BCM Family NewsLink, Feb. 25, 2011
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Awards and Recognitions
Brinkley to receive Pioneer in Cancer Stem Cell Award
Dr. William Brinkley, dean of the Baylor College of Medicine Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences, will receive the Pioneer in Cancer Stem Cell Award March 16 at the Frontiers in Stem Cells in Cancer Advanced Training Course, co-sponsored by UNESCO's International Cell Research Organization and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
The award honors Brinkley for his pioneering work in tumor cell biology as well as his advocacy for stem cell research in general.
Cell and gene therapy honors
Dr. Malcolm K. Brenner, professor of medicine and pediatrics – hematology/oncology and director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and a member of the Dan L Duncan Cancer Center, gave the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture at the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation Meeting earlier this month in Honolulu, Hawaii. His lecture was titled, "Shepherding New Stem Cell Therapies through the Valley of Death." In May, Brenner will receive the Outstanding Achievement Award and Lecture at the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy in Seattle.
Dr. Helen E. Heslop, professor of medicine and pediatrics – hematology/oncology and director of the Adult Stem Cell Transplant Program at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and a member of the Dan L Duncan Cancer Center, was elected to serve as president of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapies, or FACT. She will serve as president-elect for 2011 and officially take office in January 2012.
Hockenberry appointed to Children's Oncology Group S
cientific Council
Dr. Marilyn Hockenberry, professor of pediatrics – hematology/oncology at BCM, was appointed as a member of the Children's Oncology Group Scientific Council.
Her responsibilities include serving as an expert reviewer for clinical and translational research protocols developed by COG scientists and participating in developing standards for research excellence within the cooperative group. The National Cancer Institute-funded COG is the largest childhood cancer research network in the country. Its goal is to prevent and cure childhood cancer through scientific discovery and compassionate care.
Hockenberry, who is also the lead for Texas Children's Cancer Center's Quality Transformation Core and a nurse researcher, has authored more than 75 publications and is the senior editor for the Wong pediatric nursing textbooks.
Events
Biochemistry lectures to be held March 3
The Verna and Marrs McLean Lectures in Biochemistry will take place Thursday, March 3, in the Cullen Auditorium. This year's guest speakers will include Dr. David S. Eisenberg, director of the University of California at Los Angeles Department of Energy Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, and Sir Tom Blundell, Ph.D., director of research and professor emeritus in the department of biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.
Eisenberg will speak at 2 p.m. on "The Amyloid and State of Proteins in Health and Disease." This will be followed by a reception then Blundell's talk at 3:30 p.m. on "Genomes, Structural Biology and Drug Discovery."
For more information on the series, contact Sharon Saboley at 713-798-6415 or ssaboley@bcm.edu.
College News
Recycling volunteers needed
Volunteers are needed at the Recycling Center, located on the receiving dock of the Faculty Center at 1709 Dryden. This is one of BCM's largest producers of recyclable material. A small group of volunteers currently works at the center but more are needed.
For more information, contact Robert Heath at rheath@bcm.edu. The BCM recycling program is a worthy cause not just for the college, but for the Texas Medical Center, the city and the environment.
Professional development activities
The Office of Professional Development has extended its activities in teaching, educational scholarship and leadership to staff, residents, fellows, postdocs and students at Baylor College of Medicine, UT-Houston Medical School and UT-Dental Branch on a space-available basis. Previously, these activities were only open to faculty members.
The office presents about 100 hours per year of educational workshops and classes. A calendar can be found online. Registration is required for all events except for journal club and medical education seminar series presentations. Non-faculty registrants will be put on a wait list until three to five days prior to the event. If space allows, the class is filled from the wait list in the order received.
Faculty in the News
BCM faculty members are regularly featured or cited in news and media outlets. Check out this week's faculty in the news.