Aortic Valve Bypasses Effective for High-Risk Aortic Stenosis
Medpagetoday.com ý Sept. 22

Aortic stenosis patients considered too high risk for replacement benefited from a bypass procedure developed for children with congenital left ventricular outflow tract obstructions, researchers here reported. Among 31 high-risk patients who had the procedure, the mean gradient across the aortic valve decreased, according to a report by surgeon James Gammie, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine, and colleagues reported online ahead of the Sept. 30 issue of Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association.
www.medpagetoday.com

Bailout Plan Triggers Support for More Regulation
The Wall Street Journal - Sept. 24
SeekingAlpha.com - Sept. 24
CNN Money - Sept. 23

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox asked Congress this week for the authority to regulate credit-default swaps, complex financial instruments that have swelled to almost $60 trillion outstanding. Legislation passed in 2000 significantly limited the SEC's authority to regulate credit-default swaps, and some experts say that deregulatory move helped pave the way for today's financial crisis. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said "it has put them out of bounds to regulators. I think somebody at the federal level needs to have that authority."
money.cnn.com

Cell Phones To Help Control Diabetes
BayNews9.com (Fla. TV) - Sept. 24

Most people use cell phones to communicate. But Lori Fales' cell phone works as a virtual coach to help control her type-2 diabetes. Lori is part of a new clinical trial that turns almost any cell phone into an interactive diabetes monitoring device. "It became clear to us that the cell phone would be a great tool to allow people to put in their blood glucose measures that they do on a daily basis," says Charlene Quinn, MD, assistant professor at the School of Medicine.
www.baynews9.com

Dialogue on Racism at Games Widens
Cumberland Times News - Sept. 24

Allegany County public schools Superintendent William AuMiller said Tuesday that it was local officials' concern for the county's image that served as "part of our motivation to want to get the truth out as we know it at this point." AuMiller addressed questions on Tuesday about the claims of racial slurs made by Fort Hill High School football players on Friday during a home game against Dunbar High School of Washington. AuMiller has said those allegations are "unsubstantiated." Two complaints were filed, one by a School of Law professor and a second by the Maryland NAACP.
www.times-news.com

More Suits Over Constellation Deal
The Baltimore Sun - Sept. 24

More shareholders are joining a major Constellation Energy Group investor in protesting the company's $4.7 billion sale to Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings. At least six lawsuits, including one yesterday, have been filed since the shotgun takeover was announced late last week. Lawsuits are common when investors don't agree with the outcomes of a major transaction, especially when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, said Lisa Fairfax, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the School's business law program. "The issues most likely to see shareholder lawsuits are when shareholders find out there was another potential transaction out there that seems to be giving them higher value," Fairfax said.
www.baltimoresun.com

SEC Seeks Authority Over Credit Derivatives
American Banker - Sept. 24

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox called Tuesday for regulation of certain credit derivative products, saying the market was overrun by fraud that contributed to the housing crisis. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Cox said the SEC is investigating the market. "It's a very pleasant surprise," said Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law who was director of the trading division at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. "This represents an internal desire by SEC staff to have regulatory responsibility for CDS, and I think the meltdown immediately leading up to the need for a bailout has given the SEC the intestinal fortitude to express its internal positions publicly."
www.americanbanker.com

Bailout Plan Could Violate Constitution
The Daily Record - Sept. 22

While the administration and congressional leaders were negotiating amendments on Monday, several lawyers and law professors said the proposal to let Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson buy and sell mortgage-related assets with virtually no oversight would run afoul of a little-used constitutional provision. The highest-profile use of the doctrine was during the New Deal by a Supreme Court irked at what it felt were President Franklin D. Roosevelt's overreaching policies, said Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and former director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Concerns About Possible Poison Danger from Pills on Playground
WBFF-TV, Ch. 45, 10 p.m. - Sept. 22

The director of the Maryland Poison Center, Bruce Anderson, PharmD, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, was interviewed about the possible dangers to children who were ingesting gel capsules that looked like jelly beans at a playground. One child was hospitalized.
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Heart Wire: Continuous Aortic Flow Therapy in Heart Failure
theheart.org - Sept. 23

Continuous aortic flow therapy is possibly best utilized in patients with severe hemodynamic disturbances but who do not have features of late-stage heart failure, a new post-hoc analysis has shown. "Overall, these are patients who are not doing well," said lead investigator Mandeep Mehra, MBBS, a professor at the School of Medicine and chief of cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
www.theheart.org

Radio Interview: Counterfeit Drugs on the Rise on the Internet
National Public Radio affiliate, KCFM, Northridge, Calif. - Sept. 19

Producer Jimmy Ko interviewed Francis Palumbo, PhD, JD, professor at the School of Pharmacy and executive director of the School's Center on Drugs and Public Policy, about the rise of counterfeit drugs sold on the Internet.

The Daily Grind: It's Such a Pain
The Washington Post - Sept. 23

A dentist took one look into my sore mouth and pronounced me a victim of an affliction common among Type A people who move to Washington for stressful jobs. Bruxism. I was grinding my teeth at night. "We're not asking about their mother and father or anything," said Edward Grace, DDS, MA, associate professor at the Dental School. "We recommend reducing stress in any way they thought possible."
www.washingtonpost.com

The Three-Minute Interview: Geoffrey Greif
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Sept. 23

Men have "must," "trust," "just," and "rust" friends, said Geoffrey Greif, DSW, MSW, a professor at the School of Social Work and author of The Buddy System, a book about male friendships. Greif, the focus of the column, said men can build friendships that will help them live longer, healthier lives.
www.baltimoreexaminer.com

Campaign Advisors Play Role in Financial Mess
Forbes.com ý Sept. 22
Reuters ý Sept. 22
Politico.com ý Sept. 20

A handful of advisors to Senators Barack Obama and John McCain backed legislation in 1999 and 2000 that paved the way for Wall Street's current financial free fall. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said "the act freed complex derivatives from any regulation. It set the stage for the present mess and the problem is, no one knows how many of these instruments are still out there or who holds them."
www.forbes.com
www.politico.com

Citron Joins 'Concurring Opinions'
ConcurringOpinions.com - Sept. 19

Danielle Citron, JD, an associate professor at the School of Law, is joining Concurring Opinions as a permablogger. Citron writes in the areas of information privacy law, cyberspace law, civil procedure and administrative law, with an emphasis on the legal issues surrounding the government's reliance on information technologies. Her current work focuses on the Internet's implications for civil rights.
www.concurringopinions.com

Gliknik Locks Up Licenses to Develop Cancer Drugs
BizJournals.com - Sept. 19

Gliknik, a Baltimore biotechnology firm, has secured the rights to develop two cancer vaccines. The biotech firm, creating drugs for autoimmune diseases and cancer, reached an agreement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the Mayo Clinic for the drugs, which are now in clinical trials for head and neck cancer. The company, founded in 2007, was spun out of work by Scott Strome, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the School of Medicine.
www.bizjournals.com

Gliknik Locks Up Licenses to Develop Cancer Drugs
BizJournals.com - Sept. 19

Gliknik, a Baltimore biotechnology firm, has secured the rights to develop two cancer vaccines. The biotech firm, creating drugs for autoimmune diseases and cancer, reached an agreement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the Mayo Clinic for the drugs, which are now in clinical trials for head and neck cancer. The company, founded in 2007, was spun out of work by Scott Strome, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the School of Medicine.
www.bizjournals.com

Man With Bomb Was On Terror List
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 21
BaltimoreSun.com ý Sept. 19

A man found with an explosive device near the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus in July was active on an FBI terrorism watch list at the time of his arrest, court records show. Prosecutors filed criminal information against Dallas Jermaine Smith, 21, charging him with second-degree assault, resisting arrest, and possessing a destructive device.
www.baltimoresun.com
www.baltimoresun.com

