Kudos

Campus Dining & Shops, which earlier this year earned a gold award in the 40th annual Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards contest for Crossroads Culinary Center (C3), has now been named a grand prize winner.

The Horton dining awards, organized by the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS), recognize universities and colleges with outstanding programs in dining concepts, marketing, innovation, dining menus and nutritional value, and customer satisfaction.

UB received the gold award in the large-school classification in the “Residential Dining Concepts” category for C3, its new state-of-the-art residential dining center. It was UB’s first-ever entry in the contest.

It was announced on July 13 at the 2013 NACUFS National Conference that UB had won the grand prize in the category.

Jeff Brady, executive director, and Anthony Demola, director of operations, accepted the grand prize award on behalf of Campus Dining & Shops.

“Being recognized by our peers is truly an honor and to be named the grand prize winner among all the college and universities throughout the United States and Canada is something very special,” said Brady.

Added Demola: “We have an extremely talented and passionate team—this is a wonderful award.” added.

Campus Dining & Shops earlier this year also received a silver award in the 2013 NACUFS Sustainability Awards contest for its participation in the “Pride of New York” program, the New York State program that promotes and supports the sale of agricultural products grown and food produces processed within the state. The honor was awarded in the contest’s “Outreach and Education category.”

The Sustainability Awards recognize and honor institutions that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the promotion and implementation of environmental sustainability, specifically as it relates to campus dining operations.

Faculty and staff members who have completed 30, 40 and 50 years of service to UB were honored June 24 at a reception at the UB President’s Residence on Lebrun Road in Eggertsville.

President Satish K. Tripathi and his wife, Kamlesh, hosted the reception, during which service-recognition pins were presented to the honorees.

Five members of the UB community were recognized for 50 years’ service. They were William Baumer, Philosophy; Alexander Brownie, Biochemistry; Jean Haar, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Mirdza Neiders Oral Diagnostic Sciences; and David Triggle, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Faculty and staff honored for completing 40 years of service were Charles Bland    , Undergraduate Education; Mili Clark, English; Priscilla Clarke, Chemistry; Roger Des Forges, History; Lee Dryden, Interdisciplinary Degree Programs; Jane Gallo, Center of Excellence in Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR); Michael Garrick, Biochemistry; Jorge Gracia, Philosophy; Stephen Halpern, Political Science; Brian Hassard, Mathematics; James LaFountain, Biological Sciences; Robert Puleo, University Facilities-Planning and Design; Joyce Sirianni, Anthropology; and Scott Williams, Mathematics.

Recognized for completing 30 years of service were Mark Adams, University Facilities-Environmental, Health and Safety; Dennis Andrejko, Architecture; Suzanne Aquilina, Nursing; William Bagley, University Facilities-Operations; Robert Barnes, Engineering and Applied Sciences; Barbara Belz, Graduate School of Education; Frances Bernstein, Admissions; Guyora Binder, Law; Dennis Black, University Life and Services; Javier Bustillos, Teaching and Learning Center; Steven Cleary, FSA-Campus Dining & Shops; Rochelle Cohen, Graduate School of Education; Brian Cole, University Facilities-Operations; Diane Eberwein, Admissions; Larry Feger, University Police; Martha Fye, New York State Center for Engineering Design & Industrial Innovation (NYSCEDII); Joseph Gardella, Chemistry; Roland Garrow, Educational Opportunity Program; Anne Gaulin, Law; Francis Gengo, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Also, Elizabeth Harding, Medicine; James Hassett, Surgery; Janice Hastrup, Psychology; Elaine Hennie-Megna, Educational Opportunity Center; Deborah Heterbring, Laboratory Animal Facilities; Irene Hulicka, Medicine; Nancy Hutchison, University Facilities-Environmental, Health and Safety Services; Linda Kelly, Law; Kevin Kulick, Dermatology; Richard Linde, University Police; Galan Lloyd, Law; Gerald Logue, Medicine; Isabel Marcus, Law; Bruce McCombe, Physics; Errol Meidinger, Law; Fred Menth, University Facilities-Operations; Miriam Moldenhauer-Majewski, Laboratory Animal Facilities; Gail Moye, University Facilities-Operations; Susan Neumeister, University Libraries-Central Technical Services; Carolyn Neuner, Parking and Transportation Services.

