Lamm receives pathology honor

Michael E. Lamm, professor and former chair of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine department of pathology, has been named the 2004 recipient of the Gold-Headed Cane Award from the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP).

The award formally will be presented at the annual meeting of ASIP, held in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting in April.

The Gold-Headed Cane Award, considered American pathology's oldest and most illustrious honor, is bestowed upon an ASIP member in recognition of long-term contributions to pathology, including meritorious research, outstanding teaching and general excellence in the field.

As the awardee, Lamm will receive a mahogany cane topped with a 14-carat gold head and engraved band. The cane is a symbolic replica of the one used from 1689 to 1823 by six British Royal physicians, including Mathew Baillie, who made important contributions to anatomic pathology.

Lamm is the fourth pathology department member to receive the prize. Previous Case-related recipients include Alan R. Moritz (1970), Harry Goldblatt (1966) and Howard T. Karnner (1952). Their awards are displayed in the department.

Co-discoverer of HIV to present John T. Carey Memorial Lecture

The co-discoverer of HIV, Jay A. Levy, M.D., University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), will present the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Seventh Annual John T. Carey Memorial Lecture at noon October 16 in the Biomedical Research Building Auditorium, BRB105.

The title of Levy's presentation will be "The Importance of Innate Immunity in Preventing HIV Infection and Disease Progression."

Levy is a professor in the department of medicine and research associate at the Cancer Research Institute, UCSF. He is the director of the Laboratory for Tumor and AIDS Virus Research.

During the past 19 years, Levy and his researchers have dedicated their efforts to the studies of AIDS. In 1983, he co-discovered the AIDS virus, now called HIV. He pioneered heat-treatment studies that demonstrated how to inactivate HIV in clotting factor preparations. This approach, for which he received the Murray Theilan Award from the National Hemophilia Foundation, has protected many hemophiliacs from HIV infection.

Levy was the first to report the presence of HIV in the brain and linked it to neurologic disease. His group also was the first to demonstrate the ability of CD8+ lymphocytes in healthy, infected people to control HIV replication.

His laboratory is currently pursuing approaches to use this response in therapy. Moreover, he is presently conducting studies directed at the development of an AIDS vaccine.

In addition to this work, Levy has been pursuing the viral etiology of the cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma.

Wang wins Joan Harris Award

Rui-Zhen "Rae" Wang, a research assistant in the department of neurosciences, is the 2003 recipient of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Joan Harris Staff Recognition Award.

The annual award for a non-faculty employee is named for Joan Harris, a former associate dean for faculty affairs at the medical school. It recognizes excellence in job performance, significant achievements in leadership, a humanistic approach to
work and exemplary service to the School of Medicine. This year marked the 10th time the award had been bestowed.

Wang came to the School of Medicine in 1988 to work in the laboratory of Norman Robbins, who is now professor emeritus of neurosciences. In 1993, she joined the electron microscopy facility in the department of neurosciences, working
as a research assistant and helping to manage the facility under Joe Polak and then Robert H. Miller, professor of neurosciences. Since 1999, she has worked in Miller's lab.

A committee chooses the annual Joan Harris Award winner from a pool of nominees. Wang was nominated by research associate Hui-Hsin Tsai and research assistant Patricia Lock, who praised Wang's ability to improve upon research protocols as well as her caring nature. Additional letters of recommendation came from Robbins, Miller; Shenandoah Robinson, whose lab is adjacent to Miller's; and Maryanne Pendergast, manager of the imaging facility in the department of neurosciences.

Wang's name will join the list of previous Joan Harris Award winners on a plaque in the medical school. The award also includes a monetary gift.

Return to the online edition of the 10-9-03 Campus News.