UIC News Bureau

UIC News Bureau http://www.news.uic.edu UIC News Bureau en-us Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:02:04 -0600 UIC News Bureau http://www.uic.edu/favicon.png http://www.news.uic.edu UIC News Bureau UIC Theatre Presents 'Our Lady of 121st Street' http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3418&fromhome=1 [Note: Photos for download at <a href="http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/uictheatre/">http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/uic_theatre/</a>] WHAT: University of Illinois at Chicago acting students will perform "Our Lady of 121st Street," a comedy by Stephen Adly Guirgs, directed by Shanésia Davis, film and television actress and UIC adjunct lecturer in theatre. WHEN: Feb. 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19, 26 at 2 p.m. Feb. 22 at noon WHERE: UIC Theatre 1044 W. Harrison St. DETAILS: Sister Rose, a nun, teacher and beloved activist in Harlem, has died of alcoholism, and her body has been stolen from the funeral home. Her distraught mourners are over-the-top characters who grew up together, but have not seen each other in years as their lives went astray in various directions. Suddenly needing to come clean, they square off against each other, unleashing their pain and fear in reminiscences, quarrels, and confessions. The New York Times praised this play as "a scorching and dark new comedy…Mr. Guirgis has one of the finest imaginations for dialogue to come along in years." Shanésia Davis is a Jeff-nominated actress who has appeared in feature films such as "The Weatherman" and "With Honors" and the CBS television series "Early Edition." Stephen Adly Guirgis is co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater. He first became known for his play, "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train," nominated for London's Olivier Award for best new play. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3418&fromhome=1 Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:43:51 -0500 Hull-House Museum Panel to Weigh Historic Preservation http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3417&fromhome=1 WHAT: The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum at the University of Illinois at Chicago will host "This is Not My Beautiful House: Historic Preservation and the People's History," a panel discussion among national and local experts. WHEN: Feb. 10 2 - 5 p.m. WHERE: Jane Addams Hull-House Museum 800 S. Halsted St. Residents' Dining Hall DETAILS: How do we prevent historical amnesia? When is historic preservation a force for gentrification and social displacement, and when is it a force for equality? What role should preservation play in fostering a sense of community? The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, the National Public Housing Museum, and a panel of distinguished thinkers and activists will examine these and other questions of historic preservation and social justice. Panelists include: -Lee Bey, executive director, Chicago Central Area Committee; urbanist, photographer and critic specializing in architecture and the role of politics in the built environment -Roberta Feldman, UIC professor emeritus of architecture; architectural activist and co-author, "The Dignity of Resistance: Women Residents in Chicago Public Housing" -Mary Means, founder, Main Street program, National Trust for Historic Preservation; leader in community revitalization and heritage development -Vince Michael (moderator), chair, historic preservation, School of the Art Institute of Chicago; heritage conservationist and cultural sustainability activist -Estevan Rael-Galvez, vice president, historic sites, National Trust for Historic Preservation; former director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center; historian of American Indian slavery and advocate for the power of place Admission is free and open to the public. For information or to RSVP, email <a href="mailto:mplumme@uic.edu">mplumme@uic.edu</a> or call (312) 413-5354. This symposium is funded in part by grants from the Graham Foundation and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3417&fromhome=1 Mon, 6 Feb 2012 11:00:28 -0500 Five UIC Students Win Gilman Study Abroad Awards http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3416&fromhome=1 Five University of Illinois at Chicago undergraduates have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman scholarships for study abroad opportunities. The UIC students are among more than 900 undergraduates awarded Gilman scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad program costs during the 2012 spring semester. Since 2006, UIC students have received 54 Gilman scholarships totaling about $224,500. Eligible students are those who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding and are from groups traditionally underrepresented in education abroad. The program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they travel. The UIC recipients are: Grant Buhr, senior Honors College sociology major from Chicago, studying in Quito, Ecuador Monica Fetherston, junior Spanish and political science major from McHenry, Ill., studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina Alexander Guevara, junior criminology, law and justice major from Chicago, studying in Rabat, Morocco Gilbert Moran, junior economics major from Elmwood Park, Ill., studying in Madrid, Spain Cesar Rocha, junior accounting major from Chicago, studying in Bilbao, Spain The scholarship program is funded through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is administered by the Institute of International Education's Southern Regional Center in Houston. It honors former U.S. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, who chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. bflood@uic.edu (Brian Flood) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3416&fromhome=1 Wed, 1 Feb 2012 11:49:23 -0500 UIC Demographer Writes on Aging for World Economic Forum http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3414&fromhome=1 Noted University of Illinois at Chicago biodemographer S. Jay Olshansky is the author of two essays assembled by The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on an Ageing Society to address the challenges and benefits of population aging. Olshansky's work is part of a book titled "Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?" released at the World Economic Forum meeting today in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The book consists of 22 essays divided into four themes: setting the stage for policy decisions on aging; investing in ourselves; pursuing healthy aging; and redesigning our environment. The central theme that emerges is the increasing need to adapt to population aging, identify and take advantage of the opportunities it offers and find ways to unlock the human capital resources that population aging and longer lives make possible. "The book is designed to change the way the world looks at the aging of individuals and populations," says Olshansky, who is professor of epidemiology in the UIC School of Public Health. "The traditional view is one of loss, decline, decay, and high cost. The new view is to look at aging as an opportunity." Olshansky's first chapter is "The Elders," about a small group of independent-minded elders brought together by Richard Branson, Peter Gabriel, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, Desmond Tutu and others to actively engage in society to resolve global issues at the highest levels. The group, as Olshansky shows, provides an example of leadership attributes common in older people that should be nurtured. In the second chapter, "The Longevity Dividend: Health as an Investment," Olshansky, John R. Beard and Axel Börsch-Supan advocate investing in health to live better, not just longer. "The economic value of a rapidly growing healthy older population is so large that healthy aging should be aggressively pursued, on its own merits, as a societal investment," say the authors. The Ageing Book is available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC_GlobalPopulationAgeing_Report_2012.pdf Olshansky can be reached at <a href="mailto:sjayo@uic.edu">sjayo@uic.edu</a> or (847) 537-7278. For more information about UIC, visit <a href="http://www.uic.edu">www.uic.edu</a>. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3414&fromhome=1 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:15:48 -0500 UIC's Annual High School Jazz Festival Features Harmonica Virtuoso http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3413&fromhome=1 [NOTE: Photos of Howard Levy for download at <a href="http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/howardlevy/"]>http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/howardlevy/</a> WHAT: The University of Illinois at Chicago will host its third annual High School Jazz Festival, featuring an evening performance by nationally renowned harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy and noted musicians on the UIC jazz faculty. WHEN: Feb. 27 Festival, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Concert, 7 p.m. WHERE: Student Center East 750 S. Halsted St. Illinois Room DETAILS: Noted Chicago jazz artists who teach at UIC, including Ernie Adams (percussion), Patricia Barber (vocals), Ari Brown (saxophone), Orbert Davis (trumpet), Stewart Miller (bass), Peter Stoltzman (piano), and Zvonimir Tot (guitar), will score and critique the performances of 10 to 14 Chicago-area high school jazz ensembles. The UIC Jazz Faculty Combo, Student Combo and Jazz Ensemble will perform at midday. Admission is free. The festival will culminate with a 7 p.m. concert featuring renowned harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy, the UIC Jazz Faculty Combo, and the UIC Jazz Ensemble, directed by drummer Joel Spencer, adjunct lecturer of music. Tickets to the evening concert are $10 for the general public; $7 with student ID. Tickets will be available online at <a href="http://theatreandmusic.aa.uic.edu/musicpages/music-jazzfestival.htm">theatreandmusic.aa.uic.edu/musicpages/music-jazzfestival.htm</a> or at the door (cash or check only). For information, please call (312) 996-6068. "This festival is an outstanding opportunity for students to work with leading Chicago jazz artists while getting to know the UIC campus," said Tot, professor of jazz studies and festival organizer. For more information about the UIC department of theatre and music, visit <a href="http://theatreandmusic.aa.uic.edu">theatreandmusic.aa.uic.edu</a>. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3413&fromhome=1 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:30:10 -0500 Entry Point for Hepatitis C Infection Identified http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3408&fromhome=1 A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The cholesterol receptor offers a promising new target for anti-viral therapy, for which an approved drug may already exist, say the researchers, whose findings were reported online in advance of publication in Nature Medicine. An estimated 4.1 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C virus, or HCV, which attacks the liver and leads to inflammation, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most people have no symptoms initially and may not know they have the infection until liver damage shows up decades later during routine medical tests. Previous studies showed that cholesterol was somehow involved in HCV infection. The UIC researchers suspected that a receptor called NPC1L1, known to help maintain cholesterol balance might also be transporting the virus into the cell. The receptor is common in the gut of many species -- but is found on liver cells only in humans and chimpanzees, says Susan Uprichard, assistant professor in medicine and microbiology and immunology and principal investigator in the study. These primates, she said, are the only animals that can be infected by HCV. Uprichard and her coworkers showed that knocking down or blocking access to the NPC1L1 receptor prevented the virus from entering and infecting cells. Bruno Sainz, Jr., UIC postdoctoral research associate in medicine and first author of the paper, said because the receptor is involved in cholesterol metabolism it was already well-studied. A drug that "specifically and uniquely targets NPC1L1" already exists and is approved for use to lower cholesterol levels, he said. The FDA-approved drug ezetimibe (sold under the trade-name Zetia) is readily available and perfectly targeted to the receptor, Sainz said, so the researchers had an ideal method for testing NPC1L1's involvement in HCV infection. They used the drug to block the receptor before, during and after inoculation with the virus, in cell culture and in a small-animal model, to evaluate the receptor's role in infection and the drug's potential as an anti-hepatitis agent. The researchers showed that ezetimibe inhibited HCV infection in cell culture and in mice transplanted with human liver cells. And, unlike any currently available drugs, ezetimibe was able to inhibit infection by all six types of HCV. The study, Uprichard said, opens up a number of possibilities for therapeutics. Hepatitis C is the leading cause for liver transplantation in the U.S., but infected patients have problems after transplant because the virus attacks the new liver, Uprichard said. While current drugs are highly toxic and often cannot be tolerated by transplant patients taking immunosuppressant drugs, ezetimibe is quite safe and has been used long-term without harm by people to control their cholesterol, Uprichard said. Because it prevents entry of the virus into cells, ezetimibe may help protect the new liver from infection. For patients with chronic hepatitis C, ezetimibe may be able to be used in combination with current drugs. "We forsee future HCV therapy as a drug-cocktail approach, like that used against AIDS," Uprichard said. "Based on cell culture and mouse model data, we expect ezetimibe, an entry inhibitor, may have tremendous synergy with current anti-HCV drugs resulting in an improvement in the effectiveness of treatment." The study was supported by NIH Public Health Service grants, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar grant, the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science NIH grant, the UIC Council to Support Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, and a grant from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. Naina Barretto, Danyelle Martin, Snawar Hussain, Katherine Marsh and Xuemei Yu, of UIC; Nobuhiko Hiraga, Michio Imamura and Kazuaki Chayama, of Hiroshima University in Japan; and Waddah Alrefai of UIC and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago also contributed to the study. [Editor's Note: Images available at <a href="http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/uprichard/">newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/uprichard/</a>] For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3408&fromhome=1 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:59:46 -0500 Panel to Explore Music and Culture Along U.S.-Mexico Border http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3409&fromhome=1 WHO/WHAT: The diverse variety of musical practices found along the U.S.-Mexico border will be the focus of a panel hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago Latin American and Latino Studies Program and the UIC Latino Cultural Center. Free and open to the public, "Transnational Encounters: Music and Performance at the U.S.-Mexico Border," is part of Zona Abierta (Open Zone), an event series that intersects arts, humanities, science, culture, and civic life, while addressing social issues that affect the lives of Latinos and Latin Americans and making connections to other communities. WHEN: Feb. 9 3 - 5 p.m. WHERE: UIC Latino Cultural Center Lecture Center B-2 803 S. Morgan St. DETAILS: The event shares its title with a 2011 book edited by musicologist and cultural theorist Alejandro L. Madrid, UIC associate professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, who will moderate the panel. Book contributors and panelists Ignacio Corona of the Ohio State University, Lillian Gorman of UIC, Jose E. Limon of the University of Notre Dame, and Ramon H. Rivera-Servera of Northwestern University will examine the diverse musical styles, traditions and people found in the border region. Seating is limited. For more information, call (312) 996-2245 or email <a href="mailto:martae@uic.edu">martae@uic.edu</a> The event is co-sponsored by the UIC department of theatre and music. bflood@uic.edu (Brian Flood) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3409&fromhome=1 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:37:36 -0500 New Book Critiques 'Corporate' School Reform http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3410&fromhome=1 Neoliberal education reforms, including No Child Left Behind and Chicago's Renaissance 2010, tend to "marketize" schools and threaten to dismantle public education as we know it, according to a new book edited by a University of Illinois at Chicago education researcher. William Watkins, professor of curriculum and instruction, criticizes the replacement of neighborhood schools with charter schools and the replacement of education leaders with corporate officials in "The Assault on Public Education: Confronting the Politics of Corporate School Reform" (Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 2012), a collection of essays by scholars across the country. Watkins writes that free-market principles should not be applied to school reform. "The corporate intrusion into school reform is connected to realignments in the labor market. Renaissance 2010, for example, was ideologically and politically driven, not based on informed school research. The shuttering and altering of schools torpedoes the concept of universal education and the common school as we know it," Watkins said, referring to the "tax-supported, mandatory and accessible common school" advocated by 19th-century reformer Horace Mann. "Free-market policies and practices needlessly reposition schools in competition, where there are winners and losers," Watkins said. "Schools become more stratified and parents have little input. In many cities, children now travel miles across town as they are unable to attend the 'selective admission' school down the street from their home." Watkins said the current emphasis on testing has created "pushouts" -- students who have not dropped out, but have not tested well enough to enter the newly selective schools. "We must identify achievers, but not create barriers to others becoming achievers," he said. "Schools cannot be treated like chain stores, where only the 'profitable' remain open. The closing of schools is reprehensible in all cases." The book's contributors explore related issues such as labor economics, urban renewal, unionism, race relations and religious fundamentalism as they apply to school reform. They include Pauline Lipman, UIC professor of educational policy studies; Kenneth Saltman, DePaul University associate professor of educational policy studies and research; Alfie Kohn, a Boston-based critic of standardized testing; cultural critics Malila Robinson and Catherine Lugg; teacher and union activist Jack Gerson; eugenics scholar Ann Winfield; and scholar Kristen Buras, who has written on the New Orleans schools before and after Hurricane Katrina. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3410&fromhome=1 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:46:39 -0500 UIC Architect Receives Rome Prize to Explore Energy as Building Material http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3406&fromhome=1 [NOTE: Photos for download at http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/lally/] An architect at the University of Illinois at Chicago has received an international award that began in the 19th century to develop a 21st-century idea: to use energy systems as building materials. Sean Lally, assistant professor of architecture, received the 2011-2012 Prince Charitable Trusts Rome Prize in landscape architecture from the American Academy in Rome, established in 1894 for advanced research in arts and humanities. "The same way we use steel, glass and concrete to build space, we can now do with energy -- the waves, particles and chemical properties of energy," Lally said, noting that the potential of these properties has not yet been realized. "Instead we use them to condition interiors with ideal light and temperature. We don't ask them to be architectural, to define space. "That will soon change," Lally said. "Architecture will shift from being defined solely as walls and surfaces, and start engaging the design of micro-climates on the outside." The academy awards the Rome Prize annually to 30 artists and scholars worldwide. Recipients spend six or 11 months in Rome, pursuing their work within the academy's community of resident and visiting artists and scholars. Lally is using his 11-month fellowship to write a book, "The Air on Other Planets," which he describes as a projection into the future in which architects will design spaces defined by energy systems. The book, Lally said, will incorporate ideas from his Chicago-based firm, WEATHERS/Sean Lally LLC, which designs "exterior installations as well as larger-scale proposals for public buildings and parks that engage a broader city fabric." His recent proposals include designs for the Academy of Arts in Estonia, an extension to the Stockholm's city library, and an urban redevelopment in Reykjavik, Iceland, in which future urban development "is organized not by avenues, monuments and park/building dichotomies, but by a 'climatic wash' -- from existing geothermal resources -- that's as much an architectural space as it is a planning infrastructure." Lally was co-editor and contributor to "Softspace: From a Representation of Form to a Simulation of Space" (2007), a book of essays on the growing use of digital tools for architectural design that indicate not only form, but qualities such as air, gas, sound, scent and electricity. Last year, he wrote on "material energies" for the Seattle-based design journal ARCADE. He was guest editor for the 2009 “New Material Energies” issue of AD, an architectural design journal. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3406&fromhome=1 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:27:01 -0500 Trustees Set Tuition for New Students http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3407&fromhome=1 Guaranteed four-year tuition for incoming U of I students next fall will increase by 4.8 percent, or the equivalent of 1.9 percent per year during the four-year guarantee. The Board of Trustees passed the proposal, which ties tuition increases to the rate of inflation, at its meeting on campus Thursday. burton@uic.edu (Bill Burton) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3407&fromhome=1 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:54:20 -0500 Marine Corps Jazz Band Joins UIC Faculty in Free Concert http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3403&fromhome=1 WHAT: The 18-member Marine Corps All-Star Jazz Band will join UIC faculty jazz artists to perform a variety of jazz standards at a free concert at the University of Illinois at Chicago. WHEN: Jan. 24 7 p.m. WHERE: Education, Performing Arts and Social Work Bldg. 1040 W. Harrison St. Recital Hall L060 DETAILS: UIC jazz faculty artists Ernie Adams on drums, Peter Stoltzman on piano, and Zvonimir Tot on guitar will perform as guest soloists with the Marine Corps All-Star Jazz Band, playing standards of the Stan Kenton era and original arrangements. Members of the band, drawn from 10 U.S. Marine band programs around the world, convene once a year for a concert tour. This year marks their first Chicago-area performance. Admission is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available at UIC's parking structure at 1100 W. Harrison St. For information, please call the UIC Department of Theatre and Music at (312) 996-5307, <a href="mailto:carlsonn@uic.edu">carlsonn@uic.edu</a>, or visit <a href="http://theatreandmusic.aa.uic.edu">theatreandmusic.aa.uic.edu</a>. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3403&fromhome=1 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:18:25 -0500 Kennedy Re-elected U of I Board Chairman http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3405&fromhome=1 Christopher G. Kennedy was re-elected to a third term as chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees today during its annual organizational meeting at the University of Illinois at Chicago. burton@uic.edu (Bill Burton) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3405&fromhome=1 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:48:57 -0500 UIC Student To Speak at Saudi Global Competitiveness Forum http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3401&fromhome=1 University of Illinois at Chicago undergraduate Ariell Buckingham is heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to meet with business leaders from around the globe at the Global Competitiveness Forum, Jan. 21-24. Buckingham, a UIC College of Business Administration marketing major and a seasoned entrepreneur, will speak on "The Innovation Generation," focusing on youth entrepreneurship in America. She is one of four young entrepreneurs attending the annual forum. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Buckingham said. "It's my chance to make people aware of youth entrepreneurship and the programs that can make it successful." Buckingham will spend five days in Riyadh, where she plans to attend workshops, blog during the conference, and learn from the experience shared at the event. Raised on Chicago's South Side, Buckingham is founder of Smile Entertainment, a children's party planning service she started in 2007. In 2009, she was named a Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which provides entrepreneurship education programs. She credits programs offered by NFTE and UIC's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies for helping to expand her skill set. "Entrepreneurship is the future, simply put," she said. Buckingham hopes to grow her Chicago-based business, hire more employees, and improve upon her product concept. "When I graduate, I want to own my own building for Smile Entertainment and franchise it," she said. jboynes@uic.edu (Jeffron Boynes) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3401&fromhome=1 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:02:24 -0500 Black History Month at UIC http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3402&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois at Chicago's Black History Month program commemorates the historical accomplishments and contributions of Africans and African-Americans. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Tickets are sold from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday, at the first floor service center, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St., and the first floor information center, Student Center West, 828 S. Wolcott Ave. Cash, MasterCard and Visa are accepted. For more information, call (312) 413-5070. Events scheduled: Wednesday, Feb. 1 "Rhythms, Rhymes and Reflections." Dance, poetry, music and art. Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago and MADD Rhythms. 3 p.m. Illinois Room, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. Friday, Feb. 3 "Hoop It Up." Basketball game between UIC faculty/staff and students. 6 p.m. Physical Education Building, 901 W. Roosevelt Road. Thursday, Feb. 9 "The Game Changers." Panel discussion featuring the cast of the critically acclaimed documentary "The Interrupters." 4 p.m. Illinois Room, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. Friday, Feb. 10 Poetry Slam. Joshua Bennett, spoken word artist featured in HBO series "Brave New Voices," and members of Mojo's Pen, UIC's black literary guild. 7 p.m. Illinois Room, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. Tuesday, Feb. 14 "Loving Blues and Jazzing Through Life." Noted poet Sterling Plumpp, UIC professor emeritus of African-American studies and English. 4 p.m. Richard J. Daley Library, 801 S. Morgan St. Thursday, Feb. 16 Safe Zone 101. Event to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues in the African-American community. 3 p.m. Room 605, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. Friday, Feb. 17 Heritage Ball. Music by Que Billah, hip-hop artist. Buffet dinner included. 7 p.m. Illinois Room, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. $10. Tuesday, Feb. 21 "Black in the Day." Author and historian Christopher Reed, Roosevelt University professor emeritus. Retrospective look at the history of African-Americans in Chicago 4 p.m. Richard J. Daley Library, 801 S. Morgan St. Wednesday, Feb. 22 Keeping the Pulse with Dr. Ian Smith. VH1's Celebrity Fit Club medical and diet expert on mind and body wellness. 