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Steam-line project restricts access to Polk Place

A project to upgrade the campus's heating system has closed down part of Polk Place as workers run new steam lines to Saunders Hall.

"This is a treasured part of campus, and we're taking great care to ensure that the project has as little impact as possible on the landscape," Kirk Pelland, Grounds director, said in a May 11 e-mail message to Carolina faculty, staff and students. "One tree -- a willow oak, which will be replaced -- had to be removed to gain access to Saunders Hall."

SAFEGUARDING THE CANOPY Several steps are taken to protect the campus's trees during construction projects. Here fencing prevents heavy equipment from compacting soil over roots and from colliding with overhanging branches.

Pelland said the oak taken down had several dead limbs in the top, and removing it was the best way to minimize the effect on all of the trees in the area.

He also listed these other steps being taken to limit the project's impact:

Routing the project's path through the center of the quad, minimizing damage to trees. This will result in the temporary removal of the flagpole.

Providing root-zone protection for the trees, outside of the excavation, with fabric, mulch and logging mats.

Maintaining during construction the landscape irrigation system that serves the trees in the quad.

Re-sodding of the grass and restoring other landscaping when the project is finished.

GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE Walking around campus is a little more circuitous now that the center of Polk Place is cordoned off for Saunders Hall improvements this summer. It is still possible to walk around the area's perimeter, however.

Much of Polk Place has been closed to pedestrian traffic to accommodate the project, although the outer sidewalk will remain open for pedestrians and emergency access.

Expected to be completed before classes start in August, the project continues efforts to upgrade the campus's heating system and will improve service to Saunders Hall. Past upgrades replaced central heating hot water services at Hill Hall and extended new heating hot water piping to Battle, Vance, Pettigrew and Hyde halls.

The hot water system for residence halls along Raleigh Street also has been recently upgraded. More system improvements are planned for 20 other north campus buildings.

"Project engineers have worked with University planners to pick installation routes that will have the least impact on trees at these sites," Pelland said.

The campus's existing hot water loop was installed in the 1940s and "has long been due for replacement," Pelland said.

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Computer loan program to be launched

One of the recommendations of the Chancellor's Task Force for a Better Workplace will be implemented when an employee Computer Loan Program gets off the ground in the months ahead.

The program will start out with several laptops, some donated from Carolina's surplus supply and 10 purchased with some of the funds that would have gone to Chancellor James Moeser as a pay bonus. He directed that they instead be used to help implement the task force's recommendations.

Task force members see the program as a way to give lower-paid employees a way to gain job skills. It has been endorsed by the Employee Forum, which will manage the program.

"With the constant advancement of technology, hands-on experience and basic knowledge of computers is vital in today's workplace," says a forum notice about the program. "Employees who lack this skill and knowledge are at an obvious disadvantage. ... The intent of the Computer Loan Program is to provide computers to employees who need them most and provide those employees with the opportunity to develop computer skills that will mutually benefit them and the University."

Eligible employees will be able to borrow a computer for six months, and the loan period may be extended if enough computers are available for others who apply for them.

At first, eligibility will be limited to SPA permanent employees in pay grades 61 and below. Eligible employees will apply for the computers through the Employee Forum. The computers will be stored at the R. B. House Library on the ground floor at the ATN help desk.

Organizers hope to have the program in place by the beginning of the fall semester. They also hope to increase the number of available machines in the coming years.

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Town reviews Carolina North plan

Carolina North, University leaders believe, is the key to the University's future. It will be more than an extension of campus and not just a research park, although creative partnerships between University researchers and private corporations could be one feature of future development.

With its unique mixed-use concept, it holds the potential to extend the broader community as well, to become a place where people work and live and study and play.

It is expected to add badly needed research space for the University and more affordable housing, including units for faculty, staff and graduate students. The University is discussing with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools officials a site for a new school to serve Carolina North residents.

On May 5, a team of University officials appeared before the Chapel Hill Town Council to present formally for the first time the concept plan for Carolina North.

In his remarks, Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development, reviewed these multi-faceted features of the plan.

But much of the questioning among town council members and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy focused on one other thing council members fear Carolina North will bring: more traffic.

Foy objected particularly to the 17,000 parking spaces now planned to be phased in at Carolina North over the project's 50- to 70-year duration. Foy said such a large number of spaces would create "a Disneyland" feel that was not consistent with the model of the main campus.