Names in the News
The Baltimore Sun - Sept. 22

Lisa Shulman, MD, a professor at the School of Medicine, has been named the first recipient of the Eugenia Brin Professorship in Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders at the School. The professorship is the result of a $1.5 million gift from patient Eugenia Brin, her husband, Michael Brin, and their son, Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
www.baltimoresun.com

Names in the News
The Baltimore Sun - Sept. 22

The School of Social Work has announced the addition of four new faculty members. Charlotte Lyn Bright, PhD, MSW, joins the School as an assistant professor specializing in juvenile justice. Nalini Negi, PhD, MSW, joins the School as an assistant professor with research interests in immigration, mental health of Latino immigrants, substance abuse, ethnic/racial identity, and culturally competent social work practice. Philip Jonathan Osteen, MSW, also joins the School as an assistant professor with research training and experience in health services, including stints as a health program administrator and program manager in health and mental health services. Michael Reisch, PhD, MSW, MA, who has previously worked at the School, is returning to serve as the Daniel Thursz Professor of Social Justice. Reisch taught at the School from 1979 to 1986 and was involved with Baltimore and Maryland advocacy organizations.
www.baltimoresun.com

President, Congress Looking to Take Control of Wall Street's Bad Debt
The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU 88.5 FM, 10 a.m. ý Sept. 22.
This Week, RTE News (Ireland) ý Sept. 21
Patt Morrison, KPCC 89.3 FM (So. California), 1 p.m. (PST) ý Sept. 19

U.S. lawmakers plan to vote this week on legislation that would create a fund to buy toxic financial assets from banks in an effort to rescue a crumbling financial system. Some experts estimate this bailout could cost close to $1 trillion. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said "essentially, we're socializing the losses of the largest financial institutions in the United States-[financial institutions that] are the greatest spokespersons for free market systems and the lack of regulation."
wamu.org
media.umaryland.edu:8080

School of Pharmacy Breaks Ground on New Building
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 20
BizJournals.com ý Sept. 19
The Gazette ý Sept. 19
WJZ-TV, Ch. 13, 5 p.m. ý Sept. 19
Wjztv.com ý Sept. 19
WBAL-TV, Ch. 11, 5 p.m. ý Sept. 19
WMAR-TV, Ch. 2, 5 p.m. ý Sept. 19

The School of Pharmacy is hoping a new $67 million building will address an industry shortage of pharmacists and increase bioscience research. The University broke ground on the 112,565-square-foot addition Friday morning at its downtown Baltimore campus along Martin Luther King Boulevard. "In the state of Maryland, there are annually 200 openings, 10,000 across the nation, and by 2020 there will be 150,000 openings," said Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, dean of the School.
www.bizjournals.com
www.baltimoresun.com

The Sibling Experience
Insights - Summer 2008

A childhood disability is a shared family experience. The article explores research by Melissa Bellin, PhD, MSW, an assistant professor at the School of Social Work, that examines how siblings are doing when it comes to adjustments with a sibling who has spina bifida. "Overall, siblings from spina bifida families demonstrate favorable outcomes in self-concept and behavior," Bellin says.

Tracking Marshallýs Steps to the Supreme Court
Maryland Morning, WYPR-FM - Sept. 22
The Washington Post - Sept. 20
The Afro-American - Sept. 19

At the University of Maryland School of Law on Sept. 19, they honored a man who was barred from admission and later sued the School to change the rule. For decades, Professor Larry Gibson, LLB, his students and research assistant Delores Mack have gathered historical records about Thurgood Marshall's little-known years as a young lawyer in Baltimore in the 1930s, before he went to work for the NAACP and brought the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that desegregated public schools.
www.washingtonpost.com
www.afro.com

Young Guys Get Mixed Messages on Proper Behavior
Indystar.com - Sept. 22

Behavioral researchers say being a heterosexual male used to mean being macho, but guys today get diverse messages on all fronts as they navigate sex, drinking, friendships, and the future. And even as this generation has more mixed-gender friendships, guy bonding, largely through shared activities, is important, says Geoffrey Greif, DSW, MSW, a professor at the School of Social Work who interviewed 400 men of all ages for his book, Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships.
www.indystar.com

Dr. Steven Adair Joins FORBA Dental Management as Chief Dental Officer
MarketWatch.com - Sept. 19

FORBA Dental Management, the nation's largest dental practice management company focused on dental care for underserved communities, has announced several recent initiatives, including, for facilities in the Washington, DC area, partnership with the nationally recognized Dental School through its Division of Pediatric Dentistry to assist with clinical treatment guidelines and continuing education for caregivers.
www.marketwatch.com

Federal Government, Central Banks Respond to Financial Crisis
KCBS Radio (San Francisco) - Sept. 18, 1:20 p.m.
Business Week - Sept. 17

President Bush and his top economic advisors are calling for a massive bailout on Wall Street and more oversight of complex financial instruments. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), fought for tougher regulation while serving at the CFTC in the late 1990s. Greenberger said: "If we had prevailed, the [subprime-securitization] party would never have gotten started; the wildness wouldn't have happened."
www.kcbs.com

Fighting Alzheimer's
Monterey Herald - Sept. 19

Exercising and staying physically fit, researchers say, may slow the relentless, mind-robbing progress of Alzheimer's disease. University of Kansas researchers say they are the first to demonstrate how physical fitness may affect the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Their work adds to growing evidence that physical activity can make beneficial changes to damaged brains. "Many stroke survivors believe there's nothing to be gained from further rehabilitation, but our results suggest that health and functional benefits from walking on a treadmill can occur even decades out from stroke," said Richard Macko, MD, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
www.montereyherald.com

Google's Co-Founder Has Genetic Code Linked to Parkinson's
The New York Times - Sept. 19

Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder, said Thursday that he has a gene mutation that increases his likelihood of contracting Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that can impair speech, movement, and other functions. Brin and his family have already endowed the Eugenia Brin Professorship in Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where his mother is being treated.
www.nytimes.com

How Could Washington Help End the Financial Crisis?
Los Angeles Times - Sept. 19
The Hartford Courant - Sept. 19

Today's troubled securities are much more complex, with valuations that may not yet have reached bedrock. "They're very hard to account for, and their value is still a moving target," said Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law.
www.latimes.com
www.courant.com

Solution to Financial Mess Could Have Shades of RTC
The Los Angeles Times - Sept. 19, 2008
CBS Evening News - Sept. 18, 6:30 p.m.

A number of bankers, politicians, and economists are backing an idea to create a government agency that would take on assets linked to subprime mortgages that are currently on the books of faltering banks and sell those assets at a discount; the model would be the Resolution Trust Corp. (RTC), formed in 1989 by Congress to sell assets from failed savings and loans. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said the assets in question today are "very hard to account for and their value is still a moving target _ creating a bureaucracy that takes paper that has no value and tries to sell it is just going to look like more smoke and mirrors."
www.latimes.com
www.cbsnews.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Moving Policy Beyond Crisis Management
American Banker - Sept. 17

Banking experts want to know when the federal government will shift from crisis management to "structural solutions" for the financial industry. One option would be to create an agency that would take on assets linked to subprime mortgages that are currently on the books of faltering banks and sell those assets at a discount; the model would be the Resolution Trust Corp. (RTC), formed in 1989 by Congress to sell assets from failed savings and loans. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said "here the RTC would be trying to sell what are essentially junk bonds," such as collateralized debt swaps and mortgage-backed securities, "that are virtually valueless." (Contact the media relations team for a copy of this story.)