3 p.m. Room 302, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. Friday, Feb. 24 22nd Annual Blues Cabaret. Nellie "Tiger" Travis. 7 p.m. UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road. $25 includes soul food buffet. $10 UIC student tickets only available at door; one per student i-card. Wednesday, Feb. 29 Black History Makers Award Ceremony. Honoring UIC alumni, faculty, staff and students. 3 p.m. East Terrace, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. bflood@uic.edu (Brian Flood) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3402&fromhome=1 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:55:56 -0500 Engineering, Physics Researcher Named Interim Vice Chancellor at UIC http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3400&fromhome=1 Mitra Dutta, distinguished professor and head of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former senior executive with the U.S. Army Research Office, has been named interim vice chancellor for research at UIC. The appointment is pending approval of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its January meeting. "Dr. Dutta's distinguished record as a researcher, administrator and teacher makes her the ideal choice to take on this vital position," said Paula Allen-Meares, UIC chancellor, in announcing the appointment. Dutta will replace Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, who is stepping down from the vice chancellor position he has held since February 2010. Garcia was named the university's vice president for health affairs in June and had planned on relinquishing the vice chancellor position after a period of transition. A longtime senior researcher and director with the Army laboratories who supervised $310 million in grants to universities, Dutta has combined that professional experience with adjunct professor appointments at nearby universities, including Rutgers, Maryland, North Carolina State and North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She joined UIC in 2001 to head the newly formed Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "What attracted me to UIC was the quality of the faculty and its energy, and these are the same attributes that make me very eager to take on the position of interim vice chancellor for research," Dutta said. Dutta has authored about 300 journal publications and book chapters and co-authored or co-edited seven books. She also has 30 patents issued and several more in application status. She has won numerous professional honors for her pioneering research in the field of novel heterostructure optoelectronic devices and her characterization of compound semiconductor materials. Since joining UIC, Dutta has been the principal or co-principal investigator on about 20 grants totaling more than $7.5 million. She is a past recipient of the Society of Women Engineers' Achievement Award, the organization's highest honor. She holds a B.Sc. from Gauhati University in India, an M.Sc. in physics from the University of Delhi, and a master’s and doctorate in physics from the University of Cincinnati. A national search for a new permanent vice chancellor for research will commence shortly. rosati@uic.edu (Mark Rosati) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3400&fromhome=1 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:22:53 -0500 'Transformational Gift' Will Modernize UIC College of Dentistry http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3399&fromhome=1 The largest gift in the history of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry will modernize outdated clinical facilities and allow the college to assist more patients and better educate its students. The donation of $8.2 million of KaVo Group dental equipment and technology was made possible by a gift from the Guy D. and Rebecca E. Brunetti Foundation. The college has raised $37 million during its "Brilliant Futures: Educating a New Dentist for America" capital campaign, surpassing the $35 million campaign goal. UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares expressed her gratitude to the foundation. "This is a wonderful example of how private donors and public universities can come together for the greater good," she said. "I am excited for the long-range impact this gift will have on the UIC College of Dentistry." The KaVo Group, one of the top three manufacturers of dental equipment in the world, will equip the college with operatory delivery systems, handpieces, digital imaging equipment, and more. "This gift will transform our college," said dentistry dean Bruce Graham. "We will now be able to update our clinical facilities and create a new state-of-the-art Integrated Clinical Technology Center, which will encompass all of the college's undergraduate and postgraduate clinics within the first three floors of our building." The Integrated Clinical Technology Center will encompass all 300 clinical operatories at the college, including the Delta Dental of Illinois Predoctoral Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and postgraduate orthodontic clinic (which already utilize KaVo equipment), the ProCare Dental Group Implant and Innovations Center, the Astra Tech Implant Clinic, and all other undergraduate and postgraduate clinics. The Guy D. and Rebecca E. Brunetti Foundation is an independent philanthropy that supports elementary, secondary, and higher education; health care; fine arts; and religious education and other religious institutions in Illinois. Dr. Robert G. Brunetti, chief executive officer of ProCare Dental Group, which operates 14 dental offices in the Chicago area, is its president. "I have seen over the past decade how UIC has assumed a role as a national leader in clinical dental education," Brunetti said, "and helping to provide the resources to continue its mission and renew the clinical facilities was the right thing to do." KaVo Group President Vicente Reynal said he was "excited about the opportunity" when Brunetti approached him about working together to support the Integrated Clinical Technology Center. "As KaVo introduces new advances in patient delivery systems, treatment care, and imaging, we will look to UIC to be a place where we can evaluate these new technologies in a highly productive and multi-layered clinical environment," Reynal said. samhos@uic.edu (Sam Hostettler) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3399&fromhome=1 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:32:07 -0500 UIC Funds New Research on Citizens' Role in Public Policy http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3398&fromhome=1 Five research projects at the University of Illinois at Chicago dealing with the citizen’s role in public policy have received $20,000 awards. The awards, given by the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, are funding faculty research aimed at improving citizen participation in government services, often through the use of technology. Recent projects supported by the institute include software that helps students understand the political redistricting process, technology for persons with disabilities to communicate their policy preferences, and tools for public exhibits to display information specific to each viewer. In addition, the institute has supported the study of political participation among immigrant communities in the Chicago region. The institute runs Civic Source, a web portal at http://www.civicsource.org/ that hosts civic engagement and policy information, learning tools and opportunities for civic engagement. The five research projects for 2012 are: -Digital libraries: Eugene Fregetto, clinical associate professor of managerial studies, will focus on the emerging digital library, learning how patron demand will drive a change in library collections and the skills of library staffs. "Current undergraduates are less excited and more skeptical of today’s digital media and social networks," Fregetto said. "Interestingly, many express an adult-type regret when talking about how their younger siblings are hooked on the digital media." -Public service careers among diverse groups: Margaret LaPorte, visiting director of graduate student services in the department of public administration, will research why college students of various ethnic backgrounds pursue public service careers and what factors lead to their success. "All sectors of public governance -- federal, state, local, nonprofit -- will need talented and well-trained young professionals to fill the void left when current employees retire or leave to work in other sectors," LaPorte said. -Habits of democratic citizenship: Anthony Laden, associate professor of philosophy, will evaluate civic engagement to distinguish actions that foster habits of democratic citizenship from other forms of public-spirited action. "Habits of democracy include capacities for listening to others and taking what they say seriously, even if it is unfamiliar to us or we disagree with it, and treating others with respect rather than merely as the objects of our pity or charity or contempt or dismay," Laden said. -Illinois' fiscal crisis: David Merriman, professor of public administration, will produce materials that will help citizens understand the budget process, become involved in the policy debate, and demand that the government respond to their concerns about fiscal solvency. "Incomplete and confusing budget reports disguise the true extent of the problem and the catastrophe has been prolonged by lack of political will," Merriman said. -Community foundations' impact: David Perry, professor in UIC's Great Cities Institute, will partner with Terry Mazany, chief executive officer of the Chicago Community Trust, to compile national case studies of civic engagement that increased the effectiveness of community foundations. “We’re asking community foundation heads around the country, ‘Are community foundations really place-based, or have they lost their meaning?’