In response, Waldrop and consultant Doug Firstenberg said that University officials remain ready and willing to meet with town planning officials to discuss alternative transportation strategies that could be used to reduce the amount of parking spaces needed.

Officials here already hope to incorporate some sort of transit options at Carolina North in partnership with the town. Firstenberg said transportation is an issue that the University cannot solve alone. The University, in concert with Chapel Hill, Carrboro, the state Department of Transportation and other interested parties need to join together to agree on the best strategies and the means to implement them, he said.

Initially, the University projected a need for 19,125 parking spaces but pared that number by 2,125 in response to concerns expressed during various community meetings.

In response to council members' complaints about the high number of parking spaces, Firstenberg also pointed out that the current plan already calls for about 20 percent to 33 percent fewer parking spaces than a private developer would want to build for a project of similar scope.

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Waldrop responds to PETA's charges about lab animals

Editor's note: In the following Q&A, Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development, responds to a recent announcement by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that it would file a complaint against Carolina for alleged violations of standards in the care and use of laboratory animals. PETA based its allegations on charges made by a PETA activist who worked here undercover.

GAZETTE What are PETA's allegations?

WALDROP Basically, PETA alleges that we don't provide adequate care of lab animals and that we fail to comply with federal rules for the use of animals in research. These are the same allegations PETA made in 2002.

GAZETTE What is Carolina's response to these allegations?

WALDROP Carolina has an outstanding program for the care and use of laboratory animals. Our Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) reviews every application for the use of animals to ensure the proposed use complies with federal guidelines. We require everyone using animals to undergo training in the techniques to be used. And we conduct regular inspections to check on the condition of our animals and to make sure everyone is following the rules.

GAZETTE In what guise was the PETA activist working at Carolina?

WALDROP The person we believe was the PETA activist was employed as an animal husbandry technician in the Thurston-Bowles animal facility from January to November, 2003. She provided food and water to the animals in the rooms assigned to her, inspected them daily for any signs of sickness or injury, changed the cages regularly and provided clean bedding. She would also have operated the cage washing equipment, euthanized animals when authorized to do so, and helped with routine cleaning and maintenance in the facility.

People may wonder how a PETA activist could videotape in a busy place like Thurston-Bowles without being noticed. To protect both the animals and those who work in the facility, everyone in the facility wears facemasks and protective clothing, so it is easier to hide a small video camera than you might think.

GAZETTE What has Carolina done to address issues raised by PETA in 2002?

WALDROP We've made substantial changes. The IACUC created or modified a dozen policies. I personally conducted mandatory meetings of all investigators who use lab animals, to introduce the new policies and to emphasize our strong commitment to the humane care and use of laboratory animals. Every laboratory has appointed a coordinator to undergo extensive training in basic animal techniques, and these lab coordinators will train everyone else in their groups. We've adopted a stringent new policy to eliminate overcrowding in cages where mice are bred. During the nine-month period between June 2003 and March 2004, our staff personally inspected more than 89,600 breeding cages for compliance with the new policy. They reported an overall University compliance rate of more than 99.75 percent.

Every laboratory animal facility has posted instructions for reporting any suspected violation of the rules, and these reports can be made anonymously. When a violation is confirmed through careful investigation of the facts, the IACUC takes action to correct the problem.

GAZETTE How does Carolina's animal research program measure up in terms of complying with accepted standards?

WALDROP Our program is fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC), which conducted a rigorous review in August of 2002. The U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts unannounced inspections twice a year, and we continue to meet or exceed their standards. We are also in full compliance with guidelines and policies of the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare in the National Institutes of Health (OLAW). This month, OLAW closed the books on our previous PETA investigation and gave us a clean bill of health. They were satisfied that we had answered their questions and strengthened our program.

GAZETTE Based on your experience as a researcher, how would you say Carolina's animal research program compares to programs at other universities?

WALDROP Very favorably. Because of the scrutiny we've been under, we've had to work extra hard to demonstrate our commitment to humane animal care and use. Our Animal Care and Use Committee has spent thousands of hours investigating problems, crafting new policies and improving oversight across the board. Our faculty researchers and our Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine also have worked hard to improve their procedures and update their training. As a result, we have an outstanding program. We don't have a good way of comparing ourselves to other schools, but I believe we compare very favorably. And we're continuing to improve.