Parents Can Do the Funniest Things!
Mothering Mother and More - Sept. 17

"The old saying that 'laughter is the best medicine,' definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart," says Michael Miller, MD, FACC, an associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine. "We don't know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack."
caroldodell.wordpress.com

Parents Give Flushable Diapers a Try
WCVB-TV - Sept. 10

According to National Geographic's Web site, 3.5 million tons of diapers are carted off to landfills every year. They can take hundreds of years to break down. "Some estimates are a hundred years, some are a couple hundred years, so yes, diapers don't go anywhere for a very long time once they are in that landfill," said Joan Plisko, PhD, technical director at the School of Nursing's Environmental Health Education Center.
www.thebostonchannel.com

Talk of Pigs Canýt Hold a (Lip) Stick to Discussion of Issues
Community Times - Sept. 17

The actions and remarks of Sarah Palin caught the eye of Sherrilyn Ifill, JD, a School of Law professor who has taught voting rights, equal protection, and restorative justice. "From the first day, Palin presented herself as shooting a bear in the morning, field dressing it, cooking up the breakfast, diapering the babies, passing legislation in the afternoon, cleaning the house, satisfying her husband, etc., etc., etc. And it's just not true," she wrote in an e-mail interview. Ifill added that Palin "missed her opportunity when she announced Bristol's pregnancy to explicitly talk about how painful it was to her as a mother-instead of making it as though this was also part of her perfect life."
www.communitytimes.com

What Wall Street Turmoil Means for Financial System
"Fresh Air," WHYY (NPR) - Sept. 17, 3 p.m.
Bushleagueofnations.com - Sept. 17

The federal government has announced it will bail out AIG with a loan worth $85 billion and the nation's largest insurance company discovered it was steeped in financial losses. The bulk of those losses stemmed from credit default swaps that AIG sold to investors who bought subprime mortgage securities and wanted to "insure" those investments. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said that's why AIG's would-be collapse couldn't happen in a vacuum. "There would have been a cascading effect through the economy, it wouldn't just be AIG failing, they would be bringing down many institutions with them," said Greenberger.
www.npr.org
www.bushleagueofnations.com

9 Held After Drug Raids
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 16

Recently unsealed affidavits leading to search warrants and at least 18 raids last week on homes and cars throughout Baltimore allege that Johnnie Butler, 32, and his associates ran multiple heroin shops in the city, most concentrated on the east side, and had plans to open more. "It is important to remember that all those who have been accused as well as the rest of us remain innocent unless and until proven guilty," Christopher Flohr, JD, an adjunct professor with the School of Law and a past president of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, said in an e-mail.
www.baltimoresun.com

Best Insider Perspective
City Paper - Sept. 17

In three separate blog posts, Page Croyder criticized Circuit Court Judge Nathan Braverman for lowering the bail on an accused killer named Demetrius Smith, who police say executed a man named Robert Long on March 24. School of Law Professor Douglas Colbert, JD, responded to Croyder, criticizing her for taking Braverman and others to task and saying her philosophy is to violate the Bill of Rights. 'Croyder knows the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office has an extremely low conviction rate in which only one out of three arrestees are convicted," Colbert wrote on Croyder's blog.
www.citypaper.com

Best Insider Perspective
City Paper - Sept. 17

In three separate blog posts, Page Croyder criticized Circuit Court Judge Nathan Braverman for lowering the bail on an accused killer named Demetrius Smith, who police say executed a man named Robert Long on March 24. School of Law Professor Douglas Colbert, JD, responded to Croyder, criticizing her for taking Braverman and others to task and saying her philosophy is to violate the Bill of Rights. "Croyder knows the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office has an extremely low conviction rate in which only one out of three arrestees are convicted," Colbert wrote on Croyder's blog.
www.citypaper.com

Catching the Waves of e-Learning and Distance Education
Charting Progress - September 2008

The School of Nursing boasts one of the most technologically advanced facilities in the country. The School also offers almost 80 online courses. Dean Janet D. Allan, PhD, RN, CS, FAAN, said, "Online courses are wonderful for reaching students living far from a campus or with work schedules that are difficult to manage, but they don't increase faculty capacity. In fact, they do just the opposite."
www.adea.org

Credit Default Swaps Sink AIG
Business News Network (Canada) - Sept. 16, 4:10 p.m.

American International Group (AIG) sustained $3.6 billion more in losses than it expected because the company underestimated the value of credit default swaps it had written to back subprime mortgage securities held by other financial institutions. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said "the AIG problem is a bigger problem than Lehman Brothers because a lot of banks are walking around telling their customers and shareholders, 'don't worry about our subprime exposure, we're insured.' Well, that insurer tanks, all of a sudden that subprime exposure that we didn't have to worry about becomes huge losses."
watch.bnn.ca

DIA Conference to Provide New Paradigms in Evidence-Based Medicine
Health and Medical News blog - Sept. 16

The Drug Information Association (DIA) will host "Evidence-based Medicine and Health Technology Assessment: Can We Find Common Ground?" (Sept. 22-23; Alexandria, Va.). "Diverse connotations and implementation of EBM and health technology assessments support disparate decisions and health outcomes across patient populations," explains program chair C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, professor at the School of Pharmacy.
health.intertainment-blog.com

Devastating Day for Wall Street Could Harm Taxpayers
Here and Now, WBUR Radio (NPR Boston) ý Sept. 15, 12:30 p.m.

A triple threat of crushing financial news hit Wall Street this week as Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was bought by Bank of America, and AIG was rumored to be entering a restructuring plan to raise desperately needed cash. If more banks fail and Congress intervenes like it did with Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae, taxpayers could end up footing the bill. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said "this entire financial fiasco...will in the last analysis be laid at the footsteps of the United States taxpayer. [They] will have to come to the rescue, [they] will have to come to the rescue to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars if not trillions of dollars."
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Does a Laugh a Day Keep Heart Disease Away?
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer - Sept. 16

Researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center have found a connection between laughter and heart health. Michael Miller, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine, can't talk about his most recent study yet. Results will be out later this year. But expect it to build on his earlier discoveries. Laughter, he found, improves the lining of our blood vessels and that boosts blood flow.
www.cleveland.com

Google Founder Endows UMd. Professorship
abc2news.com - Sept. 15
BaltimoreSun.com - Sept. 15
The Baltimore Sun - Sept.16 - Sept. 16
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Sept. 17

The University of Maryland School of Medicine announced Monday that Google founder Sergey Brin and his parents have endowed a professor's chair at the School of Medicine, where Brin's mother is being treated for Parkinson's disease. Lisa Shulman, MD, professor at the School, is the first recipient of the Eugenia Brin Professorship in Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders. Brin, his mother and father, Michael Brin, have donated $1.5 million to the University to establish the professorship.
www.abc2news.com
www.baltimoresun.com

How to Get Started With Mediation
CorporateLogo.com - Sept. 12
BigPromotions.net - Sept. 15

Business disputes are never pretty, and they can be very costly. Mediation is often the best approach for working out serious disputes and saving business relationships, writes Keith Seat, JD, a full-time mediator, facilitator, and arbitrator, with experience mediating business, commercial, and workplace disputes, and an adjunct professor of alternative dispute resolution at the School of Law.
www.corporatelogo.com
blog.bigpromotions.net

On the Move, Awards
The Daily Record - Sept. 12

Ilene Zuckerman, PharmD, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and its associate dean for research and graduate education, has been appointed chair of PHSR. Zuckerman has been on faculty at the School of Pharmacy since 1983, and has served as an associate dean for the past two years.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Poison Control Centers on the MedicCast Live
SciencePodcasters.org - Sept. 16

This week's episode features this month's MedicCast Live with our special guests, Lisa Booze, PharmD, CSPI, professional education coordinator at the Maryland Poison Center, and Craig Corey. The topic this time around was poison control centers and emergency medical systems overdose and toxicology issues.
www.mediccast.com

Real World Law
Education - Baltimore Sun advertising supplement - Sept. 14

The University of Maryland is one of just a few law schools nationwide that requires students to represent the poor. "They come here because they want this legal experience," says Michael Millemann, JD, professor at the School of Law. This summer, five students are working in the Mississippi Center for Justice, representing people already devastated by Hurricane Katrina who were then further victimized by unscrupulous contractors.

