President nominates Griffiths to National Science Board post
School of Pharmacy professors win awards
Howes reappointed to Parks and Recreation Authority
Decorations & Distinctions

President nominates Griffiths to
National Science Board post

José-Marie Griffiths, dean of the School of Information and Library Science, has been chosen by President George W. Bush to serve on the National Science Board.

The White House announced last month that Griffiths is among eight whose nominations were presented to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. Her term would continue until May 2012.

The 24-member National Science Board advises the president and Congress about national science and engineering policy and oversees the National Science Foundation, which awards research grants to universities and colleges.

“I am honored by this nomination and consider it a privilege to work with other members of the board at this critical time in the nation’s scientific competitiveness,” said Griffiths.

“The United States faces potential erosion of its scientific leadership as the number of American science and engineering graduates declines, and as research and development efforts move offshore.”

Griffiths’ research spans information science, technology and leadership. She has done groundbreaking work on the value and return on investment in information systems and services; researched the development of protocols and policies for resource sharing across organizations on local, state and regional levels, including both public and private institutions; reported on the influences of the digital revolution on the conduct of research; and studied success criteria and best practices for information technology in higher education.

Griffiths came to Carolina in 2004 from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was Doreen E. Boyce chair and professor in the School of Information Sciences.

She also directed the university’s Sara Fine Institute for Interpersonal Behavior and Technology and was an associate of the Learning Research and Development Center.

She has held two previous presidential appointments: to the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (2003 to 2005) and the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (1996 to 2002).

In 2005, she founded the Knowledge Trust, concerned with the role and preparation of 21st-century knowledge professionals.

School of Pharmacy professors receive awards

Harold Kohn, Kenan Professor in the School of Pharmacy, has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The NIH-funded study is a joint project between the Kohn and Rihe Liu Laboratories. Liu is an assistant professor at the school.

According to Kohn’s proposal, epilepsy and neuropathic pain are major neurological disorders that can be treated with a number of different seizure medications.

“Even with the use of these medications, many patients continue to have seizures and experience pain while others experience disturbing side-effects,” Kohn says. “There is a need, therefore, for new, effective agents that target novel neurological pathways for these disorders.”

(R)-Lacosamide, or (R)-2, is an agent the Kohn Lab discovered that has entered Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of partial seizures and diabetic neuropathy in the United States and Europe. Preliminary pharmacological studies indicate that (R)-2 exerts its activity by multiple pathways, but efforts to identify the sites of (R)-2 function have been unsuccessful.

This project focuses on discovering the (R)-2 binding sites in the brain, which Kohn said may provide information leading to new therapies for the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain.

NIH award for Hansen
Richard Hansen, assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, was named a Clinical Research Scholar under the UNC Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program. This award is part of the National Institutes of Health Roadmap Initiative and will provide salary support and research funding over five years to support Hansen’s career development in the multidisciplinary management of depression in primary care. Hansen’s project “The Quality of Antidepressant Use in Primary Care” focuses on understanding and improving adherence to antidepressants in non-psychiatric settings. 

The MCRCDP is designed to re-engineer the clinical research enterprise by training new clinical research leaders, which is a key component of the NIH Roadmap. Eugene Orringer, professor in the School of Medicine, and Morris Weinberger, professor in the School of Public Health, are co-principal investigators on the institutional award.

Hansen was selected for the award from a highly competitive pool of applicants internal and external to UNC. 

Roth honored for career development
Mary Roth, assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, was awarded a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award  from the National Institute on Aging. Roth will receive $699,170 over five years to support her project “Improving the Quality of Medication Use in Older Adults.” The goal of the project is to design, implement, and evaluate a medication management program to improve the quality of medication use for older adults.

The purpose of the award is to support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research. These awards are based on academic and research record, the potential for meaningful independent research and the mentoring team’s strength.

Howes reappointed to Parks and Recreation Authority

Gov. Mike Easley has reappointed Jonathan Howes to a three-year term as chair of the Parks and Recreation Authority. The 11-member authority is the governing body of the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, which provides funding for the state parks system and grants to local governments for parks development.

Howes

At UNC, Howes is a special assistant to the chancellor and adjunct professor of regional planning and public policy. Howes, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from 1993 to 1997, has been the authority’s chair since 1998 and was instrumental in establishing the scope and direction of its work.

In its 12-year history, the trust fund has set aside more than $52 million for land acquisition for state parks and state natural areas and provided more than
$100 million for 159 capital projects in the parks. More than $70 million has been awarded in 418 grants to local governments for parks and recreation projects. And, more than $8.5 million has been earmarked for a public beach and coastal access program.

“I am very proud of what has been accomplished with assistance from the trust fund,” Howes said. “And, I’m grateful to Gov. Easley for giving me the opportunity to continue this important work. Our state is a better place because of the conservation trust funds, but much remains to be done.”

Howes is a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and served as mayor of Chapel Hill from 1987 to 1991.

Joseph M. Flora
Amber Vogel
Bryan Giemza
“Southern Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary” has received the 2006 Jules and Frances Landry Award from Louisiana State University Press. Each year this award recognizes outstanding work in Southern studies.

Flora, Atlanta Professor of Southern Culture, and Vogel, director of DESTINY Traveling Science Learning at UNC, are the editors. Giemza, who received his Ph.D. at Carolina in 2005, is assistant editor.

Friday Center
The University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) presented its Print Advertising Campaign Silver Award to Friday Center director Norm Loewenthal at the recent 2006 national conference in San Diego.

The UCEA National Marketing Awards recognize the best of marketing and promotional pieces in continuing higher education.

Marcia Harris
Director of University Career Services, Harris has been selected to receive the 2006 Outstanding Achievement Award for Innovative Programs in the Career Services Field. The award, given annually by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the Chevron Corporation, was presented to Harris at the association’s national meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Harris also received a plaque and $1,000.

She was honored for introducing to UNC’s website the Optimal Resume — College Version, an online resume creation tool. The program guides students through the process of creating a resume and allows UNC staff and job recruiters to review resumes more quickly.

Jeffrey S. Johnson
Assistant professor of chemistry, Johnson has been named a 2006 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. The national award recognizes outstanding research accomplishments and demonstrated excellence in teaching by young faculty in the chemical sciences. The $75,000 award is given by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, which was created in 1946 to promote the chemical sciences.

Blossom Damania
Damania, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, and member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been named a 2006 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease. The award supports accomplished investigators still early in their careers to study the pathogenesis of infectious disease at its most fundamental level, and provides $400,000 over five years.

North Carolina Botanical Garden
Stephen Keith, curator of Battle Park, recently accepted the Chapel Hill Greenways and Open Space Award from the Town of Chapel Hill on behalf of the park and the North Carolina Botanical Garden. The garden assumed responsibility two years ago for the 93-acre wooded park and has worked there to renovate and restore pedestrian trails.