November 16, 2006

Honors

Serdar E. Bulun, chief of the division of reproductive biology research at the Feinberg School of Medicine, has been named the George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology.

Bulun, is also co-leader of Women’s Cancers Research Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, is a nationally and internationally recognized investigator, clinician and educator in the areas of endometriosis, uterine leiomyomata and breast cancer as well as reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

In his research laboratory teams focus on studying estrogen biosynthesis and metabolism, in particular aromatase expression, in hormone-dependent human diseases such as breast cancer, endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

Bulun’s team introduced aromatase inhibitors as a new class of drugs in the treatment of endometriosis. The researchers also defined the genetic basis of the aromatase excess syndrome that causes breast development in young boys and girls.

In 2002 Bulun received the Society of Gynecologic Investigation’s President’s Achievement Award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the field.

Justine Cassell, professor of communication studies, has been named the AT&T Research Professor.

Cassell also serves as professor of electrical engineering and computer science director of the new Center for Technology and Social Behavior at Northwestern.

Her research focuses on the development of the concept of embodied conversational agents (“virtual humans”) and the implementation of computer programs that generate them.

She specializes in computer-mediated communication, interface design, gender studies, discourse and media theory and nonverbal communication.

She co-edited “Embodied Conversational Agents,” considered the most important anthology on the subject. She has investigated the role that ECA can play in children’s lives as support for learning language and literacy skills.

A prolific author, Cassell has published numerous chapters, articles and software on ECA in such journals as Applied Developmental Psychology and the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. She has been an invited speaker at many conferences and workshops.

Edward Colgate, professor of mechanical engineering, has been appointed the Pentair – D. Eugene and Bonnie L. Nugent Teaching Professor.

Director of the Institute for Design Engineering and Applications (IDEA) at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, his expertise includes engineering design, feedback control, system dynamics and robotics, with his principal research interest being human-robot interaction.

Colgate has worked extensively in the areas of haptic interface and teleoperation. He, along with Michael Peshkin, professor of mechanical engineering, is the inventor of a class of collaborative robots known as “cobots.” Cobots have been applied to industrial material handling, prosthetics and human factors studies.

He holds 12 U.S. patents and is co-founder of Stanley Cobotics, a manufacturer of human-assist devices for the industrial marketplace, and Chicago PT, LLC, a developer of robotic assists for physical rehabilitation.

Colgate has contributed significantly to the teaching of engineering design at Northwestern. He led the faculty team that developed the two-quarter Engineering Design and Communication sequence now required of all first-year engineers. Colgate also founded IDEA and developed the Certificate in Engineering Design.

William J. Karpus, professor of pathology, has been named the Marie A. Fleming Research Professor of Pathology at the Feinberg School of Medicine.

Karpus, who also serves as associate director of the Flow Cytometry Laboratory at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, teaches courses in cancer biology, immunology and microbial pathogenesis, molecular biology and genetics and in neurobiology.

The theme of his research program is the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in the regulation of autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, host parasite interactions in Salmonella infection and the regulation of lymphoma metastasis, such as in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Karpus is associate editor of Cytometry and is a reviewer for various journals. A prolific writer, Karpus has published articles in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the Journal of Immunology and the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

Karpus serves on the study section for hypersensitivity, allergy and immune-mediated diseases for the National Institutes of Health and is on the advisory committee on fellowships for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Yi Rao has been named the first Elsa A. Swanson Research Professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine. 

Rao was a member of the faculty of Washington University prior to joining Northwestern’s faculty in 2000.

A recipient of the Charles B. Wilson Brain Tumor Research Excellence Award in Neuroscience, Rao studies molecular and cellular mechanisms of neural development. His laboratory uses multidisciplinary approaches that include molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology and imaging.

Rao’s investigation of neuronal guidance will provide insights into basic cell biological and developmental mechanisms as well as a basis to help design strategies to alleviate neural injuries and control tumor metastasis.

Rao, who also was awarded the Esther A. and Joseph Lingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience in 2000, has served on the editorial board of “The Journal of Neuroscience, Developmental Brain Research, NeuroSignals and Neuroscience Research.”