This Week in Maryland Lawyer
On the Record (The Daily Record blog) ý Sept. 15

Thurgood Marshall: divorce lawyer? The future Supreme Court justice's balancing act between paying the bills and pursuing civil rights cases is evident in a new exhibit that will be unveiled Friday as part of the Black Alumni Reunion at the School of Law. Created by Professor Larry Gibson, LLB, the exhibit focuses on Marshall's early years as a lawyer in Maryland.
blogs.mddailyrecord.com

Center for Health and Homeland Security Hosts Forum to Discuss Anthrax Case
War on Terrorism blog - Sept. 12

A forum held Sept. 10 at the School of Law shed light on the case from the perspectives of science and journalism. Scott Shane, a reporter from The New York Times, and Claire Fraser-Liggett, PhD, a professor at the School of Medicine and director of its Institute for Genome Sciences, served as panelists.
terrorism-online.blogspot.com

Exercise Offsets Genetic Signal for Obesity
WJZ-TV - 6 a.m., Sept. 13

Researchers at the University of Maryland studied DNA samples from 704 healthy Amish adults, average age 43.6. The researchers surprisingly found that Amish people with the genetic variant leading to obesity were no more likely to be overweight than those who had the regular version of the gene as long as they exercised three to four hours each day (the exercise included moderate activity such as brisk walking, housecleaning, and gardening). "Our results strongly suggest that the increased risk of obesity due to genetic susceptibility can be blunted through physical activity. Some of the genes shown to cause obesity in our modern environment may not have had this effect a few centuries ago when most people's lives were similar to that of present-day Amish farmers," says Soren Snitker, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Medicine and lead author of the research.
wjz.com

Guys Try to Read Society's Road Map for Behavior
Asbury Park Press - Sept. 15

Even as this generation has more mixed-gender friendships, guy bonding, largely through shared activities, is important, said Geoffrey Greif, DSW, MSW, a School of Social Work professor who interviewed 400 men of all ages for Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships (Oxford University Press, 2008, $29.95). Late teens and 20s is one of "two peak times" in life when friends play a key role, he adds.
www.app.com

Insurance Bureaucrats Block Access to Care
The Baltimore Sun - Sept. 13

"When Sen. John McCain and others suggest that instituting a national health care plan would put government bureaucrats in between citizens and our doctors, are they forgetting that insurance companies and bureaucrats currently occupy that position?" asks Monica Charpentier, a student at the School of Medicine in a letter to the editor.
www.baltimoresun.com

Lee Cornelius, PhD, Appointed to Board of Scientific Counselors for NCHS
GBC.org - Sept. 4

Llewellyn Cornelius, PhD, MPA, a professor at the School of Social Work, has been appointed to the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics by the Secretary for U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
www.gbc.org

New Exhibit Highlights Justice Marshall's Early Career
The Daily Record - Sept. 15

It's difficult to imagine the first black Supreme Court justice and Baltimore native as anything but a civil rights attorney. But Larry Gibson, LLB, professor at the School of Law, discovered 10 instances where Thurgood Marshall handled divorce cases, as well as several fender-benders, after he was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1933. Marshall's balancing act is apparent in Thurgood Marshall's Early Career in Maryland: 1933-1937, an exhibit created by Gibson that will be permanently installed in the Thurgood Marshall Law Library at the School of Law this Friday in connection with the School's second black alumni reunion and symposium. (For a copy of this story, contact Media Relations at ext. 6-7820.)

Randolph [N.J.] Doctor Seeks Cure the Chinese Way
DailyRecord.com - Sept. 14

Adam Perlman, MD, MPH, of Randolph took an early interest in the ancient Chinese practice of Qigong and, with fellow researchers, published "Effects of External Qigong Therapy on Osteoarthritis of the Knee" in the April 2008 edition of Clinical Rheumatology. Kevin Chen, PhD, associate professor at the School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine, was the principal investigator. Chen came to America from China 23 years ago and noticed a paucity of serious scholarship about Qigong.
www.dailyrecord.com

Readers Speak Out on Welfare Reform
The Baltimore Sun - Sept. 13

"Since 1996, the School of Social Work has, at the behest of the state, engaged in a comprehensive longitudinal study of those who exit the welfare rolls," writes Peter Sabonis, JD, assistant director for advocacy for health care and public benefits for Baltimore's Legal Aid Bureau. "The sobering reality, however, as the University's latest report indicates, is that, even a decade after leaving welfare ... the average earnings of working adults are still less than the poverty level for a family of three." (Contact the media relations team at 410-706-3803 for a copy of this story.)

'Fat Gene' Not as Much Fun as Once Thought
Ridiculophathy.com - Sept. 12

A satirical Web site says researchers from the School of Medicine have discovered that the effects of the much-touted "fat gene" can actually be canceled out by light physical activity. "Honestly, I don't see why people are so upset about our findings," lead researcher Soren Snitker, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Medicine and lead author of the research, is "quoted" as saying. "From a public health standpoint, this is great news because all you have to do is get up from the couch and wiggle your arms about to counteract the FTO gene."
www.ridiculopathy.com

African-American Men Named Cardiovascular Disease MVPs
Academic Pharmacy Now - July/Aug/Sept 2008

The School of Pharmacy and CareFirst are on a mission to educate and empower African-American men in the greater Baltimore area to improve their cardiovascular wellness. Fadia Shaya, PhD, MPH, associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, said, "The purpose of the MVP program is to empower men to take control of their health."

Are We Safer Seven Years After Sept. 11?
WTOP (103.5 FM, Washington, D.C.) - Sept. 11, 6:50 a.m.

The U.S. has made strides in homeland security since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but some say it's a different story on the international front. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and the director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said "the homeland is safer, but again, it's not where it oughta be, but we're back right where we were and maybe even in worse shape given the country's status in the world and how it's viewed in the world."
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Commenters Start to Attack DOL's Risk Management Rule
Occupational Health & Safety - Sept. 12

The U.S. Labor secretary's much-criticized proposed rule, "Requirements for DOL Agencies' Assessment of Occupational Health Risks," is open for public comments, and the few posted so far on the government's rulemaking Web site (www.regulations.gov) are united: They want the rule withdrawn. One of the comments posted Wednesday comes from a group of 39 academics and professionals headed by Rena Steinzor, JD, a professor at the School of Law and president of the Center for Progressive Reform. This comment says the 30-day comment period afforded so far is inadequate, the docket is incomplete because DOL has not included studies and a review it used in drafting the rule, and rulemaking is the wrong way for DOL for modify its risk assessment policies in the first place.
www.ohsonline.com

Damage Control
The Gazette - Sept. 12

Columist Barry Rascover writes that at colleges and universities, the struggles are vicious and personal. But it's on the medical side of academia where the fights go nuclear. We've just witnessed that on University of Maryland's downtown Baltimore campus. The University of Maryland, Baltimore serves important roles a governor must champion - health care provider in a poor urban area, producer of physicians for local communities and a budding biotech and medical research powerhouse that creates thousands of jobs.
www.gazette.net

Evolving Roles Make Manhood Harder for Youths to Understand
Poughkeepsie Journal ý Sept. 12

Even as this generation has more mixed-gender friendships, guy bonding, largely through shared activities, is important, said Geoffrey Greif, DSW, MSW, a School of Social Work professor who interviewed 400 men of all ages for Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships (Oxford University Press, 2008, $29.95). Late teens and 20s is one of "two peak times" in life when friends play a key role, he adds.
www.poughkeepsiejournal.com

Exercise Offsets Genetic Signal for Obesity
WBFF-TV Ch 45 6:45 a.m. - Sept. 11
WMAR-TV Ch 2 6 a.m. - Sept. 10

Researchers at the University of Maryland studied DNA samples from 704 healthy Amish adults, average age 43.6. The researchers surprisingly found that Amish people with the genetic variant leading to obesity were no more likely to be overweight than those who had the regular version of the gene as long as they exercised three to four hours each day (the exercise included moderate activity such as brisk walking, housecleaning, and gardening). "Our results strongly suggest that the increased risk of obesity due to genetic susceptibility can be blunted through physical activity. Some of the genes shown to cause obesity in our modern environment may not have had this effect a few centuries ago when most people's lives were similar to that of present-day Amish farmers," says Soren Snitker, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Medicine and lead author of the research.

