November 17, 2005

Faculty Honors

Four individuals have been elected fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology.

They are Laimonis A. Laimins, professor of microbiology-immunology; E. Terry Papoutsakis, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering; Steven M. Wolinsky, M.D., Samuel J. Sackett Professor of Medicine and division chief of infectious diseases; and Richard B. Thomson Jr., professor of pathology.

The American Academy of Microbiology is the honorific leadership group within the American Society of Microbiology.

Laimins's research is concerned with cancer biology, molecular biology and genetics. In particular he studies the molecular biology of human papillomaviruses and their association with cervical cancer. The goal is to understand why infection by specific HPV types contributes to the development of malignancy.

Papoutsakis has also received the Amgen Biochemical Engineering Award, one of the highest awards in biochemical engineering, in recognition of research excellence and leadership in the field. The award was presented at the biennial Biochemical Engineering Conference.

Papoutsakis’s research focuses on three areas: bioengineering of stem cells and hematopoiesis, the process by which mature blood cells are generated from stem cells in the bone marrow; metabolic engineering, including the molecular biology of anaerobic bacteria and the construction of recombinant cells with altered cellular programs and pathways; and the molecular biology of T-cell differentiation in the context of cellular immunotherapy.

Wolinsky’s research has provided an evolutionary perspective for RNA virus population dynamics in vivo. This work has significant implications for understanding the basic biology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection relevant to the rational clinical management of HIV disease.

Thomson, who also is director of the microbiology laboratories at Evanston Hospital, investigates molecular methods for diagnosis and antimicrobial testing and methods for recognition of hospital infections. A member of several editorial boards, he is editor of Microbiology Frontline, Excerpta Medica, Inc. and serves on the board of the American College of Microbiology.

David C. Dunand, professor of materials science and engineering, has been named James N. and Margie M. Krebs Professor at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Dunand’s research focuses on experimental and theoretical studies of the mechanical properties of metallic alloys, composites and foams, and connection of these properties to microstructure and processing. As part of his research, he is using the Advanced Photon Source, the synchrotron X-ray facility at Argonne National Laboratory.

Another of Dunand’s interests is the metallurgy of archeological materials. Through the University’s collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago on the materials science of art conservation, he has been involved in analyzing the composition of ancient Chinese bronzes.  Dunand teaches a variety of classes including principles of the properties of materials, mechanical behavior of solids and high-temperature materials.

John Keene, associate professor of English and African American Studies and author of an autobiographical novel about growing up Black in St. Louis titled “Annotations,” is one of 10 writers selected to receive the prestigious 2005 Whiting Writers’ Award and the $40,000 that comes with it. The annual prize recognizes emerging writers who show exceptional talent and promise.

The 2005 Whiting win puts Keene in the company of a long list of literary heavy hitters including Pulitzer Prize winners Michael Cunningham, Tony Kushner, Alice McDermott and Jorie Graham. National Book Award winner Jonathan Franzen and bestselling “Liar’s Club” author Mary Karr also are past Whiting award recipients.

Keene has published works in publications including African American Review, Ploughshares, and the Washington Post Book Review.

Gregory A. Smith, assistant professor of microbiology/immunology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, has been selected a recipient of a 2005 Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

The five-year, $400,000 award, which honors Smith as well as the Feinberg School, was based on the scientific excellence and innovation of his proposal, the strength of the scholarly environment at the institution and Smith’s accomplishments as an independent researcher.

Smith’s project is titled “Coordination of Herpesvirus Assembly and Transport in Axons of Sensory Neurons.” His research   focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which herpesviruses spread.

Cristina L. H. Traina, associate professor of religion, has been named Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Outstanding Teaching Professor.

Traina is the author of “Natural Law and Feminist Ethics: The End of the Anathemas.” In that book, Traina proposes an innovative union of two seemingly antagonistic schools of thought — Roman Catholic natural law tradition and Anglo-American feminist ethics.

Her upcoming book, “The Sensual Mother: Maternal Experience and the Boundaries of Sexual Ethics,” will explore conflicts and shifts in historical and contemporary constructions of maternity, sexuality and childhood. It will be published by University of Chicago Press.

A 1999 fellow of the Alice Berline Kaplan Center for the Humanities, Traina is particularly interested in childhood, sexuality and reproduction; environmental ethics; and the ethics of economic justice. She has done research on religion and assisted reproduction and on the history of popular American religious views connecting marriage and sexuality.