“ Perry said. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3398&fromhome=1 Mon, 9 Jan 2012 16:43:16 -0500 Gallery 400 Asks How Olympic-Sized Events Affect Cities http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3397&fromhome=1 [Note: Photo available for download at http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/gallery400/] WHAT: Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago presents "Global Cities, Model Worlds," an exhibition traveling to past World's Fairs and Olympic host cities to explore these events' social and physical impacts. It will run concurrently with "The World Finder," an exhibition on a lost aspect of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. WHEN: Opening reception: Jan. 20, 5-8 p.m. On view through March 3: Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday noon–6 p.m. WHERE: Gallery 400 UIC Art + Design Hall 400 S. Peoria St. DETAILS: “Global Cities, Model Worlds” contrasts promises of world-class transformation with the realities of the urban redevelopment that accompanies spectacles like the Olympics and World's Fairs. Locally, these events pave the way for new public parks, stadiums, and transportation lines, but they often displace residents and businesses, usually in disadvantaged areas. The artists gathered visual and narrative evidence through a decade of research and dozens of site visits. They present the information through documentary, interpretative, and poetic methods in an installation that includes a dimensional wall mural and case studies presented in a manner that references Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Map. "Global Cities, Model Worlds" was seen recently at Carnegie Mellon University as part of the Pittsburgh Biennial, co-curated by the Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The exhibition will travel through 2013 to cities that hosted an Olympics, an Olympic bid, or a World's Fair. Ryan Griffis teaches new media art at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lize Mogel creates counter-cartography and has mapped public parks in Los Angeles, future territorial disputes in the Arctic, and wastewater economies in New York. Sarah Ross works in video, sculpture, and photography, and teaches at the School of the Art Institute Chicago and at an Illinois state prison. In “The World Finder,” historical re-enactors Pocket Guide to Hell recount their story of Steele MacKaye, who in 1893 began building the Spectatorium, a vast, mechanically innovative theater for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. MacKaye planned to stage "The World Finder," an epic musical dramatizing Columbus' voyage to America. Half a million dollars into its construction, the Spectatorium lost funding due to the Panic of 1893, and the theater was sold as scrap, according to Pocket Guide to Hell. MacKaye died soon after. The exhibition includes a complete section of the theater, a scrapbook donated by the MacKaye family, costumes for Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella, and salvaged lumber that was used in Chicago sidewalks and workers' cottages. An abridged performance of "The World Finder" will accompany the exhibition on Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.to mark the 118th anniversary of Steele MacKaye's death. Pocket Guide to Hell includes Paul Durica, Michelle Faust, Kenneth Morrison, Sayward Schoonmaker, and Nat Ward, who have presented programs on hobo life, the Haymarket Affair, and the 1915 Parade of the Unemployed. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3397&fromhome=1 Mon, 9 Jan 2012 14:24:47 -0500 Secrets of Medicinal Plants Stored in Database http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3396&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy is hosting one of two new online databases in the U.S. that store valuable information on the medicinal properties of plants useful to treat a wide array of diseases. The Medicinal Plants/Human Health Consortium includes plant scientists and bioinformatics specialists who are mapping the genetic makeup of 45 different plant species, many already used for their potent medicinals. The mapping project was made possible by recent revolutionary advances in probing the blueprints of various medicinal plants so that key genetic information can be rapidly accessed. The online databases -- the second is housed at Michigan State University -- are funded by the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences through the American Recovery and Re-investment Act (ARRA). The three-year projects were funded as part of a $10 million initiative from the National Institutes of Health. "This work offers a valuable data resource for understanding the genes, enzymes and complex processes responsible for the biosynthesis of important plant-derived drugs," says Warren Jones, chief of biochemistry at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the project's coordinator. "The collaborative effort should greatly contribute to our ability to understand and exploit the rich biochemistry found in plants." Along with UIC, the consortium includes scientists from the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, the National Center for Genomics Resources in Santa Fe, N.M., and Washington State University. The consortium is led by Norman Lewis of Washington State. As a member of the consortium, UIC plays a key role in the identification and documentation of the plants being studied, both in living form at the UIC Pharmacognosy Field Station in Downers Grove, Ill., as well as in the form of dried specimens curated at the John G. Searle Herbarium of the Field Museum, said Doel Soejarto, professor of pharmacognosy and project coordinator at UIC. Researchers, led by Soejarto, also study flora at the Dorothy Bradley Atkins Medicinal Plant Garden at UIC, which contains 150 species of medicinal plants, many of which are producers of mainstay drugs used in clinical practice worldwide. Plants have been a traditional source of medicine throughout history, Soejarto said. For example, snakeroot has been used in India to treat a variety of ailments for at least 3,000 years. While still used around the world in traditional medicines, plants are also the basis for some of the most potent modern medicines. Taxol, for example, is one of the most prevalent and powerful anti-cancer treatments; it is derived from the yew tree. Other plants in the two databases include ginseng, foxglove, opium poppy, periwinkle and may apple. The 45 species represent plant-derived medicines currently used to treat cancer, infection, Alzheimer's disease, inborn errors of metabolism, hypertension and inflammation. Researchers in the two consortia represent a broad spectrum of expertise, from plant biology and systematics, to analytical and natural-products chemistry, to genetics and molecular biology, as well as drug development. The databases can be accessed at <a href="http://uic.edu/pharmacy/MedPlTranscriptome/">http://uic.edu/pharmacy/MedPlTranscriptome/</a> and <a href="http://medicinalplantgenomics.msu.edu">http://medicinalplantgenomics.msu.edu</a> samhos@uic.edu (Sam Hostettler) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3396&fromhome=1 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:44:59 -0500 Curriculum Innovations Earn UIC College of Dentistry National Award http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3393&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry was selected to receive the 2012 William J. Gies Award by the American Dental Education Association for its innovative clinical curriculum. Over the past nine years the college has implemented a sequence of improvements in clinical education to prepare students to provide oral health care to traditionally underserved patients and to advocate for universal oral health care for all Americans. "It’s been a long voyage to completely change the way we do clinical education," says Dean Bruce Graham. "I give all the credit to our faculty. They were creative and courageous enough to try new things and believe in what we were trying to do. This award goes to them." In 2002, UIC was one of 15 U.S. dental schools chosen for a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative to improve the curriculum and improve access to dental care for underserved populations. The $1.5 million grant allowed the college to focus on educating dentists committed to treating oral diseases of vulnerable urban, rural and special-needs populations, including minority, economically disadvantaged and developmentally disabled. That same year, separate discipline-based clinics were eliminated at the college, and three group practice clinics were created to provide students with a "real world dental practice." Each clinic consisted of 50 operatories. A managing partner was chosen for each, to lead an interdisciplinary team of faculty comprised of restorative dentists, prosthodontists, periodontists, endodontists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons, Graham said. In addition, the college also eliminated outdated preclinical teaching laboratories and replaced them with a simulation clinic, made