Honor, Families, and a Rigid U.S. Judicial System
Detroit News - Sept. 11

On Jan. 20, in his West Quad dormitory at the University of Michigan, Peng Song fashioned a pair of paper shoes and set them on fire-on fire, because according to custom, the needed objects can only be transported (to his late grandfather in the afterlife) by fire. A smoke alarm went off. University officials say the dormitory had to be evacuated. The university police turned the case over to the Washtenaw County prosecutor, who charged Song with setting a fire in a university building-a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to 10 days in jail. Frank Wu, the former dean of the Wayne State University Law School and visiting professor at the School of Law, plans to fly in from Washington, D.C., where he now lives, to testify as an expert witness. "It makes you scratch your head and wonder, "Is this how the law should work?" asks Wu.
www.detnews.com

Reining in the Oil Speculators
Business Week - Sept. 11
RedOrbit.com - Sept. 11

A report released this week by a hedge fund investor says that institutional investors are responsible for both the recent decline in oil prices and record-high prices reached this summer. A series of Congressional hearings during that period were the catalyst for legislation and increased regulatory action aimed at controlling speculative activity in commodities markets, a move that experts say drained those markets of some excessive speculation by institutional investors. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), testified at six of those hearings. "The only constant variable in the oil market since the spring has been tougher CFTC measures and more oversight," said Greenberger. "If actual supply and demand were at work, [oil] prices would have spiked with Russia's invasion of Georgia and the onset of hurricane season."
www.businessweek.com
www.redorbit.com

The Corporate and Securities Professors' Brief in Bebchuk vs. Electronic Arts
Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog - Sept. 11

Forty-six corporate and securities law professors, including Lisa Fairfax, JD, professor at the School of Law, filed this week an amici curiae brief in the case of Lucian Bebchuk vs. Electronic Arts, Inc.. The case focuses on a shareholder proposal that recommends that the EA board submit to a shareholder vote a charter or bylaw amendment that, if adopted, would require the company (to the extent permitted by law) to include in the company's proxy materials qualified proposals for a bylaw amendment. EA excluded the proposal from the company's ballot, and the case focuses on whether the SEC's shareholder proposal rule (Rule 14a-8) allows the company to do so.
blogs.law.harvard.edu

UMB Forum Scrutinizes FBI's Anthrax Case
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Sept. 12

The Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS) invited experts to discuss the ongoing anthrax investigation and case against Dr. Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist who committed suicide after he became the FBI's prime suspect. Scott Shane, a reporter who has covered this story extensively for The New York Times, and Claire Fraser-Liggett, PhD, a professor at the School of Medicine whose research helped pinpoint the origin of the anthrax used in the attacks, spoke to an audience of more than 100 students and faculty at the School of Law. "None of the science we used in this was new," Fraser-Liggett said. "It was applied in a new way and I think we moved the field of microbial forensics forward in a way that we had never expected." The forum was moderated by Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of CHHS.

CHHS Holds Forum on Anthrax Investigation
Frederick News-Post - Sept. 11
WJZ-TV, Ch. 13 (Baltimore) - Sept. 10, 4 and 6 p.m.
WJZ.com - Sept. 10 BaltimoreExaminer.com - Sept. 10

The Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS) invited experts to discuss the ongoing anthrax investigation and case against Dr. Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist who committed suicide after he became the FBI's prime suspect. Scott Shane, a reporter who has covered this story extensively for The New York Times, and Claire Fraser-Liggett, PhD, a professor at the School of Medicine whose research helped pinpoint the origin of the anthrax used in the attacks, spoke to an audience of more than 100 students and faculty at the School of Law. "None of the science we used in this was new," Fraser-Liggett said. "It was applied in a new way and I think we moved the field of microbial forensics forward in a way that we had never expected." The forum was moderated by Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of CHHS.
www.fredericknewspost.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080
wjz.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080
www.baltimoreexaminer.com

Feds Take Over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
WUSA-TV, Ch. 9 (Washington, D.C.) - Sept. 10, 9 a.m.

The U.S. government has taken control of struggling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, companies that combined control $5 trillion in assets. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said, "Every time this happens, it's a little known publicized fact that it's the U.S. taxpayer that's now really standing behind these institutions."
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Kidney Disease Increases Risk of Complications
Reuters - Sept. 10

Chronic kidney disease puts hospitalized patients at increased risk for adverse events related to potential lapses in patient safety, according to data from the Veterans Health Administration. In the group of nearly 250,000 patients, 29 percent had chronic kidney disease. After accounting for age, gender, race, and other diseases present, Jeffrey Fink, MD, MS, associate professor at the School of Medicine in Baltimore, and his team found that patients with chronic kidney disease had a 19 percent greater risk of developing complications.
www.reuters.com

Legal Aid Responds to Op-Ed on Welfare Reform
Maryland Legal Aid - Sept. 10

Since 1996, the School of Social Work has, at the behest of the state, engaged in the most comprehensive longitudinal study of those who exit the rolls. The "sobering reality," as the latest report indicates, "is that, even a decade after leaving welfare...the average earnings of working adults are still less than the poverty level for a family of three."

Physical Activity May Help Offset Genetic Risk for Obesity
Medscape.com - Sept. 10

Researchers at the School of Medicine studied DNA samples from 704 healthy Amish adults, average age 43.6. The researchers surprisingly found that Amish people with the genetic variant leading to obesity were no more likely to be overweight than those who had the regular version of the gene as long as they exercised three to four hours each day (the exercise included moderate activity such as brisk walking, housecleaning, and gardening).
www.medscape.com

Exercise Offsets Genetic Signal for Obesity
medHeadlines - Sept. 10
examiner.com - Sept. 10
eFluxMedia - Sept. 10
United Press International - Sept. 9
WJZ-TV - Sept. 9
DiscoverMagazine.com - Sept. 9 Time.com - Sept. 8

Researchers at the University of Maryland studied DNA samples from 704 healthy Amish adults, average age 43.6. The researchers surprisingly found that Amish people with the genetic variant leading to obesity were no more likely to be overweight than those who had the regular version of the gene as long as they exercised three to four hours each day (the exercise included moderate activity such as brisk walking, housecleaning, and gardening). "Our results strongly suggest that the increased risk of obesity due to genetic susceptibility can be blunted through physical activity. Some of the genes shown to cause obesity in our modern environment may not have had this effect a few centuries ago when most people's lives were similar to that of present-day Amish farmers," says Soren Snitker, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Medicine and lead author of the research.
www.time.com
medheadlines.com
www.examiner.com

Georgia, Iraq, and Athenian Justice
Foreign Policy in Focus ý Sept. 9

"Over the course of history, states with great power do what they want. If moral reasoning happens to support their action they will use it, but it is not necessary. As seen in Iraq and now in Georgia, states can easily manufacture reasons for military action," writes Adil Shamoo, PhD, a professor at the School of Medicine. "Our hypocritical policies have never been so starkly evident."
www.fpif.org

NIH Funds New Wellstone Research Center for Muscular Dystrophy
MarketWatch - Sept. 10

The National Institutes of Health have awarded $9 million to launch the first Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, a unique collaboration of researchers, clinicians, patients, government research agencies, and pharmaceutical/biomedical companies that studies the causes and potential treatments for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, a muscle-weakening and disabling disease that affects at least one in 20,000 people worldwide. The center's network of collaborators includes Robert Bloch, PhD, professor at the School of Medicine.
www.marketwatch.com

What Exactly Is a Community Organizer?
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Sept. 10

"This week the nation is hearing again that Barack Obama started his career in Chicago as a community organizer. Not many people are familiar with the world of community organizing and why it is a suitable starting place for political life," writes Richard Cook, MSW, executive director of the Social Work Community Outreach Service at the School of Social Work, in a letter to the editor. "As a community organizer for more than 35 years, I suggest these seem to be exactly the skills that the nation needs right now."