GAZETTE Are lab conditions here overcrowded for animals? If yes, are these conditions being addressed?

WALDROP In general, we have the crowding problem under control. During the period covered by the last PETA investigation, our animal numbers increased about 20 percent. This is primarily a reflection of the tremendous success of our biomedical research and especially our researchers' use of genetically modified mice to model human diseases. Temporarily, our growth rate exceeded our ability to bring new facilities online, and we did have occasional cases of crowding. Recently, though, we've adjusted to the growth. We could always use more space, but we've instituted new policies and procedures to make sure that rodent cages don't become overcrowded. In a population of more than 73,000 rodents it's inevitable that we'll find a few overcrowded cages. Rodents breed very fast. But we monitor this problem, and our most recent data indicate that less than a quarter of one percent of our mouse-breeding cages are overcrowded at any one time. Staying on top of this issue takes constant vigilance, of course, from our researchers and from our animal-husbandry staff.

GAZETTE Why is animal research necessary?

WALDROP Research with animals gives us the chance to understand the basic biology of disease, right down to the level of genes, proteins or molecules. And thanks to researchers like Oliver Smithies and his colleagues, we can create mice that very accurately model a human disease such as cancer or cystic fibrosis, and then we can test various treatments on that mouse until we find something with promise for human beings. You can't do that with human patients or simulate it with computers. In many ways, animal models are absolutely fundamental to modern biomedical research.

GAZETTE Anything else you'd like to say?

WALDROP I think we come under attack because we are a recognized leader in biomedical research. Animal-rights activists say, "If these problems can occur at a top school like Carolina, just think how bad things must be everywhere else." I suppose this is a price of leadership we'll have to pay. But I'd like everyone at Carolina to know how proud I am of our faculty and staff, and the excellence of our research.

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Up close and personal

By Russell C. Campbell III
"Gazette" contributing writer

Serendipity -- unexpected events that can wreak havoc on plans but offer opportunities previously unknown.

Like this:

At one moment, you're a pipe fitter in a steel mill in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the next, you're showing the universe to former astronauts and multitudes of school children.

For nearly two decades, Steve Nichol has made sure the visitors to the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center have had a clear view of the stars and enjoyed just about anything else that involves a projector, a speaker or electricity.

HE KEEPS IT GOING Steve Nichol is responsible for maintaining the planetarium's two-and-a-half-ton star projector in top condition so it can continue taking Star Theater visitors on trips to the universe. It's challenging to find -- and keep -- parts on hand for such a rare unit that is now 35 years old.

One of Nichol's jobs as the center's chief technician is to make sure the 5,500-pound Zeiss Model VI star projector operates in top form. Not an easy task when you consider that each piece on the Zeiss projector is individually made for that particular model, and the center's is approaching its 35th year and is only one of five in use in the United States.

Nichol relishes the projector's rarity.

"How do you say specialized?" he said with a grin. "I've been to Boston, Chicago, the Smithsonian, and it's a good feeling to look at their projector and know that you're working on the same one."

Made in what was then West Germany, the Zeiss projector displays images of the stars, sun, moon and planets. A vast variety of other equipment creates special effects or shows video displays in the 68-foot domed Star Theater. Projectors surround the room in the gallery behind the seating. Each piece of equipment is operated from a control console that, with its glowing buttons, knobs and microphone, looks like something out of "Star Trek." Movement from the massive projector barely produces a hum from its motors.

"I know about equipment," Nichol said. "But I don't know of another piece of equipment that's 35 years old that operates likes this."

Nichol stocks parts in case something goes wrong. One of the biggest problems, he said, is the supply of these parts, which come from the Zeiss company.

"My going line is that I'm not going to get this at Wal-Mart," Nichol said. "A lot off these things I need to have right here."

Twice a year, the projector undergoes routine maintenance, which involves cleaning and lubricating its mechanisms.

In 1997, the projector underwent critical maintenance, which was expected to last three weeks. Because of the rarity of the parts, planning began a year in advance. Not even the Zeiss company had ever replaced the electrical contacts and small brass and copper clips that distribute power to the machine's 166 individual projectors. Special tools had to be ordered and made. Nichol, along with Richard McColman, the educational coordinator at the planetarium, completed the task in just three days.

