New physiology chair announced
Kenneth Phillipson has been named chair of the physiology
department.
“Dr. Phillipson is an internationally respected
physiologist who has led an extremely distinguished career at
UCLA,” said Gerald Levey, dean of the School of Medicine and
provost of medical sciences.
“I am confident that his dynamic leadership will further
strengthen the department of physiology’s outstanding
reputation as we enter an era revolutionized by illumination of the
human genome and functional genomics,” Levey continued.
Philllipson was vice chair of the physiology department from
1995-1999 and a 2001 founding fellow of the International Society
for Heart Research.
Clinic incorporates bilingual staff
The UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic has added staff
members fluent in Spanish to conduct low-cost exams as an added
service to patients.
Pap smears, testicular exams, testing for sexually transmitted
diseases and birth control are among the services offered.
Exams are free to those who qualify. Medi-Cal and Medi-Caid are
accepted.
Urologic diseases to be studied
UCLA is launching a $6.9 million study to document the effects
of urologic diseases on men, women and children.
The study ““ conducted by Mark Litwin of the Jonsson Cancer
Center ““ may help reconfigure allocations of funds and
resources for the treatment and services of urologic cancers and
such conditions as male sexual dysfunction and urinary
incontinence.
Researchers will study current and previous data on the costs of
care, medical practice trends and insurance coverage, among other
related topics.
Manuscripts focus of digital project
The manuscripts division in the Department of Special Collection
is working with David Hirsch, Jewish and Middle Eastern studies
bibliographer, to start the Near Eastern manuscript project to
provide digital records of this information.
The collections include material in Arabic, Turkish, Persian,
Armenian and Urdu dating from around 1300 to 1900.
Because these collections comprise many linear feet of material,
the team anticipates that it will take years to attain the ultimate
goal of providing complete finding aids to all the Near Eastern
manuscript collections.
The project has already received faculty support from the
departments of history and Near Eastern languages and cultures.
Anti-cancer drug may be approved
An anti-cancer compound synthesized by UC San Diego scientists
more than 10 years ago from toxins of the poisonous jack-o-lantern
mushroom finally takes steps toward U.S. Food and Drug
Administration approval.
After showing promise against one of the most deadly cancers,
the drug, irofulven, was granted “fast track” status,
which is an accelerated phase in the nation’s drug review and
approval process.
Irofulven, in studies, has caused shrinkage of solid tumors of
the pancreas and other cancers.
“It’s rewarding to realize this drug could be in its
final stage toward receiving FDA approval and may become available
to help thousands of cancer patients,” said Trevor McMorris,
a UCSD chemistry professor, who, along with Michael Kelner, a UCSD
pathology professor, led the biochemical and biomedical research
studies involving the drug.
Irofulven seems promising in pancreatic cancer patients who are
no longer responding to gemcitabine, the conventional drug
treatment for this disease. It has also demonstrated activity
against ovarian and prostate cancer.
Study suggests water regulation>
A study by UCLA researchers recommends restructuring the control
of the Bay Area’s water supply to improve regional water
planning.
The San Francisco Public Utility Commission, the city’s
municipal supplier, sells to 29 other governments and agencies in
the region that resell the water to the 1.7 million residents who
make up two-thirds of the system’s users.
“Three other counties depend on the SFPUC for much of
their water, yet enjoy no formal political or regulatory influence
over operations,” said Randall Crane, an urban planning
professor at the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research.
“San Francisco can more or less do as it pleases, subject to
the parochial ebbs and flows of city politics, and service has
suffered as a consequence.”
SFPUC declined to comment.
The study recommends that accountability and consumer protection
be worked out between San Francisco and its wholesale
customers.
Reports from Daily Bruin staff and wire services.