, 4 pm (Fordham@
upmc.edu)
Defenses
GSPH/Behavioral & Community Health Sciences
“Ways of Coping: Understanding Workplace Stress &
Coping Mechanisms for Hospice
Nurses,” LaToya Harris; Nov. 8,
211 Parran, 9:30 am
A&S/Classics
“Restoring Parmenides’ Poem:
Essays Toward a Reconstruction of the Fragments Based on
a Reassessment of the Original
Sources,” Christopher Kurfess;
Nov. 8, 1518 CL, 1 pm
IS/IS & Technology
“Recommendations Based on
Users’ Various Social Networks,”
Danielle Lee; Nov. 9, 522 IS, 9 am
A&S/Biological Sciences
“Characterization of Factors
That Impact Apolipoprotein
B Secretion & Endoplasmic
Reticulum Associated Degradation,” Sarah Grubb; Nov. 9,
A219B Langley, noon
A&S/Geology & Planetary
Science
“Annually Resolved Isotope
Record of South American
Summer Monsoon Variability of
the Past 1,000 Years, as Recorded
in Lake Junin, Peru,” Kaitlin
Clark; Nov. 12, 214 SRCC, 9 am
Medicine/Biomedical Informatics
“Characterization of the Cognitive Structures Used by Dentists,” Miguel Humberto TorresUrquidy; Nov. 12, 5607 Baum
Blvd. rm. 536, 9 am
Business/Finance
“Essays on Corporate Financial
Reporting,” Ahmet Kurt; Nov.
12, 117 Mervis, 10 am
A&S/Neuroscience
“Anatomical Organization of the
Extended Amygdala,” Michael
Bienkowski; Nov. 12, A219B
Langley, 10 am
A&S/French & Italian Languages & Literatures
“Morphologies of Becoming:
Post-Human Dandies in Fin-deSiècle France,” Marina Starik;
Nov. 12, 1325 CL, 11:30 am-1:30
pm
A&S/Chemistry
“Practical Applications of Small
Heterocycles,” Melissa Sprachman; Nov. 12, 206 Eberly, 2 pm
A&S/Anthropology
“Social Reorganization & Adaptation in the Aftermath of Classic Maya Dynastic Collapse at
Baking Pot, Belize,” Julie Hoggarth; Nov. 12, 3106 Posvar, 3 pm
IS/Library & IS
“The Information Literacy
Competencies of Evangelical
Pastors: A Study of Sermon
Preparation,” Gerald Lincoln;
Nov. 14, 608A IS, 2 pm
Medicine/Molecular Pharmacology
“Electrophilic Nitro-Fatty Acid
Regulation of Mitochondrial
Function,” Jeffrey Koenitzer;
Nov. 15, 1495 BST, 1 pm
A&S/Chemistry
“Electroosmotic Sampling &
Its Application to Determination of Ectopeptidase Activity
in Organotypic Hippocampal
Slice Culture When Coupled
With HPLC-EC,” Hongjuan
Xu; Nov. 16, 307 Eberly, 9 am
A&S/Biological Sciences
“An Empirical Test of the
Mutualism Disruption Hypothesis: Impacts of an Allelopathic
Invader on the Ecophysiology
of a Native Forest Herb,” Alison
Hale; Nov. 16, A219B Langley,
1:15 pm
Medicine/Biomedical Informatics
“ I nf or ma tion I nte g r a tion
Approaches for Investigating
Estrogen Receptor Mediated
Transcription,” Hatice Osmanbeyoglu; Nov. 16, 5607 Baum
Blvd. rm. 407B, 3 pm
A&S/Biostatistics
“Multilevel Joint Analysis of
Longitudinal & Binary Outcomes,” Seo Yeon Hong; Nov.
19, A216 Crabtree, 10 am
GSPH/Epidemiology
“Cardiovascular Risk Factors
& Subclinical Atherosclerosis
in Middle Aged Women With
a History of Polycystic Ovary
Syndrome,” Tammy Loucks;
Nov. 19, A523 Crabtree, 2-4 pm
A&S/Chemistry
“Syntheses of Peptidic, Natural
Product-Inspired and Heterocyclic Molecules as Biological
Probes,” Jared Hammill; Nov.
19, 206 Eberly, 2 pm
A&S/Geology & Planetary
Science
“Examining the Sources &
Transport of Reactive N Emissions Using Stable Isotope
Techniques,” Joseph Felix; Nov.
20, 214 SRCC, 9 am
Medicine/Biomedical Informatics
“Semi-Automated Diagnosis of
Pulmonary Hypertension Using
PUMA, a Pulmonary Mapping
Analysis Tool,” Holly Berty;
Nov. 20, 5607 Baum Blvd. rm.