"Steve is an indispensable part of our team," said Holden Thorp, the center's director and professor of chemistry. "It's his creativity and dedication to the technology in our theater that makes it possible for us to create programs that inspire our visitors to learn more about science."

This wasn't the plan though. Nichol came from generations of steel workers and coal miners who toiled in the industrial towns of Pennsylvania, a good eight-hour drive from Chapel Hill and even further in spirit.

After Nichol was laid off from a steel mill, he went back to school for an associate degree in electrical engineering technology. While visiting his sister in South Carolina he took time to visit Research Triangle Park. He saw Chapel Hill and knew he wanted to be here. Seeing the busloads of school children filing into the planetarium cemented the deal. He started work in June 1985 and became chief technician six years later.

"I said to my dad, `This ain't no steel mill,'" Nichol recalls. "I've never had two days the same -- either something else broke or I'm looking into newer technology. It's always different."

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Leinbaugh sets off to meet Queen Elizabeth II

Call him Sir T.

As the "Gazette" went to press, Ted Leinbaugh was making last-minute preparations for a flight to London and a May 26 audience with the queen -- the queen, Elizabeth II.

Leinbaugh (pronounced line-baw) is an associate professor in the English department who recently has had a few more initials tacked on behind his BA, MA, MPhil and PhD: OBE, or Order of the British Empire.

For the record, Leinbaugh will not actually go by the title of "sir." That's reserved for British subjects, and Leinbaugh's an inside-the-Beltway native of Northern Virginia. But he's in impressive company in his 2003 class of honors recipients. Also chosen were 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan (Sean Connery and Roger Moore are recipients in previous years); Real Madrid soccer star David Beckham; and Pink Floyd lead guitarist David Gilmour.

At Carolina for nearly 20 years, Leinbaugh labels himself a medievalist. He teaches medieval English literature and Anglo-Saxon prose and specializes in the writer Aelfric, whose life preceded the writing of "Beowulf" by about a century.

Leinbaugh is fluent in Old English and begins a conversation, albeit one-sided, as if it's his native language. For those who share the common trauma of having learned the prologue to Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" in high school, Old English bears no resemblance to "Whan that aprill with his shoures soote ...," which actually sounds something akin to its translation: "When April with his showers sweet with fruit ..." It's a lot more guttural and arcane, and by comparison makes Chaucer look like he was writing, well, the Queen's English.

It may be a given that Leinbaugh is interested in all things English, and his extracurricular work reflects that. For example, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Scholarships Program, Leinbaugh arranged a top-level, pre-departure conference at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., for the 40 winners of the 2003 competition. The Marshall Scholarships are an expression of Britain's gratitude for economic assistance received through the Marshall Plan after World War II and reflect George C. Marshall's vision of a close and intimate accord between the two countries.

The newest Marshall Scholars began their journey to Oxford -- and to other leading United Kingdom universities -- with speakers invited by Leinbaugh from the highest echelons of public and academic life. Among those speaking were Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, and Pulitzer-Prize winning authors Daniel Yergin and Tom Friedman. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also attended the ceremony.

Leinbaugh is a former Marshall Scholar himself. He earned his master's of philosophy degree at Oxford University before returning to the states to get his Ph.D. at Harvard. While at Oxford he participated in one of his little-known claims to fame. He was the only American on the judo team, and they won all their competitions played at the Crystal Palace at the end of the year save one: against Loughborough University, which trains coaches and players for many sports and serves as a training ground for Britain's Olympic judo team.

Leinbaugh recently was named cultural attaché for the Marshall Scholarship Association and has been appointed to serve this year on the Ambassador's Advisory Council for Sir David Manning, the British ambassador to the United States.

Leinbaugh has a close relationship with the British Consulate General's office in Atlanta and regularly assists with British-U.S. cultural exchange programs. When Carolina was negotiating to establish an undergraduate business degree program in Qatar, it was Leinbaugh who flew to Qatar with the University delegation and introduced Chancellor James Moeser to David Wright, who was Britain's ambassador to Qatar at the time.

Leinbaugh credits his award "in large measure to the help and support of the various British diplomats I've worked with over the past decade."