Even for Healthy Men, Alcohol Seems to Lower Heart Attack Risk
Health-Sept. 5

Suppose you're a healthy, physically fit, nonsmoking male. Your risk of heart attack is already low. Would having a drink or two of alcohol a day provide any additional protection? A study by Harvard University researchers suggests that the answer is yes. There is much observational data to support moderate drinking, says Robert Vogel, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "However, we do not consider alcohol a validly tested drug because to do that you would have to randomize people for years with alcohol or not-and that's not a study that can be done," he says.
news.health.com

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac CEOs Get Golden Parachutes
Los Angeles Times-Sept. 8

On the heels of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, each company's chief executive officer is reportedly departing with millions in severance pay despite the near financial collapse of both mortgage giants. Daniel Mudd (Fannie Mae) and Richard Syron (Freddie Mac) oversaw the expansion of the companies' reliance on subprime mortgages, many of which went into default during the last two years. Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and a former director at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, says, "How can we pay these people these exorbitant amounts of money when they brought us to the brink of financial disaster?"
www.latimes.com

Physical Activity Can Reverse Effects of Obesity Gene
Newsday.com-Sept. 9 (and 23 other websites)
Archives of Internal Medicine-Sept. 8

Researchers at the University of Maryland studied DNA samples from 704 healthy Amish adults, average age 43.6. The researchers surprisingly found that Amish people with the genetic variant leading to obesity were no more likely to be overweight than those who had the regular version of the gene as long as they exercised three to four hours each day (the exercise included moderate activity such as brisk walking, housecleaning, and gardening). "Our results strongly suggest that the increased risk of obesity due to genetic susceptibility can be blunted through physical activity. Some of the genes shown to cause obesity in our modern environment may not have had this effect a few centuries ago when most people's lives were similar to that of present-day Amish farmers," says Soren Snitker, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Medicine and lead author of the research.
www.newsday.com
www.efluxmedia.com

Regents Wrong to Take a Position on Slots
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 9

"While the University System of Maryland requires more funding, the idea of getting it from poor, gambling-addicted people is beyond belief," writes John Talbott,MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine. "I didn't realize members of the Board of Regents had expertise in politics, addiction issues or in public advocacy on issues that are not related to education. What's their advice on Iraq, global warming, and the economy?"
www.baltimoresun.com

UMMS Board Questions Former CEO's Severance Package
Baltimore Business Journal-Sept. 8

A severance package for Edmond Notebaert, former University of Maryland Medical System president and chief executive officer, was never approved by the organization's board, say directors who don't know how much the hospital executive was to be paid. Notebaert stepped down as head of the $1.9 billion medical system Aug. 1. His leadership was at the center of a rocky relationship between the medical system and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which staffs the medical facilities.
baltimore.bizjournals.com

Associate Professor Lists Five Things He Must Have Now
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 7

New York-born Steven Soifer, PhD, MSW, moved to Baltimore in 1994 to take a job as associate professor at the School of Social Work. He has taught community organizing, community economic development, and social action, and he has helped create three nonprofit organizations. Five things he says he needs now are: an electric car that works; clean, renewable energy sources for Maryland; well-designed public bathrooms; at least $1 million for the nonprofit organizations he has started; and casinos in Baltimore.
www.baltimoresun.com

It's Not Business, Barack, Just Personal
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 7

At the University of Maryland, Baltimore, it's possible to get a degree in something that was a laugh line at the GOP convention: community organizing. About 160 students are pursuing master's degrees in social work with a concentration in nonprofit management and community organizing. Dick Cook, MSW, director of the School of Social Work's community outreach service, said community organizing shouldn't be viewed as partisan since the term covers so many activities, from registering voters to picketing abortion clinics. Joining the Wasilla, Alaska, PTA, even. "In Baltimore City, you see playgrounds and libraries and community gardens and crime-reduction efforts, all the result of community organizing," he said.
www.baltimoresun.com

Maryland Briefing
The Washington Post ý Sept. 6

The federal government has designated the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center a national cancer center, a prestigious designation that brings with it new research money, the potential for new grants, and access to new drugs. The designation by the National Cancer Institute is largely a recognition that the Greenebaum Center has successfully recruited African-American patients for clinical trials. Although blacks have higher death rates from cancer than do whites, they participate far less often in clinical trials of new drugs that could save lives, says Kevin Cullen, MD, director of the center and a professor at the School of Medicine.
www.washingtonpost.com

Presidential Candidates and Judicial Nominees
C-SPAN.org ý Aug. 30

Sherrilyn Ifill, JD, professor at the School of Law, spoke at a recent panel discussion aired by C-SPAN that explored the role of politics in Supreme Court nominations.
www.c-span.org

Smoking and the Risk of Stroke
WBAL-AM ý Sept. 8

Leigh Vinocur, MD, an emergency-medicine physician in Baltimore, talked about a School of Medicine study on the relationship between the amount of smoking and the risk of stroke during a live radio interview. Two packs a day increases stroke risk by more than nine times over that of nonsmokers, she said, quoting the study.
wbal.com

Study: Flame Retardant Chemicals Found in Childrenýs Blood
The (Baltimore) Examiner ý Sept. 5

Chemicals from flame retardants commonly found in furniture, televisions, and even children's pajamas have been found in toddlers' blood, prompting calls for more federal regulations. "These are significant levels of exposure," Brenda Afzal, MS, RN, director of health programs at the School of Nursing, said at a news conference announcing the study.
www.baltimoreexaminer.com

Thousands Urged to Obtain Economic Stimulus Checks
WYPR.org ý Sept. 8

Tens of thousands of people in the Baltimore area are being urged to file federal income tax returns, not because they owe money but because the government owes money to them-money that it is hoped they will spend and place into the economy. Pamela Chaney, JD, clinical instructor at the School of Law's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, is one of those reaching out to find people who might be due an economic stimulus check.