536A, 1 pm
Theatre
NoPassport Theatre Alliance
Reading
“Spark”; Henry Heymann Theatre, Foster Mem., Nov. 12, 7 pm
(www.play.pitt.edu)
Pitt Repertory Theatre
“Compleat Female Stage
Beauty”; Henry Heymann,
Foster Mem., through Nov. 18,
T-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm (www.
play.pitt.edu/content/compleatfemale-stage-beauty)
Bradford Campus Production
“An Enemy of the People”;
Blaisdell Studio Theatre, UPB,
Nov. 15-17, 7:30 pm, Nov. 18, 2
pm (814/362-5113)
Exhibits
Barco Law Library Exhibit
“Books,” Karen Kaighin; through
Nov. 9; Th 7 am-10 pm; F 7 am-8
pm; (8-1376)
Bradford Campus KOA Gallery Exhibit
“Of Body & Spirit in Relation
to Our Existence: Sculpture by
Anne Mormile”; Blaisdell, UPB,
through Nov. 9; Th 8:30 am-8
pm, F 8:30 am-6 pm
• $8 for up to 15 words; $9 for 16-30
words; $10 for 31-50 words.
• For University ads, submit an account
number for transfer of funds.
• Reserve space by submitting ad copy
one week prior to publication. Copy and
payment should be sent to University
Times, 308 Bellefield Hall, University
of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 15260.
• For more information, call Barbara
DelRaso, 412/624-4644.
HOUSING/RENT
All faculty, staff and students are reminded to turn off computers,
radios, copiers, printers, scanners, automatic coffee machines, lights
& other items in their area before leaving for the holiday.
Please take a moment to shut these items off. This will help reduce
University utility costs and lessen the potential for physical damage
to this equipment.
Facilities Management thanks you for your consideration
& wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Deadlines
NSF Scholarships
Deadline Nov. 30. (mcsi@pitt.
edu)
CTSI Engineering to Clinical
Collaborative Research Pilot
Program
Application deadline Dec. 14.
(www.ctsi.pitt.edu/documents/
EnCCoR.pdf)
Nat’l Council for Black Studies
Conf. Call for Abstracts
Deadline Dec. 15. (http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/
ncbs/ncbs13/)
Event Deadline
The next issue of the University
Times will include University
and on-campus events of Nov.
21-Dec. 6. Information for
events during that period must be
received by 5 pm on Nov. 15 at
308 Bellefield Hall. Information
may be sent by fax to 4-4579 or
email to [email protected].
n
C L A S S I F I E D
• All other ads should be accompanied by
a check for the full amount made payable
to the University of Pittsburgh.
A HOLIDAY REMINDER FROM THE
OFFICE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
ULS Exhibit
“Eyes on the Future: Images of
World’s Fairs in the Collections of
the University Library System”;
Hillman & FFA Library; through
Feb. 24; (www.library.pitt.edu/
libraries/hours/all.html)
Student Exhibit
“Face Value: (De)Constructing
Identity in Portraits”; FFA Gallery, through Nov. 30; M-F 10
am-4 pm ([email protected])
FRIENDSHIP
Professionals preferred for private room
rental in large Victorian home on Friendship
Ave. between UPMC Children’s & Shadyside
Hospital. $600-650/mo., all-inclusive, furnished house share. Wireless, nonsmoking
environment. Will consider short-term lease.
724/312-4800 or friendshiphousing@gmail.
com for more info.
GREENFIELD
Convenient to Oakland or Downtown. Near
bus stop. Totally renovated, 4-BR house with
equipped kit., central A/C, W/D, 2 full baths.
Available immediately. $1,550+. Serious inquiry
only. Call 412/600-6933.
ROOMMATE WANTED/BLOOMFIELD
UPMC/Pitt researcher or grad student preferred as roommate. Just blocks from Children’s
Hospital. 2 BR, furnished. Nonsmoker. No
pets. $400/mo. 412/403-7073.
SERVICES
MARKS•ELDER LAW
Wills; estate planning; trusts; nursing home/
Medicaid cost-of-care planning; POAs; probate
& estate administration; real estate; assessment appeals. Squirrel Hill: 412/421-8944;
Monroeville: 412/373-4235; email michael@
marks-law.com. Free initial consultation. Fees
quoted in advance.В SUBJECTS NEEDED
BLOOD PRESSURE & THE BRAIN
Research study with 1 MRI & 2 interview sessions seeks healthy adults ages 35-60. Cannot
have low blood pressure, hypertension, heart
disease or diabetes. $150 compensation. Will be
invited to repeat study in 2 years with additional
compensation. Contact Kim Novak at 412/2466200 or [email protected].