News of his OBE came via a surprise phone call at home while he was engrossed in a carpentry project with a friend. Michael Bates, consul general with the British Consulate General's office in Atlanta, rang him up. Leinbaugh said he laughed at first, wondering if it was a prank call and thought to himself: nice British accent. But quickly collecting his composure, what popped out was something proper for the occasion: "I told him I felt privileged to have been recognized by the queen with the award and that I was very grateful for this unexpected honor."

There will be three events to attend in London on May 26; one is a special dedication service at St. Paul's Cathedral. Tossed atop of a pile of academic debris in his Greenlaw office is a lush rose booklet from The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood outlining the royal etiquette and what one might expect from the day's events. He hadn't read all the way through it, but he had learned that proper male attire is the traditional morning suit (black tailcoat, dove-grey waistcoat and charcoal-striped trousers) or alternatively a "dark lounge suit." It's probably safe to assume that's not the same thing as the male fashion mistake of the 70s, the leisure suit.

Leinbaugh will be allowed to bring one guest, and she, according to the booklet, should wear a "day dress, and it is customary for hats to be worn." "Ah," said Leinbaugh, "there will always be an England!"

The booklet also outlines the appropriate occasions -- and presumably wardrobe -- for displaying his medal, but his Anglophilia is tempered by his Yank irreverence, and he made jokes about pinning it onto his bathrobe -- at least for a few days.

Leinbaugh will return to England in the spring of 2005. "I'll be director of the UNC Honors Program in London," he said, "and I hope to share the parts of London that go back to the Anglo-Saxon period."

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Paperless IPFs coming soon

The piece of paper most familiar to Carolina faculty and staff applying for research grants will soon not be a piece of paper at all.

The Internal Processing Form (IPF), which the University requires with every grant application for outside funding, will become an online form that users fill out and submit using the World Wide Web.

IPF GOES ONLINE Evie McKee, administrative manager in biostatistics, fills out a paperless version of the Internal Processing Form. She has been involved in testing the new, web-based form.

The first version of the online IPF will be accessible by the time this article appears, said James Peterson, associate vice chancellor for research and director of the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR). Users will be able to log into a web site with their University ONYEN, then fill out the form online. In this first phase, users will print the completed IPF and route it for signatures as usual. The current Microsoft Word version of the IPF will be available for a couple more months and then will be phased out.

Eventually, users will route the IPF electronically, by simply pressing a "submit" button on the online form. They will also be able to electronically track the IPF's progress through the signature process. "Probably within the next year we'll have electronic routing and signature available." Peterson said.

How to get started To access the online IPF, visit the OSR web site at research.unc.edu/osr/osr_prop_ dev.html. OSR offered training sessions on the new IPF on May 17 and 18 in the House Undergraduate Library. To learn about or register for future training, contact Phyllis Daugherty, OSR director of training & development, phyllis_daugherty@unc.edu. Or visit the OSR training web site at research.unc.edu/osr/osr_training.html.

The IPF provides information for the Coeus Grants Management System and to the UNC Office of the President, and it helps OSR ensure that researchers applying for grants comply with Carolina policies and procedures. Each investigator participating in a grant proposal must obtain the signature of his or her school dean on the IPF.

The new form will be portable. Users will be able to partially fill in the form, save it online, and then log in to finish it later, from any web browser. "You don't have to have any special software installed. You can access it from pretty much any computer," said John Stevens, an independent contractor who works with Andy Johns, director of operations for the Office of Technology Development. Johns and Stevens used a web-development scripting language called Cold Fusion to create most of the online IPF's features.

Peterson hopes the electronic form will reduce work both for people applying for grants and for OSR staff. For instance, the electronic form protects against typos because users can fill in much of the information, such as investigator name or funding source, by choosing from drop-down menus and searchable lists. And once electronic submission begins, duplication of data entry by OSR and other campus offices will be reduced. "This will allow us to communicate electronically with other campus databases," Peterson said.

Transfer Update The Office of Technology Development helps Carolina faculty, students and staff develop and commercialize patentable inventions resulting from their research. In April 2004, the University executed three license agreements and had two U.S. patents issued. A patent is a legal document granting inventors the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using or selling an invention for a number of years. A license agreement is a written contract granting permission for a person or company to use an invention under certain terms. For more information about OTD, go to research.unc.edu/otd.