up of 70 patient care units identical to those in the group practice clinics. In the 2003-04 academic year, the college added a summer term of instruction between the first and second years of the predoctoral program that allowed students an earlier introduction into clinical education. The curriculum also changed to substitute mandatory clinical attendance rather than clinical procedure requirements for third- and fourth-year students, Graham said. "At that time, our students weren’t spending any time at all outside of the college's walls," Graham said. The college has partnered with 20 community dental clinics throughout Chicago and Illinois to provide students with the opportunity to treat patients outside of the college clinics. Under the guidance of Dr. Caswell Evans, associate dean for prevention and public health sciences, the extramural rotation program provides fourth-year students with 50 to 100 days of experience. Students can also participate in rotations in Colorado and Guatemala. In 2010, fourth-year dental students provided 12,500 patient appointment visits in the community clinics. The third-year students now have as many clinical experiences in their college clinics as the fourth-year students who graduated 10 years ago, Graham said. Not only has the number of student clinical experiences increased, but clinic revenue has as well. Income from the predoctoral student clinic has grown from $850,000 in fiscal 2001 to $4.5 million in 2010, Graham said. In 2009, the college ranked sixth among 57 dental schools in clinic revenue generated per dental student. The Gies Awards, named after dental education pioneer William J. Gies, honor individuals and organizations for vision, innovation and achievement in dental education, research and leadership. This is the second award in two years for UIC; last year Evans received the award for achievement by a dental educator. The award will be presented at the American Dental Education Association meeting in March in Orlando. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. samhos@uic.edu (Sam Hostettler) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3393&fromhome=1 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:29:18 -0500 Aspiring Entrepreneurs Vie for Cash in UIC's Concept2Venture Competition http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3395&fromhome=1 A University of Illinois at Chicago graduate business student took top honors at the 2011 Concept2Venture championship for his business plan aimed at helping people at risk for stroke. "We put ourselves under a lot of pressure to win," said Dominic Blank, a 24-year-old Liautaud Graduate School of Business MBA candidate from Neuruppin, Germany, who created the venture with fellow MBA students Michelle Lynn Shah and Joseph Sheahan. "Winning is tremendously rewarding." The annual competition last Tuesday featured 15 teams giving 15-minute business pitches to a panel of judges for a share of $15,000 in cash prizes. Blank's winning pitch was for NovoView Diagnostics, a medical device company that assesses the risk for ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain and account for 87 percent of all strokes, according to the American Stroke Association. Compared to current risk-screening technologies, NovoView's iFlow technology offers an easier-to-use, quicker approach, Blank said. The technology was invented by Mahnaz Shahidi, UIC professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences. Complete C2V competition results: •First Place, graduate division, $5,000: NovoView Diagnostics •Second Place, graduate division, $2,000: Metropolitan Farms, an urban aquaponic farm which grows premium fresh fish and produce in Chicago •First Place, undergraduate division, $5,000: True Herban Clothing, a green-friendly clothing company •Second Place, undergraduate division, $2,000: Caf'Rae Dulce, a boutique pastry shop in Evanston •Best Elevator Pitch, $1,000: NovoView Diagnostics •Best Social Venture Prize: IOMI Technologies, develops innovative, sustainable and socially responsible water remediation and reclamation solutions •Best Non-Business Majors Prize: Terra Energy Project, a new way of providing cheaper and cleaner electrical energy •Sustainability Award: True Herban Clothing Launched in 2005, C2V showcases the wealth of resources that UIC has within its 15 colleges and schools for the Chicago business community. Under the direction of Rod Shrader, Denton Thorne Chair in Entrepreneurship and faculty director of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, C2V is organized through the College of Business Administration, UIC's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Liautaud Graduate School of Business, in collaboration with the UIC Office of Technology Management. jboynes@uic.edu (Jeffron Boynés) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3395&fromhome=1 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:54:23 -0500 UIC Researchers Discover How Cells Limit Inflammation In Lung Injury http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3392&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found in an animal model of acute lung injury a molecular mechanism that allows cells of the immune system to reduce tissue damage from inflammation. The study is reported in Nature Immunology. Inflammation is part of the normal response to infection. One aspect of inflammation is the production of negatively charged oxygen-rich molecules by specialized white blood cells called phagocytes. The molecules, called reactive oxygen species (ROS), help to break up bacteria, allowing the phagocytes to "mop up" the broken pieces and clear out the infection. Unfortunately, ROS can also cause damage to normal tissue. The UIC researchers found that a channel through the cell membrane of phagocytes is able to modulate this destructive phase of inflammation. "Although the channel, called TRPM2, is found in many cell types in the immune system, including phagocytes, it’s function in these cells has been unknown," said Anke Di, UIC research assistant professor in pharmacology and first author of the study. The researchers were able to show that TRPM2 had a protective anti-inflammatory role in the animal model of ALI, and, further, it played a previously unknown role in protecting against inflammation and tissue injury generally. TRPM2’s protective effect was a result of its ability to dampen the production of the negatively charged ROS by modulating the electrochemical gradient -- the difference in charge between molecules within the cell and outside the plasma membrane of the cell. ALI and its more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) result from pulmonary edema (leaky blood vessels) and inflammation. Both direct lung injury from infection and indirect lung injury from trauma, sepsis, pancreatitis, transfusions, radiation exposure and drug overdose can trigger ALI. It is fatal in almost 40 percent of cases. Inflammation plays an important role in ALI and a number of other human diseases, said Dr. Asrar Malik, UIC Schweppe Family Distinguished Professor and head of pharmacology and principal investigator of the study. Understanding how inflammatory damage to tissues is controlled normally may help develop therapies in the future, he said. The study was supported by the Francis Families Foundation through the Parker B. Francis Fellowship Program, and the National Institutes of Health. Malik, Di, Xiao-Pei Gao, Feng Qian, Takeshi Kawamura, Jin Han, Claudie Hecquet, Richard Ye and Stephen Vogel, all of the UIC department of pharmacology and Center for Lung and Vascular Biology, contributed equally to the study. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3392&fromhome=1 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:25:51 -0500 Most U.S. Presidents Live Beyond Average Life Expectancy http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3390&fromhome=1 Contrary to claims that U.S. presidents age at twice the normal rate, a new study finds that most U.S. presidents live longer than expected for men of their same age and era. The research letter, by noted University of Illinois at Chicago demographer S. Jay Olshansky, is published in the Dec. 7 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Olshansky became interested in the subject when, in the summer of 2011, President Obama celebrated his 50th birthday, and a flurry of news reports focused on his graying hair, pronounced wrinkles, and rapidly aging appearance. "In the world of biology, we know that you can't actually measure the aging of an individual," says Olshansky, professor of epidemiology at the UIC School of Public Health. "There isn't any single test to actually measure how long you've aged from point A to point B, nor is it possible to predict specifically how long an individual will live." Using the assumption that presidents age at twice the normal rate, Olshansky calculated how long U.S. presidents would have been expected to live based on their age and the year they were inaugurated -- and compared it to how long they actually lived. Aging at twice the normal rate was estimated by removing two days of life for every day in office (for example, a 4-year term led to a reduction in estimated remaining lifespan of 8 years). Olshansky found that 23 of the 34 U.S. presidents who died from natural causes lived longer, and in many instances significantly longer, than predicted. Their average age at inauguration was 55.1 years. Four presidents who were assassinated were excluded from the analysis. Conventional wisdom suggests that the longevity of U.S. presidents is shortened due to the stresses of the office, but the