THINKING OF QUITTING SMOKING?
UPMC seeks smokers 18-65 who are already
planning to quit smoking.В This is a 4-week
study on the short-term effects of fenofibrate,
an FDA-approved oral medication for lipid
lowering & may reduce smoking.В This is not
a treatment study. For more information,
visit www.smokingstudies.pitt.edu or call
412/246-5306.
WOMEN’S HEALTH STUDY
University of Pittsburgh researchers are looking for healthy women ages 40-60 for a study
looking at cardiovascular disease risk factors.
The research study includes: wearing study
monitors; a fasting blood draw; completing
diaries & questionnaires;В ultrasounds of arm &
neck arteries. Compensation is $150. В Email:
[email protected] or 412/6487068; 412/624-2016.
Buy it,
sell it
in the
University Times
CLASSIFIEDS!
11
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
C A L E N D A R
November
Thursday 8
Reception of Borges Symposium
602 CL, 9:30 am-6 pm (also
Nov. 9, 1218 CL, 10 am: www.
borges.pitt.edu/news-events/
borges-center-events-university-pittsburgh)
Epidemiology Seminar
“Limitations on the Use of
Data From Federal, State &
Local Surveys to Count &
Characterize the Public Health
Workforce,” Mehran Massoudi;
A115 Crabtree, noon (rosanoc@
edc.pitt.edu)
Law Informational Mtg.
“U.S. Peace Corps, Boren Fellowship & Fulbright Fellowship
Opportunities”; G-18 Barco,
noon (www.law.pitt.edu/events)
EOH Health Seminar
“Science, Education & Policy:
Local Lead Poisoning Prevention Efforts in Rochester, NY,”
Katrina Korfmacher; 100 Technology Dr. conf. rm. 540, noon
([email protected])
Nordenberg Law, Medicine &
Psychiatry Symposium
“The Fundamentals of Medicare
Law,” William McKendree,
12:45 pm; “What Is the Future
of Medicare?” Edward Lawlor, 2
pm; “The Future of Medicare”
panel discussion, Jason Manne,
Judith Black & John Lovelace,
3:15 pm; Barco Teplitz Courtrm.
([email protected])
Chemistry Seminars
“Designing Small Molecules
That Mimic Protein-Protein
Interface Regions: Should We
Be Searching for a Big Fish or
Moby Dick?” Kevin Burgess, TX
A&M, 2:30 pm; Phillip Geissler,
UC-Berkeley, 4 pm; 150 Chevron ([email protected])
Geology & Planetary Science
Colloquium
“The History of Water on Mars,”
Robert Craddock; 11 Thaw, 4 pm
([email protected])
ID Grand Rounds
“Responding to a Call to Action,”
Gordon Schutze, Baylor; 1103
Scaife, 4 pm ([email protected])
Engineering Nuclear Night
Keynote: Peter Sena III, FirstEnergy; WPU Ballrm., 7 pm
([email protected])
Contemporary Writers Seminar
Paul Yoon; FFA aud., 8:30 pm
Friday 9
• Last day for spring term
enrollment appointments.
Tommy Costello
Dylan Meyers is Edward Kynaston and Michael Zolovich is Sir Charles Sedley in Pitt Repertory Theatre’s production of “Compleat Female Stage Beauty,” which runs through Nov. 18 in the Stephen
Foster Memorial’s Henry Heymann Theatre.
UNIVERSITY
TIMES
2012-13 publication schedule
Events occurring
Submit by
For publication
Dec. 6-Jan. 10
Nov. 29
Dec. 6
Nov. 21-Dec. 6
Jan. 10-24
Jan. 24-Feb. 7
Feb. 7-21
Feb. 21-March 7
March 7-21
March 21-April 4
April 4-18
April 18-May 2
May 2-16
May 16-30
May 30-June 13
June 13-27
June 27-July 11
July 11-25
July 25-Aug. 29
Nov. 15
Jan. 3
Jan. 17
Jan. 31
Feb. 14
Feb. 28
March 14
March 28
April 11
April 25
May 9
May 23
June 6
June 20
July 5 (Fri.)
July 18
Nov. 21 (Wed.)
Jan. 10
Jan. 24
Feb. 7
Feb. 21
March 7
March 21
April 4
April 18
May 2
May 16
May 30
June 13
June 27
July 11
July 25
The University Times events calendar includes Pitt-sponsored events as well as non-Pitt events held on
a Pitt campus. Information submitted for the calendar should identify the type of event, such as lecture
or concert, and the program’s specific title, sponsor, location and time. The name and phone number of
a contact person should be included. Information should be sent by email to: [email protected], by FAX
to: 412/624-4579, or by campus mail to: 308 Bellefield Hall. We cannot guarantee publication of events
received after the deadline.
