Asian American Studies Center receives grant The Asian American
Studies Center, together with the Asian Pacific International
Health Awareness Institute, has been awarded a $315,000 grant from
the California Endowment to support a new project, "Asian Pacific
American Geriatric Healthcare Clearinghouse and Collaborative
Network."
The funds will help forge ties between UCLA faculty and students
in the Asian American Studies Center, health sciences departments,
social welfare departments and some of Southern California’s
largest Asian Pacific American community-based organizations
serving the elderly.
The three-year grant will fund the first phase of this project,
which involves paid internships for UCLA undergraduate and graduate
students to gain a firsthand understanding of issues concerning the
Asian American elderly at these community groups. It will also help
staff members of these community organizations enhance their
professional knowledge about the latest advances in health and
social services research pertaining to Asian American seniors
through on-campus training and mentoring by UCLA faculty.
The community-based organizations participating include Keiro, a
Japanese organization in Los Angeles, Filipino American Service
Group, Korean Health Education Information and Research Center, the
Asian American Senior Citizen Service Center in Santa Ana and the
United Cambodian Community of Long Beach.
"We are extremely grateful to the California Endowment for this
major grant," Don Nakanishi, director of the Asian American Studies
Center, said in a statement.
Dennis Slamon honored for cancer research
Dr. Dennis Slamon, whose research led to the development of the
drug Herceptin, was honored March 21 in San Diego for his work
leading to the breast cancer treatment.
Slamon is co-recipient of the 1999 UC San Diego-Salk Institute
Translational Medicine Award for his "meritorious service as an
individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of
antibody therapy for human cancer."
South San Francisco-based pharmaceutical company Genentech Inc.,
the manufacturer of Herceptin, is the other recipient of the
award.
Development of Herceptin has been cited as the first triumph in
an emerging wave of new, more effective therapies designed to fight
cancer at its genetic roots.
Slamon said much of the credit for Herceptin should go to the
women who volunteered to take the experimental drug during
worldwide clinical trials.
"They are the real heroines of this story," Slamon said in a
statement.
"I am grateful to be honored for this work, because the
development of targeted therapies like Herceptin ushers in a new
age in how we treat cancer," he continued.
College Bowl teams earn second place
The UCLA College Bowl teams ranked second overall at a recent
tournament, the highest mark ever by a team at the university.
The high ranking came in the teams’ first year as an official
academic club. Previously, unofficial quiz bowl clubs – sometimes
made up of just two students – participated in tournaments.
In a heads-on match, UCLA’s A-team beat the UC Berkeley, team by
more than a 100-point margin, which was an unprecedented victory
for the Bruins.
The A-team included three graduate students – team captain Asmin
Pathare, Patrick Friel, and Andy Eisner – as well as one
undergraduate, Chris Cozzoli. The Bruin B-team was made up of
undergraduates Ravi Menghani – who was captain – Adam Buchen, and
Russell Feller. Vincent Lam was captain of the C-team, which also
included Andrew Ren and Alex Kozitsky.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.