University of Kansas Researchers Say Exercise Can Help Damaged Brains
The Kansas City Star ý Sept. 8

Exercising and staying physically fit, researchers say, may slow the relentless, mind-robbing progress of Alzheimer's disease. University of Kansas researchers say they are the first to demonstrate how physical fitness may affect the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Their work adds to growing evidence that physical activity can make beneficial changes to damaged brains. "Many stroke survivors believe there's nothing to be gained from further rehabilitation, but our results suggest that health and functional benefits from walking on a treadmill can occur even decades out from stroke," said Richard Macko, MD, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
www.kansascity.com

Board Appointment
Gazette.net ý Sept. 5

Llewellyn Cornelius, PhD, a professor at the School of Social Work, was appointed to the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics.
www.gazette.net

Cancer Center Is Now National
USA Today ý Sept. 4
The Daily Record ý Sept. 5

The federal government has named the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center a national cancer center-a distinction that comes with $3 million in research money over the next three years and that will open the door to additional grants, studies, and cutting-edge cancer drugs.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Education Beat
The Baltimore Sun ý Aug. 31

Cecil College and the Dental School are partnering to educate dental hygienists to practice in an area that is underserved for dental care. The agreement, recently signed at the Dental School, will create a clinical teaching site at Union Hospital's Principio Health Center in western Cecil County.
www.baltimoresun.com

Genome Lights the Way to Cancer 'Milestone'
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 5

Researchers cataloging the genetic codes of deadly brain and pancreatic cancers say they have found several dozen defective genes that appear to work in concert to set off the tumor growth that eventually kills the victims. Richard Alexander, MD, a professor at the School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, called the Hopkins discoveries "a big breakthrough," but he counseled patience. "The initial assessment is that this is huge," he says. "But the reality is ... it does take time to understand how to use it." Cancer patients should not expect new therapies and cures to emerge quickly from the research, he says.
www.baltimoresun.com

How to Shape a Profession
Pharmacy Times ý August, 2008

As student pharmacists enter the profession, they must be ready to take on a variety of roles. Advocacy is the way pharmacists shape their profession and point it in the right direction. One of the leaders helping to guide students in that role is Cynthia Boyle, PharmD, FAPhA, director of the Office of Experiential Learning and an associate professor in the department of pharmacy practice and science at the School of Pharmacy. Boyle says she has learned, through her work with the professional organizations, that "we need to do more than what we are doing."
www.pharmacytimes.com

Rangel Failed to Report $75,000 in Income
The New York Times ý Sept. 5

Representative Charles Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns, according to a lawyer for the congressman and documents from the resort. Under federal law it is a felony to "willfully" evade payment of taxes or file a false return, and sentences can include prison terms and fines of up to $100,000. But Daniel Goldberg, JD, a tax law professor at the School of Law, said that the I.R.S. rarely pursued criminal prosecution or imposed fines in cases where no back taxes were owed.
www.nytimes.com

Study: Flame Retardant Chemicals Are Toxic
WBALTV.com ý Sept. 4
WBAL-TV ý Sept. 4, 5:30 p.m.

For years, many people have assumed that fire retardant clothing is safe for children, but a study currently shows that might not be true. The study released by the Environmental Working Group found that children ages 1 to 4 have three times the amount of fire retardant chemicals in their systems than their parents. "There had been assumptions for a while that if the parents' level was high, the child's level was probably similar. This new study shows us that in fact, they are sometimes three times higher," says Brenda Afzal, MS, RN, project manager at the Environmental Health Education Center at the School of Nursing.
www.wbaltv.com

University of Maryland, Baltimore Sees Surge in Medical Grants
Baltimore Business Journal ý Sept. 5
BizJournals.com ý Sept. 5

Well-known researchers and inroads in AIDS research have helped increase grants to the University of Maryland, Baltimore over the past year. University officials say research grants were at about $440 million through June 2008, compared to nearly $411 million in 2007. James Hughes, MBA, vice president for research and development at UMB, says the University received greater funding from the National Institutes of Health and from corporate and foundation grants. "We are winning more competitive grants and getting more aggressive going after them," Hughes says.
www.bizjournals.com

Bathroom Study
The Psych Files ý Sept. 1

Steven Soifer, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the School of Social Work and an expert on shy bladder syndrome, commented during a Webcast about a controversial study from the 1970s that observed men in a public bathroom. Soifer said that while the study is unusual, and has not been repeated, it offers interesting insights into a potentially embarrassing and seldom discussed condition.
cdn4.libsyn.com

Cancer Center Recognized
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 4
BizJournals.com ý Sept. 3
MdDailyRecord.com ý Sept. 3
The Daily Record ý Sept. 4
WJZ.com ý Sept. 3
WBAL.com - Sept 3
AScribe The Public Interest Newswire ý Sept. 3
The (Baltimore) Examiner ý Sept. 4

The federal government has named the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center a national cancer center-a distinction that comes with $3 million in research money over the next three years and that will open the door to additional grants, studies, and cutting-edge cancer drugs. "The NCI designation means that the cancer center possesses a unique combination of excellence in care and clinical research," said E. Albert Reece, PhD, MD, MBA, dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. About 40 percent of the center's patients are black, about half of whom participate in clinical trials. Nationally, fewer than 2 percent of black cancer patients take part in trials, said Kevin Cullen, MD, the Greenebaum center's director.
www.baltimoresun.com
www.bizjournals.com
www.mddailyrecord.com
wjz.com
www.ascribe.org
wbal.com
www.baltimoreexaminer.com

Greenberger Speaks at Conference in Santo Domingo
Listin Diario (Dominican Republic) ý Aug. 31
Hoy (Dominican Republic) ý Aug. 30

Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a former director at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was invited by Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernýndez to be the keynote speaker at an all-day workshop on the effect of excessive crude oil speculation on that country's economy. The workshop, sponsored by the Dominican government and media representatives from the Caribbean region, was held Aug. 30 in Santo Domingo.
www.listin.com.do
www.hoy.com.do

Zuckerman Expands Study Overseas of Medication for the Elderly
Iconocast.com ý Sept. 3

Lack of proper drug use and care for the elderly is becoming a more visible global problem, says Ilene Zuckerman, PharmD, PhD, a professor at the School of Pharmacy. In many developing nations, health researchers have not studied their aging populations extensively. Zuckerman has a Fulbright grant that ties into the U.S.-Thai Consortium for the Development of Pharmacy Education in Thailand, a 14-year partnership between Thai and U.S. pharmacy schools. University of Maryland School of Pharmacy Professor Edward Moreton, PhD, consortium coordinator, who in July signed a renewal agreement for the School's partnership, said Zuckerman's grant shows "how we have taken the next step."
www.iconocast.com

Chickenpox Vaccine Reduces Disease by 90 Percent
Topnews.in ý Sept. 3

The chickenpox vaccine has been found to reduce the occurrence of the disease in children by 90 percent, but experts feel that many parents do not take the vaccine seriously enough to make use of it. James King, MD, professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, said, "In my failing memory, chickenpox was responsible for 100-200 deaths per year in the U.S." He added, "It would be a virtual certainty that chickenpox would become widespread again if there were a reduction of the use of the varicella vaccine. It just amazes me that vaccines are not valued as they have been one of the most successful advances in medicine."
www.topnews.in

Exercise on a Treadmill Helps Stroke Survivors Years Later
News-Medical.Net ý Aug. 29

A new study suggests that exercise helps by rewriting parts of the brain after a stroke and is effective even years later. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland and the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, involved 71 people who had suffered a stroke an average of four years earlier. The study was co-authored by Andreas Luft, MD, adjunct assistant professor at the School of Medicine.
www.news-medical.net

Is Maryland Prepared for a Hurricane?
WBFF-TV, Ch. 45 (Baltimore) ý Sept. 2, 10 p.m.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna could bring heavy rains and strong winds to Maryland over the weekend, putting state officials on alert. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said, "I have a high degree of confidence in the state of Maryland and in Maryland's local jurisdictions." Greenberger added, "Throughout the country, cities, states, and the federal government have their eye on the ball and are trying to improve things like evacuation [and] sheltering."
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Issue of Teen Pregnancy Moves Front and Center
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 3

Bristol Palin's pregnancy has people across the country talking about the unique challenges associated with being a teenage mother and the merits of sex education versus abstinence promotion. Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW, dean of the School of Social Work, said some of the prior declines in teen births could be attributed to the emergence of school-based health clinics in the past two decades. Barth also points to studies that show parents talking to their children more about methods for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. He said eight years of federal funding for abstinence-only education has not helped teens understand how to avoid pregnancy.
www.baltimoresun.com

Problems With Hurricane Gustav Evacuation Shelters
WUSA-TV, Ch. 9 (Washington, D.C.) ý Sept. 3, 9 a.m.
World Socialist Web Site ý Sept. 3

