students will enter Oxford to study for advanced degrees in health care and public policy, immunology, and neurobiology.  As a step in strengthening ties and advancing the new joint program, Sir John Hanson, Warden of Green College,  hosted by Dr. Chambers, visited the campus in February to meet with UIC administrators and faculty.  It is hoped that in succeeding years, this program will involve interchange of faculty as well.  In addition, Dr. Chambers has accepted the responsibility to be the Green College, Oxford representative in North America and in that capacity  attended a gathering of North American Oxonians in New York in March.
     This year marks initiation of the first-ever College of Dentistry Grand Rounds, organized by  Dr. Rhonna Cohen  who also served as moderator for the program.  A faculty panel comprising Drs. Chambers, Cohen, Judy Johnson, Anne Koerber and Ales Obres discussed a case of Osteogenesis Imperfecta in terms of biochemical and molecular biological etiology and  pathology, and care of the patient including clinical and behavioral science implications.
      Dr. Cohen is completing her first year as faculty advisor of the UIC Pre-Dental Club and is the College of Dentistry representative for pre-dental students enrolled under the Guaranteed Professional Program Admission (GPPA) program at UIC.
     In addition, Dr. Srilata Bagchi is serving on the College of Dentistry Human Subjects Research Committee and Dr. Carolyn Bruzdzinski presented an Oral Biology Seminar on “The Regulation and Role of Plasminogen Activation in Tissue Regeneration”.  Dr. Olson serves on the UIC Campus Research Board’s Basic Life Sciences Subcommittee, and he spoke on “Regulation of Hemostasis by Serpin Family Protein Proteinase Inhibitors” at the College’s Interdepartmental Oral Sciences Seminar.  Alireza Rezaie, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at St. Louis University School of Medicine spent four weeks as a visiting professor in Dr. Olson’s laboratory.  The joint project was to study how the anticoagulant molecule, heparin, catalyzes rapid inactivation of the key clotting enzymes, factor Xa and thrombin.  Their findings demonstrate for the first time the accelerating effect of heparin and have implications for therapeutic potential of heparin in treating venous thrombosis.
     To address a new NIH initiative on health disparities, Dr. Chambers and Dr. John Crawford co-chaired a College of Dentistry’s Task Force.  Members of this committee attended NIH workshops on the program and have submitted their report and recommendations for a plan to the Dean.
     Dr. Chambers has been invited to present a seminar in April, “Neuroimmunology: From Cell to Genome,” to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Pennsylvania State University.
     Drs. Chambers and Cohen attended the Fourth International Congress of the International Society of Neuroimmunomodulation in Lugano, Switzerland, September 29-October 2, 1999 which Dr. Chambers reviewed for the journal Immunology Today.

 NEWS OF CENTER ALUMNI

     Dr. Vladimir Kalinichenko, a postdoctoral research associate working in Dr. Chambers’ laboratories, has accepted a position as Research Assistant Professor in UIC’s Department of Molecular Genetics.   Dr. Stephanie Marschall (Oncology Training Fellow in Dr. Chambers’ lab 1985-1987, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Dermatology at Rush Medical School.  UIC Honors College Alumni Dr. H.V. Munshi (Dr. Chambers’ lab 1988), having completed his M.D./Ph.D. at Harvard University and residency training at the University of Michigan, has just accepted an oncology fellowship and faculty position at Northwestern University Medical School; Mrs. Rosemary Dolan (Dr. Cohen’s lab 1999) has been accepted to the dental school of the Medical College of Georgia; and Ms. Clare Rudall (Dr. Chambers’ lab 1999) was awarded the Boissevain prize for excellence in chemistry, the Phi Kappa Phi grant for scholarly project, the Langenberg Award, and the Eugertha Bates prize at UIC, and has been accepted for entry Fall 2000 to UIC’s College of Medicine.

 RECENT CENTER PUBLICATIONS

      Véronique Arocas, Susan C. Bock, Steven T. Olson, and Ingemar Björk, The Role of Arg46 and Arg 47 of Antithrombin Heparin Binding, Biochemistry (1999), 38,10196-10204.
     Yung-Jen Chuang, Peter. G.W. Gettins, and Steven T. Olson (1999), Importance of the P2 Glycine of Antithrombin in Target Proteinase Specificity, Heparin Activation, and the Efficiency of Proteinase Trapping as Revealed by a P2 Gly ? Pro Mutation, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 274:40, 28142-28149.
     Daniel A. Lawrence, Steven. T. Olson, Shabazz Muhammadi, Duane E. Day, Jan Olov Kvassman, David Ginsburg, and     Joseph D. Shore (2000), Partitioning of Serpin Proteinase Reactions between Stable Inhibition and Substrate Cleavage is Regulated by the Rate of Serpin Reactive Center Loop Insertion into ß-Sheet A, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 275:8, 5389-5844.
    Jennifer L. Meagher, Steven T. Olson, and Peter G.W. Gettins (2000), Critical Role of the Linker Region between Helix D and Strand 2A in Heparin Activation of Antithrombin, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 275:4, 2698-2704.
    Donald A. Chambers (2000), Book Review: Felix d’Herelle and the Origins of Molecular Biology, The New England Journal of Medicine, 342:8, 595.
    Donald A. Chambers and Konrad Schauenstein (2000), Mindful Immunology, Immunology Today, 21:4, 165-167.

(Image in top-right corner: Dr. Donald A. Chambers and Rhonna Cohen participate in the Center series of Chalk Talks and Journal Club.)