If you've used tax software such as Turbo Tax or Tax Cut, you probably won't have trouble using the online IPF, said Andrew Reynolds, reporting and operations analyst in OSR. Evie McKee, University administrative manager in the Department of Biostatistics, helped OSR test the new form and said that it is not hard to use.

"Most of the questions are the same as on the old IPF," McKee said. "There are a few differences, but I think we can easily get used to it." The electronic form contains new questions about intellectual property and export control (regulations that restrict exports of equipment or information about a small percentage of the research done at Carolina). Because the Microsoft Word version of the IPF will still be used for a couple months, it will be updated to include those questions as well.

"It's definitely a big step in the right direction," McKee said. "Especially once we're able to route it electronically, it will be a big benefit to everybody."

Provided by Research and Economic Development.
Writer: Angela Spivey
Editor: Neil Caudle

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Mouse model identifies cause of cystic fibrosis

University scientists believe they have conclusively identified the central problem that causes cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease, the most common lethal genetic illness among whites in the United States.

Special genetically engineered mice the researchers created revealed that cells lining patients' airways can't produce enough surface water and aren't wet enough, they say. As a result, airway surfaces can't generate a mucus coating sufficiently moist to clear unrelated but disease-causing bacteria and other inhaled contaminants from the lungs.

The new mouse model, in which sodium and water absorption are increased in the airways, promises to be the best animal model yet for studying cystic fibrosis lung disease, which strikes roughly one in every 2,000 to 3,000 infants born in the United States, the scientists say.

A report on the research will appear in the May issue of "Nature Medicine." Authors are Marcus Mall, assistant professor; Barbara R. Grubb, research associate professor; Wanda K. O'Neal, research assistant professor; and Richard C. Boucher, Kenan professor, all in the School of Medicine's department of medicine.

Boucher directs the Cystic Fibrosis/Pulmonary Research and Treatment Center. Jack R. Harkema, professor of veterinary medicine at Michigan State University, contributed to the work.

"With cystic fibrosis, a longstanding debate has occurred over how you go from a defective gene to the disease itself," Boucher said. "There have been a number of intriguing theories, but we think we have established that the lack of water is the fundamental defect."

The physician compared not having enough water on airway surfaces to those long plastic sheets children slide on at the beach. When the sheets aren't wet enough, the children can't slide well because of excessive traction. Likewise, airway secretions get bogged down on excessively dry lung surfaces. Then contaminants get trapped in the lungs and increasingly damage them over time.

"It has been unclear how the gene associated with cystic fibrosis, CFTR, which acts as a chloride channel and a regulator of the sodium channel, causes lung disease," Mall said. "In particular, the relative importance of these two functions has been controversial and difficult to test. This mouse model demonstrated for the first time that accelerated transport of sodium ions alone is sufficient to cause this disease link through dehydration."

Earlier work with genetically engineered mice, including some at Carolina, had shown that neither malfunctioning cilia -- the tiny airway hairs that beat in unison to clear mucus -- nor over-secretion of mucus was enough to cause severe airway obstruction, Boucher said. Those findings bolster the Carolina scientists' conclusion about the disease mechanism because those mice survive, while the new ones, with only the hydration deficiency, grow increasingly sick from lung disease and die.

Mall said that since airway surface dehydration is now known to be critical in starting CF lung disease, he and others will work on developing and testing drugs that act on that root cause and improve hydration by blocking sodium channels or by increasing secretion of salt and water.

He agreed with Boucher that the new mouse model will be an extremely useful tool for future research. It also could boost investigations into smokers' chronic bronchitis and some forms of asthma.

"We will use this model for studying factors that ultimately lead to chronic bacterial lung infections, which remain one of the biggest problems for cystic fibrosis patients," Mall said. "We also have planned studies to search for modifier genes that modulate the severity of CF lung disease and may have an impact on the severity of other chronic bronchitic airway diseases in humans."

Third, he said, the mouse will allow the scientists to investigate other environmental factors contributing to the complex progression of disease once it starts.

The University is renowned for its basic and clinical research on cystic fibrosis. Among the center's previous contributions has been developing the first animal model for studying the illness. Its scientists also determined that the defective cystic fibrosis gene did not die out among humans over thousands of years because -- when inherited from only one parent -- it helped protect people from cholera.