After one of the largest evacuations in American history, people who fled Hurricane Gustav say shelters don't have enough beds and showers, and evacuees aren't sure how they will get home. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said, "[Emergency officials] have the evacuation down, [they've] got a lot of work to do on sheltering, and [they] have a lot of work to do on recovery."
media.umaryland.edu:8080
www.wsws.org

Request for Lawyer Complicates Case
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 3

The Maryland attorney general's office said yesterday that it plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a state Court of Appeals ruling that a prisoner's child-molestation confession can't be used against him because he had asked for counsel years earlier during a separate interrogation. Mark Graber, JD, PhD, MA, a professor of law and government at the University of Maryland School of Law, said, "This is not a case where you worry about the guy being pressured to the point where he breaks down. ... I confess I might side with the dissent."
www.baltimoresun.com

Zuckerman Expands Study Overseas of Medications for the Elderly
NewsBlaze ý Sept. 2
Newswise ý Sept. 2
Medical Health Articles ý Sept. 2
Online Nursing ý Sept. 2

Proper drug use and care for the elderly is becoming a more visible global problem, says Ilene Zuckerman, PharmD, PhD, a professor at the School of Pharmacy.
newsblaze.com
www.newswise.com
google-sina.com
www.yournursing.com

Doctor Mom
The Boston Globe ý Sept. 1

For the growing number of women entering medicine, becoming a doctor increasingly includes a complication: pregnancy. Women now make up 40 percent of the 105,000 residents in the United States and 48 percent of medical school students. Researchers are increasingly studying the impact of childbirth during residency on mother and child. Doctors at the University of Maryland are surveying hundreds of female surgeons about the attitudes of their colleagues and other aspects of their experience.
www.boston.com

Doctors Study New Ways to Treat TMJ
Pensacola News Journal ý Aug. 31 Springfield News Leader ý Aug. 31

Women in their reproductive years are now considered nine times more likely to develop a TMJ disorder than men-a finding reshaping traditional assumptions about the causes lying behind these conditions, according to Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, dean of the Dental School. "A lot has changed on the TMJ front in the last 15 years," he says. "Today, we realize this is a highly complex disease involving many genes, hormones, and a myriad of complex biologic factors."
www.pnj.com
www.news-leader.com

Doubts Grow Over Flu Vaccine for Elderly
The New York Times ý Sept. 2

The influenza vaccine, which has been strongly recommended for people over age 65 for more than four decades, is losing its reputation as an effective way to ward off the virus in the elderly. A recent study by Wilbur Chen, MD, and colleagues at the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that elderly participants needed four times the amount of antigens given in a standard dose of the flu vaccine to have the same kind of immune response as healthy adults under 40.
www.nytimes.com

Gluten Intolerance Sparks New Diet "Fad"
Pensacola News Journal ý Aug. 30

Gluten-free diets are catching on at colleges, says Dee Sandquist, MS, RD, a registered dietitian in Vancouver, Wash., and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. If everyone with the disease were diagnosed, they would number 3 million, says Alessio Fasano, MD, director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808300305.

Governments Coordinate Response to Hurricane Gustav
WTOP-AM, Washington, D.C. ý Sept. 2, 7:50 a.m.
"NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," MPT ý Sept. 1, 6 p.m.

A joint effort by federal, state, and local emergency management officials to prepare New Orleans and its citizens for Hurricane Gustav proved that government agencies have made significant strides since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana/Mississippi region in 2005. Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and director of the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security, said, "It seems that the federal government has its act together now in a way it did not have three years ago." Greenberger added, "So this is a major improvement. And I think we're seeing that appearance play out in the way the services are working for the people of the Gulf Coast." To view a video of Greenberger's PBS appearance, visit
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Governor Must Find Experienced UMMS Leaders with a Collaborative Sensibility-Editorial
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 1

According to this editorial, the troubles at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) started long before one-third of the board, including its chair, resigned a week and a half ago. And they predate the dispute over how to replace outgoing President Edmond Notebaert, who announced his retirement in July. Tensions at the medical system have been building for years, and critics who now lambaste Gov. Martin O'Malley for intervening in the matter have it exactly wrong. The problem is not that the governor took recent action but that he did not step in much earlier when it was clear that UMMS leadership had become dysfunctional.
www.baltimoresun.com

Male Friendships
Midday With Dan Rodricks, WYPR-FM ý Aug. 28, 1 p.m.

Geoffrey Greif, DSW, a professor at the School of Social Work and the author of Buddy System, a book about male friendships, discussed the importance and benefits of friendships on men's health and well-being.

Migraine Headaches and Estrogen
The Virginian-Pilot ý Sept. 1

The American Headache Society, a professional group of health care providers, estimates that 28 million Americans-about one in five women and one in 20 men-suffer from migraines with or without aura. The higher incidence for women is probably related to fluctuation in estrogen, said Jack Gladstein, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at the School of Medicine.

Names in the News
The Baltimore Sun ý Sept. 1

Charlene Hafer-Macko, MD, medical director of the Myasthenia Gravis Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center, was named Doctor of the Year by the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. Hafer-Macko, who is also an associate professor of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, received the award for her commitment to helping myasthenia gravis patients and their families.
www.baltimoresun.com

Plans for New Maryland Health Insurance Legislation
Gazette Newspapers ý Aug. 29

In the three-year period from 2005 to 2007, an average of 761,000 Marylanders were without health insurance, according to census data. The Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative hopes to reduce that number through the Working Families and Small Business Health Coverage Act passed by the General Assembly during the 2007 special session. The legislation will take Maryland from 44th to 21st in the nation in people who are eligible for Medicaid, advocates say. They expect to release a plan later this year that is being developed by a technical advisory committee from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Maryland School of Law, and outside organizations such as Families USA.
www.gazette.net

Police Use GPS Units as Evidence in Crimes
The New York Times ý Aug. 31 (and at least 12 more newspapers)
TIME Magazine ý Aug.30
am New York ý Aug. 29 (and seven more Web sites)
The Associated Press ý Aug. 29

Critics say police should be allowed to acquire global positioning data only by getting a warrant. Renýe Hutchins, JD, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, wrote an article recently suggesting that global positioning system data is protected under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "I think that in the last couple of years," Hutchins said, "people are starting to be aware that if they have these units in their car, people can keep track of you. I think it's a growing public awareness. The problem is that most people feel like, 'Iým not doing anything wrong, so who cares?' But I think that's the wrong way of looking at it."
www.nytimes.com
www.toledoblade.com
www.time.com

Profiles in Leadership: From Foster Children to High Finance
The Daily Record ý Sept. 2

University of Maryland School of Law Professor Douglas Colbert, JD, and attorney Michael Schatzow, LLM, are pursuing a pro bono case aimed at forcing Baltimore City and Montgomery County to provide representation to defendants at their initial bail-determination hearings.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Treadmill Rewires Brain After Stroke
The New York Times ý Sept. 2 (and at least 10 more newspapers)
ChattahBox.com ý Sept. 1 (and at least 15 more Web sites)

Treadmill exercise may improve stroke survivors' walking ability by rewiring parts of the brain, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center compared 37 patients. "We saw what we call an equivalent of neuroplasticity-a change in brain activation that reflects the brain's adaptability," says Andreas Luft, MD, adjunct assistant professor at the School of Medicine.
www.nytimes.com
chattahbox.com

UMMSý'Future Too Important for Politics-Editorial
Baltimore Business Journal ý Aug. 29

The feud between Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Gov. Robert Ehrlich continues to play out two years after the state's latest gubernatorial election. This time, the scene was the boardroom of the state's medical system. John Erickson, chair of the University of Maryland Medical System, abruptly left an Aug. 20 board meeting, saying he was resigning early under protest. Nine other members of the 27-person board followed his lead.
www.bizjournals.com