January 9, 2003

Faculty honors

Eugene P. Lautenschlager, research professor of orthopedic surgery and director of the Skinner Laboratory for Biomaterials Research, has been named the Clifford C. Raisbeck Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.

Lautenschlager joined the faculty of the Dental School in 1966, and because of the overlap between dental and medical materials, he began collaborating with the Feinberg School of Medicine’s department of orthopedic surgery. The Skinner Laboratory has been in operation for more than 50 years, performing research and teaching in medical-dental materials and devices.

Lautenschlager served as a consultant to the biomedical committee of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons from 1973 to 1988 and has been an advisor for the research projects of more than 40 medical residents.
The numerous honors received by Lautenschlager include the Clemson Award for Applied Research from the Society for Biomaterials, which also elected him an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

Leonidas C. Platanias, M.D., has joined the faculty of the Feinberg School of Medicine as the Jesse, Sara, Andrew, Abigail, Benjamin and Elizabeth Lurie Professor of Oncology. He is also professor of medicine and deputy director of The Robert H. Lurie Comprehen-sive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Platanias’s research is directed to several areas: the mechanisms of action of interferon in chronic myelogenous leukemia; the signal transduction of type I interferons in malignant cells; the mechanisms of action of retinoic acid in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells and signaling pathways mediating hematopoietic stem cell suppression.

His work is supported by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Platanias comes from the University of Illinois where he served as chief of the section of hematology/oncology and director of the Cellular Signaling Program.

Eric J. Russell, M.D., professor and acting chair of radiology and professor of neurological surgery and otolaryngology, has been named the Doctors Frederick J. Bradd and William Kennedy Chair of Radiology.

The director of neuroradiology and endovascular surgical neuroradiology at the Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Russell is a nationally recognized expert in the field of interventional neuroradiology. He is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and of the Society for Interventional Radiology and has served as president of the American Society of Neuroradiology.

He is a member of the executive committees of the Illinois and Chicago radiological societies.

Russell is an editorial board member of the American Journal of Neuroradiology and has served as associate editor of the journal Radiology. He has published more than 130 scientific articles and book chapters.

Russell is affiliated with the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center and The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Terry Lee Sheppard, assistant professor of chemistry, has been named the first Irving M. Klotz Research Professor in Chemistry.

The professorship honors Klotz, Morrison Professor Emeritus in Chemistry and in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology.

Joseph A. Walder, M.D., endowed the professorship in appreciation of Klotz’s guidance as his graduate advisor. Walder earned four degrees from Northwestern.

Sheppard’s research addresses fundamental questions in nucleic acid chemical biology, using the techniques of organic synthesis, biophysical chemistry and molecular biology. His group seeks to understand the chemical mechanisms and biochemical effects of oxidative DNA damage, to expand the scope of nucleotide therapeutics, and to engineer nucleic acids that display novel catalytic properties.

Sheppard is the recipient of young investigator awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the March of Dimes Foundation.