They also developed the most effective treatment so far and have been pioneers in gene therapy for the disease. Carolina medical graduate Francis Collins, now director of the National Human Gene Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, discovered the CFTR gene.

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Stress and the workplace

By Holly Tiemann
Staff development specialist,
Training and Development

Stress can be anything, positive or negative, that places a demand on us physically, mentally or emotionally. Positive stressors motivate, energize and heighten our awareness and alertness. Negative stressors leave us feeling overwhelmed, depressed, anxious and can affect our long-term physical health. Because many of us spend more than 60 percent of our waking time at work, keeping the workplace a healthy environment, where coping mechanisms for dealing with stress are in place, is in everyone's best interest.

Awareness of where stressors exist in the workplace can be a first step in addressing them. It might be helpful in identifying workplace stressors to group them into these categories:

Factors unique to the job -- work overload (or underload), meaningfulness of work, autonomy;

Role in the organization -- conflicting roles, role ambiguity or too much (or too little) responsibility;

Career development -- promotional opportunities, job security ;

Interpersonal relationships at work -- supervisors, co-workers, direct reports, customers; and

Organizational structure/climate -- level of participation in decision making, management style, communication patterns.

Once we have identified workplace stressors, we can learn skills and techniques for dealing with them or make organizational changes to lessen or remove them. Strategies for dealing with stress can be made on an individual level, on a departmental level or on a University-wide level depending on the nature of the stressor.

For an immediate impact in the workplace, departments can offer an occupational stress workshop by contacting the Training and Development Department and completing an Organizational Development Request Form, available online at hr.unc.edu/formfinder/forms-training.

For managers looking for ways to increase an employee's sense of control and participation in the workplace or for employees looking for career development opportunities, the Training and Development Program Guide is a valuable resource. Courses such as "Interaction Management," "Developing High Performance Teams" and Providing Effective Feedback are just some of the many courses available to help managers and employees develop tools and awareness to use in the workplace.

In addition to Training and Development programs, the Employee Assistance Program can serve as a resource to campus employees by meeting with individuals one-on-one and helping them pinpoint available resources to meet their specific needs. More information is available at: hr.unc.edu/Data/SPA/employeerelations/eap.

There are many books available on the topic of stress and the workplace and stress management. A visit to a local library or bookstore will offer many titles that may be of interest. As a quick start, two suggested readings are: "The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook," Martha Davis et. al., which is a comprehensive guide to many useful techniques, and "Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water," Brian Luke Seaward, which addresses stress management from a more spiritual perspective.

These are just a sampling of activities that can reduce the negative stressors in your work environment. For more information about stress in the workplace, or to suggest topics for "Carolina Wellness Matters," please contact Holly Tiemann, Training and Development, 962-9682, holly_tiemann@unc.edu.

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The "Gazette" now attempts to include most photos that are presented as "stand alone" entities in the print version of the paper. In addition, these photos may be available to download as high-resolution images. See photos.html.

HITTING THE ROAD The Tar Heel Bus Tour completed its seventh, five-day tour of the state on May 14. The event gives new faculty members and administrators a head start on learning about the state they serve. Among the stops were: Vollmer Farm in Bunn, where Debra Brown, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, tastes a strawberry she just picked; Peck Elementary School in Greensboro, where student Carolina Do guided Tom James, dean of the School of Education; Vollmer Farm, a favorite stop on the tour each year; and the Steve Mitchell tobacco farm in Louisburg.

'THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS YET TO COME' Commencement weekend ceremonies were held under Carolina Blue skies May 8 - 9. Smiling graduates wax sentimental; Robin Gallagher (center) is hooded by Provost Robert Shelton and Margaret Blanchard, Kenan professor of journalism, at the Graduate School's Hooding Ceremony on May 8; Brent D. Glass, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, gives the address at the hooding ceremony; William "Bill" McCoy, former interim chancellor, receives an honorary doctor of laws degree; and Julius Chambers, chancellor emeritus of N.C. Central University, delivers the commencement address.

RESEARCHING MD A television crew from the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) videotapes on May 12 in the vector core facility at UNC Neurosciences Hospital in anticipation of using the footage during the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. The MDA is in the process of awarding Asklepios Biopharmaceutical -- founded by Jude Samulski, director of the Gene Therapy Center -- with a $1.5 million contract to conduct a gene therapy trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.