average lifespan of the first eight presidents was 79.8 years -- during a time when, for men, life expectancy at birth was less than 40. "This is about how long females born in the U.S. today live," Olshansky said. The study also found that living ex-presidents have either already exceeded their predicted longevity at the time of their inauguration, or are likely to do so. "We know that socioeconomic status has an extremely powerful effect on longevity now," Olshansky said, "and it was likely to have been a factor in the past." All but 10 U.S. presidents were college educated; all were wealthy; and all had access to health care. "We don’t die from gray hair and wrinkled skin," said Olshansky. "What we're seeing in President Obama is really not inconsistent with what we see for any other man his age in the U.S. or elsewhere." Editorial note: An extended interview as MP3 audio file is available at <a href="http://bit.ly/vtQqBN">http://bit.ly/vtQqBN</a> smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3390&fromhome=1 Tue, 6 Dec 2011 15:44:30 -0500 Federal Grant Funds Life Transition for Youth with Disabilities http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3389&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago will use a five-year, $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to train educators to help youth with disabilities transition from high school to adult life. The researchers will partner with the Chicago Public Schools, working with youths with a range of disabilities. The grant also will enable the researchers to form a network of educators and agencies that focus on youths with disabilities. "While in high school, people with disabilities are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. After high school, they are forced to advocate for themselves," says Michelle Parker-Katz, UIC clinical professor of special education and co-principal investigator on the study. "They have to navigate a myriad of government and outside agencies." The grant will fund the training of 56 certified transition specialists with the advance certification of Learning and Behavior Specialist II to serve in high-need schools. Tuition, fees, and some costs for books and equipment will be waived. Students in the program's second year will be paid to mentor first-year students. The researchers said youth with disabilities who drop out are more likely to be incarcerated or underemployed, or to become parents at an early age. Youth with disabilities also are less than half as likely as others to gain any higher education or vocational training. "Illinois now has only 17 special educators with advanced certification, while 107,629 transition-age students with disabilities are enrolled in public schools," said Lisa Cushing, associate professor of special education and co-principal investigator. "Only two other universities offer state certification in transition, and they are located several hours from Chicago." "Nationally, only 72 percent of youth with disabilities complete high school," said Parker-Katz. "Even fewer graduate on time, especially among those with emotional disturbances." Cushing and Parker-Katz will develop training courses and a network to be available in summer 2012. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. aranallo@uic.edu (Anne Brooks Ranallo) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3389&fromhome=1 Mon, 5 Dec 2011 14:09:34 -0500 Suspect Charged in Blue Line Robberies http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3386&fromhome=1 The UIC Police/Chicago Police Department Joint Robbery Task Force has concluded an investigation resulting in charges for a suspect in multiple robberies on the CTA Blue Line last month. Nicholas Howell, 32, of south suburban Lynwood, is charged in five robberies, including three of UIC students. None were injured. The task force investigated a pattern of robberies on the Blue Line near the UIC-Halsted stop between the end of October and Nov. 9, according to UIC Police Officer Dan Esquilin. The task force reached out to CTA Security to pull video surveillance recordings for that period, and CTA issued a bulletin regarding a possible suspect. Meanwhile, a victim of a Nov. 9 robbery on the CTA in another district observed his alleged assailant two days later near the UIC-Halsted stop and notified police. CPD District 12 officers made the arrest, and the suspect was identified by other victims in lineups conducted by the task force and CPD Area 4 detectives. Howell is charged with three counts of robbery, one count of aggravated robbery, and one count of attempted robbery. He remains in Cook County Jail in lieu of $90,000 bail. burton@uic.edu (Bill Burton) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3386&fromhome=1 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 09:10:47 -0500 Cornea Specialist Named Dean of UIC College of Medicine http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3387&fromhome=1 Dr. Dimitri T. Azar, a renowned physician-scientist and expert on diseases of the cornea, has been named dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, effective Dec. 16. The University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved the appointment at their meeting today in Springfield. Azar has served as interim dean since May. He came to UIC in 2006 from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he was tenured professor at Harvard Medical School. At UIC he became professor and head of ophthalmology and visual sciences and B.A. Field Endowed Chair of Ophthalmologic Research. “With his experience as a researcher, administrator and clinician, Dr. Azar is uniquely qualified to lead the College of Medicine in this era of translational, collaborative science and medicine,” said UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares. "Our College of Medicine is poised to become one of the nation's premier urban-serving medical institutions, focusing on outstanding basic and translational research directed at those issues effecting urban populations, and the education of a uniquely diverse medical corps trained to deliver excellent health care to all persons, and especially to those from underserved populations," said Lon Kaufman, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. "I am confident that as dean, Dr. Azar, through his own commitment to these virtues and his certain excellence in these areas, is the leader we need to move us towards our goal." "The UIC College of Medicine is our nation's largest and most diverse medical school. It is also one of the best. I am honored to lead our students and distinguished faculty in our mission of academic achievement and leadership in education, research, and patient care," Azar said. "I take this opportunity to thank the faculty, Provost Kaufman, Chancellor Allen-Meares, Vice President for Health Affairs Garcia, and President Hogan in trusting me with the leadership of the College." The college, with campuses in Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana, traces its roots to 1882. The College is committed to providing medical education to the greatest number of underrepresented minority medical students and to ensure that there are doctors for underserved areas throughout Illinois. One in six doctors in Illinois received their training at UIC. As dean, Azar said he hopes to "spur academic excellence and leadership in medical education, to stimulate new discoveries through clinically relevant basic and translational research, and to serve the needs of our local community, especially the underserved minority population." Azar brings experience in administration, research, education and clinical practice to his new position. He earned an executive MBA with high honors at the University of Chicago. As department chair, he presided over a patient-care center seeing 55,000 patients each year; a laboratory and clinical research enterprise engaged in treating the most serious and complicated eye conditions; and the training of medical students, residents and clinical fellows, including one of the most sought after residency training programs in the U.S. Azar began his medical training at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, where he received his medical degree. He started his fellowship and residency training at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School and also received a research fellowship at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. Following his clinical fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard, Azar moved to the Wilmer Ophthalmologic Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Medicine, where he launched the institute's first refractive surgery service and became associate professor of ophthalmology. In 1996 he returned to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary as the director of the cornea and external disease service. In 2003, he became professor of ophthalmology with tenure at Harvard Medical School and senior scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. Azar is an innovative researcher who has made significant contributions to the treatment of corneal diseases and refractive surgery through sophisticated analysis and advanced optics. His research has resulted in better understanding of corneal wound healing, the applications and complications of laser keratectomy, and the molecular organization of the normal and injured cornea. He has published more than 190 peer-reviewed articles, more than 300 book chapters and abstracts, and he holds 15 patents. He is the editor or co-editor of 14 books on cornea and refractive surgery. Azar has mentored more than 100 