Accolades

Pharmacy faculty member Donna Huryn has been awarded a senior visiting fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna. She will be spending July in residence at the university in order to  collaborate with researchers in pharmacy and biotechnology.

Mike Drazdzinski, a digital image specialist/photographer in the University Center for Teaching and Learning, was a winner for the second year in a row in the annual International Color Awards. His Pitt basketball image, “Jumpmen,” received an honorable mention in the sport category.

Winners were selected from 6,178 entries from 75 countries. Entries are posted at the International Color Awards' website.

Pitt School of Medicine professors Yuan Chang and Patrick S. Moore will receive the 2017 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, one of medicine’s most prestigious prizes. The award is given annually to medical researchers who have made significant contributions in the fields of immunology, cancer research, microbiology, and chemotherapy.

The duo’s lab, currently located within the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is credited with discovering two of the seven known human viruses that directly cause cancer. Chang and Moore discovered the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus, or human herpesvirus 8 (KSHV/HHV8) in 1994. The virus causes Kaposi's sarcoma, the most common AIDS-related malignancy and one of the most frequently occurring cancers in Africa. Prior to this discovery, medical researchers had worked for nearly 15 years to find an infectious agent associated with Kaposi's sarcoma. The pair also identified Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV)—the cause of Merkel cell carcinoma, one of the world's most clinically aggressive skin cancers—in 2008.

The two have been widely recognized for their work, which has garnered some of the highest national and international honors in medicine, infectious disease and cancer. 

Jean Truman will become assistant dean of academic affairs at Pitt-Bradford at the end of the spring term. A faculty member in nursing, Truman is coordinator of the Associate of Science in Nursing program and teaches in the RN-BSN program.

In her new role, she will focus on academic assessment efforts while continuing to teach in the nursing program.

Truman holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Case Western and received the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association Teaching Excellence Award in 2015.

The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences recently appointed Rory Cooper as its associate dean for inclusion. Cooper, distinguished professor and FISA/Paralyzed Veterans of America chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, also is director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories.

SHRS Dean Anthony Delitto said: “Dr. Cooper is a most appropriate choice to fill the role of associate dean for inclusion in our school. He has a personal and professional understanding of and appreciation for the needs of people with disabilities and has worked tirelessly to improve access to services, education, housing and transportation and is a strong, visible advocate for the disabilities community.”

Cooper has 20 patents awarded or pending, has authored or co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed journal publications, and has co-authored two books and co-edited three others including "Care of the Combat Amputee."

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In recognition of his academic and professional contributions to furthering international education in the field of nursing, School of Nursing faculty member Richard Henker will be awarded the 2016-17 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement next month.

Henker has devoted his career to the promotion of best practices for nurse anesthetists, both in the U.S. and overseas, providing academic and technical assistance to universities and governments around the world. He is experienced in the study of risk factors in pre- and post-operative situations as well as an expert in team performance. Henker has established a series of academic exchanges and professional activities to promote nurse anesthesia in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Henker’s research focuses on risk factors for the development of opioid-induced side effects in postoperative patients, with specific interest in genotypes that affect postoperative pain responses, development of persistent postoperative pain, opioid induced respiratory depression, opioid induced sedation and postoperative side effects.  His research also includes the evaluation of simulation teaching methods including team performance, and temperature measurement during the perioperative period.

The Sheth International Awards are a result of a gift from alumnus Jagdish N. and Madhuri Sheth. The awards are administered by the University Center for International Studies.

Deborah Hutcheson, director and faculty member in the coordinated master in nutrition and dietetics program, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, won the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Outstanding Dietitian Award for 2017. The award recognizes a Pennsylvania dietitian whose leadership and service is exemplary and whose contributions to the Pennsylvania Academy and the public have been longstanding and exceptional. This award is the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

School of Pharmacy faculty member Raman Venkataramanan received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAiPS). Venkataramanan, of pharmaceutical sciences, was recognized for his outstanding contributions in the field.

AAiPS’s mission is to provide a forum for discussion, continuing education and the exchange of ideas on advances in pharmaceutical science and technology.