12
Asian Studies Conf.
“Chinese Local Governance:
Contemporary Innovation &
Reform”; UClub conf. rm. A, 9
am-5 pm (also Nov. 10; register:
[email protected])
World History Roundtable
“Crusade After the Crusades:
Conquest, Colonialism, Contact
Zones”; 602 CL, 10 am-5 pm
([email protected])
GSPH Open House
Crabtree & Parran, 10 am-2:30
pm (register: www.publichealth.
pitt.edu/openhouse)
Women’s Basketball
vs. Youngstown St.; Petersen,
11 am
Emerging Legends Concert
Cathasaigh; Cup & Chaucer, gr.
fl. Hillman, noon
CTSI Seminar
“Data Acquisition, Sharing &
Ownership,” Doris Rubino;
7057 Forbes Twr., noon (register:
www.ctsi.pitt.edu)
Anthropology/Archaeology
Lecture
“Niuheliang: The Pilgrimage
Center of Hongshan Societies,”
Lu Xueming & Zhu Da; 3106
Posvar, 3 pm ([email protected])
Oakland Farmers Market
Sennott St. between Atwood &
Meyran, 3-6:30 pm (www.oaklandfarmersmarket.org)
Philosophy of Science Lecture
“Why Children Actually Might
Be Better Scientists Than Scientists Are,” Alison Gopnik,
UC-Berkeley; 817R CL, 3:30 pm
(www.pitt.edu/~pittcntr)
Men’s Basketball
vs. Mount St. Mary’s; Petersen,
6 pm
Saturday 10
• Spring term open enrollment
begins.
Sunday 11
Episcopal Service
Heinz Chapel, 11 am (Sundays:
http://pittepiscopalchaplaincy.
wordpress.com/)
Women’s Basketball
vs. William & Mary; Petersen,
1 pm
Concert
Pitt PalPITTations; Heinz
Chapel, 3 pm (www.heinzchapel.
pitt.edu)
Jewish Studies Lecture
“Putting Pittsburgh on the Map
of American Jewish Urban History,” Deborah Moore, U of MI;
Jewish Community Ctr., Squirrel
Hill, 6 pm ([email protected])
Monday 12
Veterans Services Remembrance Day
WPU lower lounge, 9 am-4:30
pm (4-3213)
Bradford Campus Visitation
Day
UPB, 10 am (www.upb.pitt.edu/
visit.aspx)
HSLS Workshop
“Painless PubMed,” Ester
Saghafi; Falk Library classrm.
1, 11 am ([email protected])
ID Research Seminar
“Molecular Parasitology,”
George Cross, Rockefeller
U; A115 Crabtree, 12:30 pm
(8-6273)
Men’s Basketball NIT Tournament
Pitt vs. Fordham, 6 pm; Robert
Morris vs. Lehigh, 8:30 pm;
Petersen
NoPassport Theatre Alliance
Reading
“Spark”; Henry Heymann Theatre, Foster Mem., 7 pm (www.
play.pitt.edu)
Tuesday 13
CIDDE Workshop
“Multimedia Teaching & Learning”; B23 Alumni, 10 am (www.
cidde.pitt.edu/workshops)
Basic & Translational Research
Seminar
“PARP1: A Mediator of Genotoxin Response Pathway Crosstalk,” Robert Sobol; Hillman
Cancer Ctr. Cooper classrm. D,
noon ([email protected])
HSLS Workshop
“The WOW Factor: PowerPoint
for Posters,” Julia Jankovic; Falk
Library classrm. 2, noon-2 pm
([email protected])
MMR Seminar
“Differential Mass Spectrometry,” Nathan Yates; Rangos
Research Ctr. aud., noon (linda.
[email protected])
UCIS Opportunities for Law
Students
107 Barco, noon (www.law.pitt.
edu/newsevents/events)
Women’s Basketball
vs. Siena; Fitzgerald, 1 pm
Senate Sustainability Subcommittee Mtg.
4127 Sennott, 3 pm (bucfav@
pitt.edu)
GSPIA Philanthropy Forum
“Philanthropy in Northern Ireland: Bridging Divides, Bringing
Peace, Building Community,”
Avila Kilmurray; 3911 Posvar,
3:30 pm ([email protected])
World History/Humanities
Lecture
“Tahiti & the Global 18th Century,” Lynn Festa; 602 CL, 5 pm
([email protected])
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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