clinical and research post-doctoral fellows and countless residents, many of whom occupy academic leadership positions. He sits on the boards of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He was named a University Scholar in 2009 and was the recipient of the Lans Distinguished Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3387&fromhome=1 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 14:18:39 -0500 Patient Receives First Prescription for FDA-Approved Brain Tumor Treatment http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3388&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois Hospital is the first center in North America to prescribe a new FDA-approved treatment for patients with the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM. The hospital is one of the first centers in the U.S. to receive training and certification to treat patients with recurrent GBM with a new therapy called Tumor Treating Fields. This novel, non-invasive therapy is provided using a portable device, the NovoTTF-100A System made by Novocure, which uses alternating electrical fields to disrupt the rapid cell division exhibited by cancer cells. David Messmer, 50, of Indiana is the first patient in the country to receive a prescription for the device outside of a clinical trial. He began treatment with the Novocure device Nov. 28 at the University of Illinois Hospital. Messmer was diagnosed with GBM in November of last year. His tumor has continued to progress despite two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. With the support of his family, he says he was “willing to try anything." "Chemo is just not working for me," Messmer said. "This is my next best hope." GBM affects approximately 10,000 Americans each year. The median survival time from initial diagnosis is 15 months with optimal treatment, and median survival from the time of recurrence is only three to five months without additional effective treatment. "Patients with recurrent GBM present a significant treatment challenge,” says Dr. Herbert Engelhard, chief of neuro-oncology at the University of Illinois Hospital, which was one of the primary clinical research sites for the approval trial. The clinical trial, Engelhard said, showed that patients treated with the NovoTTF had comparable median overall survival times, fewer side effects, and better quality-of-life scores compared to patients treated with chemotherapy. "We are proud to work with Novocure to make this state-of-the-art therapy available to those GBM patients who need it," he said. TTF therapy provides physicians with a fourth treatment option for cancer in addition to surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. It has been shown to effectively inhibit tumor growth by inducing cell death. The NovoTTF is a portable, non-invasive medical device designed for continuous use throughout the day by the patient. The device is placed directly on the skin near the tumor. It creates an artificial, alternating electric field within the tumor, which disrupts cancer cell division and can cause complete destruction of the dividing cancer cells. The most commonly reported side effect was a mild-to-moderate rash beneath the electrodes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the NovoTTF-100A System for use as a treatment for adult patients with recurrent GBM. The device is intended to be used alone as an alternative to standard medical therapy for GBM after surgical and radiation options have been exhausted. Photos of Messmer and Engelhard are available at http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/messmer/ For more information about the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3388&fromhome=1 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 15:53:52 -0500 Trustees' Meeting To Be Webcast http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3385&fromhome=1 The regular meeting of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees will be webcast live from the University of Illinois at Springfield on Friday, Dec. 2, from 8 a.m. through end of meeting at approximately 3:15 p.m. burton@uic.edu (Bill Burton) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3385&fromhome=1 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:50:59 -0500 Improving Access to Healthy Food for Chicago's Latinos, African-Americans http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3383&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois at Chicago's Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center has received a $850,000 grant to address health disparities in Chicago. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the one-year grant, which builds on previous funding to UIC's Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities to help reduce diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Latino and African-American populations in the Chicago area. The UIC center "is working to ensure that food contributes to health among Latinos and African Americans rather than to chronic diseases," says Sheila Castillo, associate director of the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training, and Policy Center and principal investigator on the grant. The UIC center is one of 18 grantees addressing health disparities nationwide. Castillo said the UIC center has built a coalition of businesses, institutions, and individuals dedicated to changing social factors underlying health disparities. "We are looking to change policies and systems that will result in changes in the environment, so that there is more access to healthy food," she said. Castillo said the center focuses on increasing the equitable distribution of healthy food and increasing health literacy, but also funds community projects. The center provided grants to organizations operating in the Pilsen, Englewood, Humboldt Park, Roseland, Austin, and Logan Square neighborhoods of Chicago. "Through our work to increase health literacy, we will increase demand for healthier food -- and through our work to increase the equitable distribution of healthy food, we will increase supply," she said. "Everyone eats." In 1999, the CDC announced the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health 2010 (REACH 2010) Initiative. UIC, in partnership with community-based organizations, received a five-year grant to address diabetes disparities in Southeast Chicago and also collaborated with the Chicago Department of Public Health to address cardiovascular disease disparities in the North and South Lawndale areas. In 2007, UIC received a REACH U.S. grant that supported the creation of national centers of excellence in the elimination of disparities and the continuation of community initiatives. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. jboynes@uic.edu (Jeffron Boynes) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3383&fromhome=1 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:52:50 -0500 UIC Researchers Test Effects of Vitamin D on Asthma Severity http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3384&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are recruiting volunteers with asthma for a study of whether taking vitamin D can make asthma medication more effective. The study is called VIDA (Vitamin D add-on therapy enhances corticosteroid responsiveness in Asthma). “A number of people with asthma have low vitamin D levels,” says Dr. Jerry Krishnan, professor of medicine, pulmonary, critical care, sleep, and allergy. “Patients with asthma and low vitamin D levels tend to have worse lung function, and tend to have more asthma attacks.” The researchers are looking for participants who are 18 years or older and are using medications to control their asthma. Volunteers whose baseline vitamin D levels are low and whose asthma is not well controlled may enroll in the study. Study participants will receive vitamin D or a placebo and will continue on asthma medications. They will monitor their lung function at home as well as having regular clinic visits over the course of nine months. Participants will be compensated for their time. “We want to understand if taking vitamin D allows their asthma to get better,” Krishnan said. The researchers hope that for people with low levels of vitamin D, supplements of the vitamin will make it possible to use less asthma medication. “Improving your asthma control may be as simple as taking a vitamin a day,” Krishnan said. Taking vitamin D may result in side effects, so Krishnan warned against taking vitamin D for asthma outside of a study. In the study, researchers carefully monitor patients to detect potential side effects, Krishnan said. Krishnan urged anyone interested in learning whether low vitamin D is the reason their asthma does not get better to consider enrolling in the study. The researchers will enroll 25 people at UIC and 400 people nationwide. The study is supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute through AsthmaNet, a nationwide clinical research network. The UIC AsthmaNet Clinical Center is part of the Chicagoland Metropolitan AsthmaNet Consortium, which includes Northwestern University, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Chicago, and Children’s Memorial Hospital. If you are interested in participating or for more information, please call 1-855-I-WHEEZE (1-855-494-3393). [Editors note: Extended interview as MP3 audio file available at <a href=" http://www.uic.edu/depts/paff/newsbureau/podcasts.html"> www.uic.edu/depts/paff/newsbureau/podcasts.html</a>] jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3384&fromhome=1 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:09:20 -0500