Also, Thomas Obst, Nursing; Eugene Pantera, Periodontics and Endodontics; Carol Parker, Restorative Dentistry; Barbara Premielewski, Law; Richard Rabin, Pharmacology and Toxicology; John Russo, University Facilities-Operations; Lynda Schneekloth, Architecture; Mary Camille Schwindler, Registrar; Robert Shibley, Architecture; Myron Siegel, Pediatrics; James Siggelkow, University Facilities-Operations; David Soda, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Edward Stehlik, Medicine; Donna Strzelczyk, Finance and Managerial Economics; Ronald Stypa; University Facilities-Operations; Janeen Thompson, Enterprise Application Services; Kathleen Tornatore-Morse, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Daniel Woloszyn, University Facilities-Operations; and Joseph Zambon, Periodontics and Endodontics.

Howard Lasker, professor of geology, is the new editor in chief of Coral Reefs, the journal of the International Society for Reef Studies.

The appointment took effect on July 1. In his new position, Lasker will lead a group of topic editors in reviewing and selecting manuscripts to be published in the journal.

Coral reefs are among the Earth’s richest ecosystems and have received increased attention from policymakers and the public in recent years as climate change and pollution threaten the health of reefs around the world.

“As you are all aware, reefs have received a tremendous amount of attention in the past decade, and that has also placed a spotlight on the work we have always done: conducting research designed to understand the processes that affect coral reefs,” Lasker said in a letter introducing himself to the society’s members. “My goal, as editor, is to maintain the importance of our journal, Coral Reefs, in bringing that information to our community and to society in general.”

The journal had an impact factor of 3.662 in 2012, making it the No. 5 publication among marine and freshwater biology journals. (The impact factor measures the average number of times that articles in a journal are cited by other researchers.)

Lasker is a marine ecologist whose research has focused on octocorals, commonly known as soft corals or gorgonians. As he describes it, his research has been far-ranging, and he and his students have examined topics including how branching soft coral colonies develop their complex shapes, the corals’ reproductive biology and how reproductive traits control the dynamics of populations and migration between populations. Most recently, he has begun studying why octocorals are increasing in abundance on some Caribbean reefs as climate change alters the abundance of stony coral.    

At UB, Lasker is also a member and former director of the Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior.

The Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) awarded UB student Alexandra Keller its Master’s Thesis Award for 2012-13. The award includes a $1,000 prize.

Keller received her master’s degree in pharmacology and toxicology from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences this past February; she has been accepted into the PharmD program in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

NAGS gives its award in agricultural, biological and health sciences once every four years. Only one nomination from each school is allowed.

“I was very flattered and honored just to be chosen as UB’s nomination. I was even more surprised and awed to have been chosen as the best thesis in the northeast region,” says Keller, whose thesis was titled “Direct Reprogramming of Neural Stem Cells into Oligodendrocyte Progenitors by Defined Factors.”

Keller worked closely with Fraser J. Sim, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, to understand oligodendrocyte cell development in the human brain and how transcriptional regulation contributes to diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS).

In his letter of recommendation to NAGS in support of Keller’s thesis, Sim said it had been a pleasure to have Keller in his lab, both as an undergraduate researcher and subsequently as a BS/MS student. “Alexa’s thesis work was an ambitious project,” he said, adding that her thesis forms part of a manuscript that he intends to submit to a top-tier journal later this year.

Keller says the research could impact not just people and their families suffering from MS, “but a whole host of neurodegenerative diseases, and pave the way for therapy to a presently incurable disease.”

She explains that in MS—an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system—a protective nerve covering called the myelin sheath is composed of oligodendrocytes that surround the nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord. When oligodendrocytes become damaged, demyelination or scarring can occur. As a result of demyelination, messages from the brain and spinal cord are blocked, leading to reduced or lost bodily function.

“The process of this degradation is poorly understood. In Dr. Sim’s lab, I was provided an opportunity to be able to experiment with primary neural stem cells—which are very precious and rare,” Keller says.

“By manipulating and studying these neural stem cells and their cell lineages, we were able to pinpoint which genes control oligodendrocyte development in the human central nervous system and we hope that this will lead to novel approaches to induce oligodendrocyte repair in the brains of patients with MS.”

Keller says she won’t forget what she has learned in Sim’s lab.

“Dr. Sim has taught me how to think like a researcher and to ponder the scientific world around me. His direction, advice and patience throughout my thesis project were invaluable to my success,” she says. “With high expectations to meet, it motivated me to do a better job and work harder to earn his respect and because of that I have a thesis project that I am proud of.”